Women's basketball steals OT win from Saint Michael's

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - Down one and without the ball with under 40 seconds to play in overtime, the American International College women's basketball team literally and figuratively stole a Northeast-10 Conference game from Saint Michael's College to win 58-56 on Saturday, January 28.

AIC improved to 13-9 overall and 9-4 in NE10 play with the win.

It was a game AIC seemed to have wrapped up after a Kayla Robinson free throw with 1:35 left put the Yellow Jackets ahead 51-43, but Anika Kapral made a layup and Emma Macdonough followed with a three, cutting the lead to three with 41 seconds left in regulation. The Purple Knights won a defensive rebound, and on the ensuing possession, Macdonough launched a three. She missed, but in the ensuing battle for the ball, Molly Brophy sank a layup through contact with 0.8 seconds left. With all the pressure on, she hit the free throw, tying the game and forcing an improbable overtime. 

In that extra frame, AIC struck first as Tia-Marie Martinez set up Taylor Tomlinson, Macdonough countered, and Martinez responded, giving AIC a 55-53 edge. That held until Macdonough struck from deep again, putting the Purple Knights ahead with 1:57 to play. Brophy blocked AIC's next attempt, and Kapral blocked the one after that, giving the Knights possession with little time left.

On the fateful penultimate sequence, Paige Slaven had the ball on the left side, near the half-court line, and tried to cut around Julia Carbonell Munoz for a drive to the net. However, Carbonell Munoz was able to poke the ball away, deflecting it to Nora Young. Young quickly fired a pass up the court, as Carbonell Munoz immediately turned and ran, and she was able to take the pass in stride, landing the layup attempt even as Slaven fouled her from behind. She sank the subsequent free throw to put AIC up by two.

And there was no shortage of heroics for @AICWBB too. How about Julia Carbonell Munoz with the takeaway-breakaway winning bucket in overtime? #SCTop10 @ESPNAssignDesk @SportsCenter @TheNortheast10 #AICommitted #NE10Embrace pic.twitter.com/iWzeKtfBDC

— AIC Athletics (@aicathletics) January 28, 2023

The Knights had one last crack at tying or winning the game, but could not get a quality shot away; Brianna Furch's three clanked off the iron, and Martinez grabbed the rebound to seal the victory.

The thrilling ending belied both teams struggles in the first half; AIC managed just one field goal in the first quarter, but the Purple Knights notched just two in the second, and free throws kept the Yellow Jackets in the game as nine of the team's first-half points came at the line. Saint Michael's held a 20-17 lead at haltime, having scored just five points in the second stanza.

AIC was able to match its first-half scoring in the first ten minutes of the latter half, and took the lead for the first time on a Cierra Highland free throw with 1:59 to go in the frame and setting up the wild conclusion to the contest.

Kayla Robinson led AIC with 15 points and collected five rebounds, four on the offensive glass, before fouling out on the game-tying play at the end of regulation. Taylor Tomlinson scored all 13 of her points in the final 20 minutes of play. Young reached double digits with 10 points, and also had four swipes. Carbonell Munoz had perhaps the most impressive line of all, scoring nine points and grabbing nine boards while also dishing out five assists.

AIC flips the calendar to February before the next game, which is slated for Wednesday, February 1 at Assumption University, with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.