Women's basketball wins Senior Day battle with SCSU

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – The American International College women's basketball team earned a 53-42 Senior Day win over Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference play on Saturday, February 18.

AIC improves to 15-12 overall and 11-8 in the NE10 with the win.

The first half was a tale of two quarters as the Yellow Jackets came out hot but the Owls countered. Kayla Robinson had each of AIC's first two field goals, and then Taylor Tomlinson landed a bucket before AJ Washington sank two to push AIC up 10-1 just shy of the eight-minute mark. The Owls finally hit a field goal of their own two possessions later, but AIC led 12-5 at the first break.

Southern Connecticut began a run early in the second with a pair of layups, the latter by Katie Williamson through contact, and she finished the old school three to cut AIC's advantage to just two. On the next possession, the Owls tied it, and then took the lead two plays thereafter, forcing an AIC timeout. Rosa Vreugd was ultimately the one to end the Owls run with a triple off of a steal by Tomlinson and pass by Washington, and the teams traded points down the stretch, with the Owls taking a 20-19 lead into halftime.

The Yellow Jackets could not afford to let the Owls have another run, and Robinson started the half with three quick points. The teams traded free throws, but AIC regained the lead on an and-one by Julia Carbonell Munoz, and then Tia-Marie Martinez knocked down back-to-back triples to stun the Owls and put AIC ahead by nine. The Yellow Jackets kept scoring late in the frame to take a 40-31 advantage.

AIC needed to put the game away in the fourth and did with a pair of Tomlinson free throws. The real story, however, was AIC's defense early in the period, as the Yellow Jackets held the Owls without a field goal for nearly seven minutes, which allowed AIC to stretch the lead to as much as 15. Thanks to solid free throw shooting in the final minutes, the home team was able to close out the 53-42 win.

Martinez ended up as the game's high scoring player with 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting and 6-of-6 at the line; Robinson and Tomlinson added nine each, while Carbonell Munoz scored six and picked up a team-best six rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets finish off the season Tuesday, February 21 at Bentley University at 5:30 p.m.