Tomlinson's 25 key as women's basketball triumphs over Adelphi

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – The American International College women's basketball team overcame an early 10-point deficit to defeat Adelphi University 62-60 in Northeast-10 Conference play on Saturday, January 14.

AIC improves to 9-8 overall with the win, including a 6-4 NE10 mark.

It was a back-and-forth affair early; Taylor Tomlinson and Kayla Robinson each connected on AIC's first two attempts, but Adelphi tied things up on its next possessions. The teams traded buckets until late in the quarter; tied at 12-12, the Panthers went on a 10-1 run over 1:57 to take a 22-13 lead after Lauren Hammersley landed a triple.

Out of the break, AIC's field goal drought continued, and a Christina Sanchez deep shot put the Panthers ahead 25-15. It was at that point that AIC rallied, starting with a Tomlinson free throw and then jumper, followed by a Nora Young layup, Tia-Marie Martinez jumper, and another Tomlinson layup to cut the deficit to one. Two possessions later, Martinez kicked the ball out to Rosa Vreugd for three, and she hit with under a minute to go to put AIC ahead 27-25. Sydney Rosenoff countered with a layup, sending the teams to the locker room for halftime even.

As she did in the first half, Tomlinson opened the scoring, and as they did in the first half, the Panthers responded, as Jenna Jordan's and-one squared the score up at 30-30. Young and Tomlinson started another AIC run, and Tomlinson took over, hitting three straight field goals and then setting up Cierra Highland for a triple to put AIC up by six. That duo scored AIC's next two baskets as well as AIC grew its lead to the largest of the game to that point, 45-37, but Ty'Zhea Hawkins scored twice in the final thirty seconds to send AIC to the fourth with just a four-point edge.

Out of the last quarter break, Tomlinson found Martinez open for three, and both teams started scoring in bunches; Rolanda Robinson was the star for Adelphi, sinking threes on back-to-back-to-back possessions to put the Panthers ahead 58-57 with just under two minutes to play.

However, AIC was not to be denied; Young connected with Tomlinson, who put AIC back ahead with less than a minute to play with an old-school three, and then Kayla Robinson swiped the ball away, forcing the Panthers to foul. Martinez hit both shots at the stripe with just 15 seconds to play, and that proved crucial; Adelphi hit a bucket at the buzzer, but it left them behind AIC by the 62-60 margin that was the final score.

Tomlinson's 11-of-17 day shooting was a key to her game-best 25 points, and she chipped in six rebounds; Young had eight points, along with a team-best nine rebounds, and Julia Carbonell Munoz had eight boards while Martinez scored nine points with five rebounds and four assists.

AIC next plays at The College of Saint Rose on Wednesday, January 18 at 5:30 p.m.