SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts- The American International College basketball team opened up the AIC Holiday Classic on Saturday, December 17 against the Purple Knights of the University of Bridgeport. The Yellow Jackets had a 41-25 lead at the half, but the Purple Knights' defense shut down the Yellow Jackets, as they took the game by a score of 74-63.

Sophomore Dana Watts had 25 points and 11 rebounds as she went 10-for-15 from the field. Fifteen of her points came in the second half. Imani Stepney, Alyssa Guyon, and Tanisha Moyer each chipped in seven points. Stepney added seven rebounds as well.

Watts scored two of her 10 first-half points to open the game. The Purple Knights turned the ball over and Guyon knocked down a shot from outside to give the Yellow Jackets the 5-0 lead. After a Purple Knight miss, Moyer laid one in to extend the lead to 7-0. With 5:34 left in the first quarter, Watts hit a mid-range jumper to make it 13-7 and that started another Yellow Jacket run. Watts found the bottom of the net on their next possession to build the lead. Back-to-back jumpers by Stepney put the Yellow Jackets up 19-7 and forced a Bridgeport timeout. A pair of free throws by Samnell Vonleh cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to just eight at the end of the first quarter.

There was 3:12 left in the first half when Stepney knocked down a shot from 15 feet and gave the Yellow Jackets the 11-point lead. Off a missed Purple Knights three, Jayda Gilmore got the rebound and laid it in on the break. Then, the Yellow Jackets forced a bad shot and Nadia Wooten knocked down the two-point shot and forced another Purple Knight timeout. As the clock went off and the teams headed to the locker room, the Yellow Jackets led by 16, 41-25.

The last 3:38 of the third quarter was controlled by the Purple Knights. The 16-point Yellow Jacket advantage started to fall with a jumper by Camera Miley. The next basket came at the two-minute mark when Aaliyah Mercer nailed the fast break layup and made it a 13 point game. A three pointer with five seconds on the clock in the third quarter by the Purple Knights cut the Yellow Jackets' lead down to just six points.

Bridgeport tied the game at 51 at the 7:21 mark on a layup by Mercer. After a Purple Knight jumper, Watts broke the Yellow Jackets' 7:23 scoreless drought with an old fashioned three-point play. The Purple Knights controlled the last seven minutes of the game. They went on the win by a score of 74-63.

The Yellow Jackets wrap up the AIC Holiday Classic tomorrow, Sunday, December 18 at 1:30 p.m. against the Chargers of Dominican College.