Women's basketball drops regular season finale at Saint Michael's

COLCHESTER, Vermont - The American International College women's basketball team fell 65-60 to Saint Michael's College in the Northeast-10 Conference regular season finale held Tuesday, February 27.

AIC is now 14-14 overall and ends the NE10 campaign at 9-13, good for eighth place in the conference.

Kayla Robinson scored AIC's first four points with a free throw and a three, and Briana Lee joined with a layup and then three; Nora Young joined the party with a field goal, and just past the four-minute mark Robinson drained another deep shot to give AIC a 14-4 edge. Ruzgar Christina Boyle, Lee, and Alicia Aznar Chamorro all sank shots before the period's end, putting AIC in control of a 21-11 advantage.

Robinson started the scoring in the second as well, draining a jumper to expand the advantage to 12 and forcing a home timeout. Out of the stoppage, the Purple Knights began to shrink the gap; trailing 27-18 midway through the quarter after a Boyle field goal, Saint Michael's scored nine straight to tie the game, and only a Lee free throw was the difference as AIC went to the halftime break ahead 28-27.

Paige Slaven drilled a three to open the scoring in the second half and give the Purple Knights the lead, opening up a back-and-forth; Rhaymi Porter put AIC ahead again on a steal-and-score, only for the Purple Knights to regain the lead on an Amber Furch and-one. The advantage for the home squad fluctuated, but was 48-44 after a half hour.

Tia-Marie Martinez knocked down an open three from Robinson to start the fourth quarter, and both teams struggled to score from there, but Robinson opened things up for AIC with a free throw, and then on the next possession scored through contact, completing the and-one to give the Yellow Jackets a 53-51 lead. Furch tied it, and Boyle quickly untied the game with a three. 

The back-and-forth continued down the stretch, but the Purple Knights were able to pull away late, ultimately taking the game 65-60.

Lee finished the regular season with another impressive double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds, adding three steals and a pair of blocks; Robinson notched 17 points to have the game's second-best total.

AIC will host Saint Anselm College in the Northeast-10 Championship Tournament First Round at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1 at the Butova Gymnasium.