St. Rose spoils women's basketball regular season finale

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College women's basketball team fell 61-53 in the regular-season finale on Tuesday, February 22 in Northeast-10 Conference play to The College of Saint Rose.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: St. Rose 61, AIC 53
Records: The Yellow Jackets move to 10-15 (7-12 NE10); the Golden Knights move to 6-16 (5-13 NE10)
Location: Henry A. Butova Gym Springfield, Massachusetts

KEY STATS:
AIC:
Destine Perry: 12 points, four rebounds, four assists
Zoe Willis: 11 points, four rebounds, four steals
Kayla Robinson: nine points,
Nyrie Holliman: eight points, three rebounds
Kyla Smith: eight points

St. Rose:
Nina Fedullo: 17 points, six rebounds
Becca Townes: nine points, six rebounds, five assists
Ryley Blasetti: eight points, three assists

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After a layup by the Golden Knights, graduate Destine Perry swished one from deep to take the lead. Naeve Rene of St. Rose hit a jumper with 16 seconds remaining in the quarter to give her team the 16-13 advantage, but junior Kyla Smith hit a three from the left-wing as time expired.
• Saint Rose started the second quarter on a 12-0 run. AIC went on a 10-2 run to cut their deficit to four at 30-26 with 2:27 on the clock. During the run, senior Nyrie Holliman had five points while junior Rosa Vregud and graduate Sara Guntin Barreiro combined for five. At the break, the Golden Knights led 32-26.
• Trailing 38-34 almost three minutes into the third Perry grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up to give her eight points. After forcing a miss on the defensive end junior Zoe Willis nailed a three to make it a one-point game.
• On the next AIC possession, Perry was fouled going to the basket. At the line, she hit both to give AIC the 39-38 lead. In the last 46 seconds of the quarter, the Yellow Jackets went on a 5-0 run to lead 48-46 with 10 minutes of play left.
• The run extended into the fourth as AIC added two more points. In total, the Yellow Jackets held St. Rose scoreless over almost five minutes.
• Saint Rose took a 52-51 lead with 5:22 on the clock. The basket sparked a quick back-and-forth of leads. Ultimately the Golden Knights took the game 59-53.

NEXT UP:

• AIC will hit the road to play in the first round of the NE10 Championship.
• The opponent, location and time will be announced on Tuesday night.