Hutchison wins 250th as Women's Basketball sinks Post

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - It was a milestone night for Head Women's Basketball Coach Kristen Hutchison, and it came in a fitting way - a great team performance in front of the home crowd as the Yellow Jackets drove their winning streak to four games with a 94-70 margin of victory over Post University.

The Yellow Jackets improved to 6-1 overall on the season.

It was a high-scoring first quarter as AIC was led by Briana Lee's seven points, but Post's Amaya Santiago put away nine and the Eagles led 25-21 at the first break.

The second was almost all Yellow Jackets, and it came on a swarming defense; after allowing the Eagles to shoot 66.7 percent in the first, the home team more than cut that in half, and forced six turnovers to just five made shots allowed. Tia-Marie Martinez was the star of the second, knocking in a pair of triples as part of eight points and adding two boards, assists, and steals in the 10-minute stretch. When the buzzer sounded for halftime, AIC took a 47-34 lead to the room.

AIC continued pulling away in the third; Lee scored another eight while Nora Young was perfect shooting to grab seven points and also picked up four rebounds, as AIC outscored the Eagles 24-18 to lead 71-54 at the half-hour mark.

Coach Hutchison was able to empty her bench in the fourth, and the team spread the scoring around. Among the nine players who contributed points in the final frame were rookies Jada Bryant and Heaven Morris, who both made their first collegiate appearances and scored their first points. In total, AIC won the final period 23-16 and the game 94-70.

Martinez and Lee led AIC with 19 and 18 points, respectively; Lee narrowly missed a double-double as she had nine rebounds.

For Hutchison, the win makes her the second coach in AIC Women's Basketball history to reach 250 wins; she trails only her mentor and former coach, Pete Cinella, who owns the AIC record at 291. She also becomes the eighth women's basketball coach in Northeast-10 Conference history to reach the milestone. 

The Yellow Jackets will look to add to their winning streak at home on Sunday, December 10 when Goldey-Beacom College visits the Butova Gymnasium.