Boyle sparkles as Women's Basketball flies past Franklin Pierce

RINDGE, New Hampshire - It was a career day for rookie Ruzgar Christina Boyle as her team-high 25 helped the American International College women's basketball team defeat Northeast-10 Conference foe Franklin Pierce University 76-62 on Saturday, December 2.

AIC is now 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the NE10

The teams traded threes on their opening possessions, with Tia-Marie Martinez knocking one in to start the scoring. That was the story of the entire first half; apart from a pair of threes from Boyle and Briana Lee that put AIC up 13-7 midway through the first, and two runs in the second quarter to cut into the deficit for the Ravens, the teams mostly traded points one-for-one, and it showed as the score was 37-37 at the midpoint of the contest.

The second seemed to be more of the same; the hosts briefly built a lead, but Martinez and Lee hit threes to flip AIC to a 47-46 advantage. Back-to-back buckets by Boyle late in the quarter put AIC on top by five heading into the final quarter.

AIC finally solved the challenge of pulling away in the fourth, as Boyle hit several shots all around the court and Lee landed a few of her own; Martinez sank a three as well. On the other side, the defense limited the Ravens to just 20 percent shooting, and perhaps most impressively did not commit a single shooting foul in the period, putting away the 76-62 win with ease.

Boyle's 25 was a game-best, with 18 coming in the second half. Lee notched 15 points, and gathered five of her eight rebounds in the final period of play. Martinez and Nora Young also scored in double figures, with 18 and 10 respectively. 

AIC breaks from conference play for the rest of the first half of the season; the Yellow Jackets host Post University on Wednesday, December 6 at 5:30 p.m.