Women's basketball holds off Pace for key NE10 win
PLEASANTVILLE, New York - The American International College women's basketball team took an early lead and held on to defeat Pace University 49-45 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Tuesday, January 10.
AIC improves to 8-8 overall with the win and 5-4 in the NE10.
Taylor Tomlinson was hot early, hitting the first two shots of the game; Pace countered to lead 5-4 after a Lauren Hackett triple, but Kayla Robinson sank a pair, and Julia Carbonell Munoz then found Tomlinson under the hook for a bucket to put AIC back up 10-7. Robinson then set up Tomlinson two possessions later for another hit, and late in the frame, she added a fifth, this time from AJ Washington, for 10 of AIC's first 14 points. AIC ultimately led 16-8 at the end of the frame after a Tia-Marie Martinez jumper was the last basket of the period.
AIC built onto the lead with Robinson free throws and a driving layup by Rosa Vreugd as the Yellow Jackets led 20-9 before the Setters finally scored more than three minutes into the period. The Yellow Jackets offense kept it up, with Martinez finishing a layup through contact and knocking down the free throw with 2:35 left in the quarter for a 29-18 edge. Pace closed with a seven-point run, but Tomlinson had the last basket of the frame to send AIC to the room up 31-25.
Martinez and Robinson each hit shots to open the scoring in the third, the latter from deep, in what proved to be a relatively low-scoring frame; AIC only scored four points the rest of the way, but held Pace to eight, and Julia Carbonell Munoz's basket in the final minute put AIC ahead 40-33 after a half hour of play.
In the fourth, Hackett landed a quick three to start to close the gap, but Tomlinson's jumper gave AIC a six-point cushion. Hackett hit from deep again to cut it in half, and free throws edged Pace within one. That opened a back-and-forth, as Robinson notched four points to counter four Pace points, keeping AIC ahead by a hair. Martinez in particular was key for AIC, collecting three rebounds on the defensive glass in the final 2:32 and hitting a pair of free throws to put the game away with 18 seconds left.
Robinson was AIC's top scorer with 16 points; Tomlinson landed 14 total and had nine boards. Carbonell Munoz chipped in five points and eight boards, while Martinez notched 11 and six.
AIC returns home Saturday, January 14 at 1:30 p.m. to face Adelphi University.