Women's Basketball's playoff run ends in NE10 Quarterfinal at Bentley

WALTHAM, Massachusetts - The eighth-seeded American International College women's basketball team fell 73-61 to top-ranked Bentley University in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinal on Sunday, March 3.

AIC ends the 2023-24 season at 15-15. 

The first quarter was evenly matched; the Falcons scored the first two baskets, but Kayla Robinson and Tia-Marie Martinez each scored for AIC, and a three by Ruzgar Christina Boyle put the Yellow Jackets up 8-6. Briana Lee and Nora Young both knocked down shots to give AIC a six-point edge, but the Falcons scored the next five to trail AIC 12-11 after one. 

The Falcons scored the first four of the second frame, although Rhaymi Porter put home a bucket to keep things close. AIC regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Lee, but the Falcons came right back, hitting several threes to begin to pull away, despite Lee and Martinez making shots of their own, with the latter also hitting from deep. Robinson scored AIC's final six of the period, with a three from the field and then three free throws as she was fouled with a tenth of a second left throwing up a last-chance heave, but that left AIC down 36-27 at the break.

Robinson came out blasting in the third with a pair of threes, and Young also hit one, shrinking the deficit. Lee then pulled AIC within two with a layup, but that was as close as the Yellow Jackets could get as the Falcons went on an eight-point run. From there, the home side matched AIC shot-for-shot, and led by a dozen at the final break.

Down to the last quarter of the season, Lee caught fire, putting on an impressive display with 15 points to try to bring the Yellow Jackets back. However, the Falcons made the shots they had to, and earned the win to end AIC's run.

Lee's 25 gave her 545 for the season, a career best; her five years at the NCAA level closes with an impressive 1922 points and 1148 rebounds, and her offensive board in the third quarter was the 400th offensive rebound of her career. Robinson knocked in 17 total for AIC, and the final sum of her five seasons, all with the Yellow Jackets, includes 1340 points, the 11th-most in the history of the program.