SYRACUSE, N.Y. The American International College women's basketball team took a late lead and never gave it up, defeating Le Moyne College Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Southwest Conference play at ted Grant Court, 65-60.
With the win AIC moves to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in NE-10 play, while with the loss Le Moyne falls to 3-6 and 1-4 in conference contests.
American International has been a dominant fourth quarter team and it showed once again Saturday, although, it took a while to get going. Tepley hit the first bucket of the stanza 2:22 into the quarter. Her and Mason gave AIC its first lead of the game, 55-54, with 4:44 remaining after hitting consecutive shots.
After another Mason jumper, the center fed Tepley for her 18th point of the game to put the Jackets up under two, 59-56. The pair scored the team's first 12 points of the quarter, combining for a 12-6 run. AIC finished the game on a 6-2 run powered by four Brianna Bishop (Suffield, Conn.) free throws in the final 27 seconds of play. The Yellow Jackets outscored Le Moyne in the final frame, 18-6, and are dominating opponents overall in the final stanza, 126-70.
Tepley opened the game with six points in the opening frame, but AIC took an 18-14 deficit into the second.
In a back-and-forth second stanza, AIC senior Brianna Bishop (Suffield, Conn.) and freshman Jayda Gilmore (Elkridge, Md.) hit back-to-back three's to bring the game within one, 24-23. The teams traded buckets into the half where the Dolphins took a 35-31 advantage.
Le Moyne extended its lead to as many as nine in the third quarter, but the Jackets hung around and used a 7-1 run powered by three Kamika Mason (Long Beach, Calif.) jumpers to stay in contention. AIC trailed by just three, 52-49, entering the final installment.
Both Tepley and Mason finished with double-doubles. Tepley scored the 18 points and grabbed 10 boards, while Mason chipped in 14 and 10 rebounds. Gilmore and Bishop also recorded double figure scoring days, notching 13 and 12 points respectively.
The box score is even down the line, AIC shot 41.0 percent from the floor, while Le Moyne was 38.5 percent on the day.
The Yellow Jackets return to action Monday, Dec. 14 at home against Post University in a non-conference contest with the Eagles. Tip-off from Butova Gymnasium is slated for 5:30 p.m.
