SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts- The American International College women's basketball team took to the court for a final time in 2016 as they played their second game in the AIC Holiday Classic. The Yellow Jackets hosted the Chargers of Dominican College that fell in favor of the Yellow Jackets 45-42.

Dana Watts had 16 points, 14 boards, four steals, and two blocks in 35 minutes on the court. Imani Stepeny one-upped her in points with 17 while also grabbing six rebounds. The Yellow Jackets had three other players score in the game, with Jayda Gilmore netting six, and Alyssa Guyon and Rashana Siders adding three each.

Just as they did last night, the Yellow Jackets jumped on the board first with a layup by Stepney. With a four all game, Watts started a Yellow Jacket run with a layup. Fourty-five seconds later, Stepney hit a mid-range jumper and gave the Yellow Jackets the 8-4 lead. Watts grew the AIC lead with a six foot jumper. In the last 47 seconds, the Chargers went on a small 3-0 run. After 10 minutes of play, the Yellow Jackets had the lead, 15-13.

Thirty seconds into the second, the Chargers tied the game on a Yellow Jacket turnover as Kyla Ramseur laid in the fast break bucket. The Chargers earned their first lead of the game with 6:20 left in the half on a three pointer by Shannon McGill, going up 20-19. On the next Yellow Jacket possession, Gilmore knocked down a two and the Yellow Jackets regained the lead. Charger Rebecca Rabeiro scored the last bucket of the half at the 2:17 mark and cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to two, 27-25.

In the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets grew their lead to six before the Chargers knocked it back down to four points at the 4:33 mark. The next time either team scored was with ten seconds left in the quarter when Ramseur knocked down a free throw. The only other score in the final four-and-a-half minutes was by the Chargers with five seconds left. After three quarters, the Chargers trailed by one.

All the Chargers had to do was score two more points than the Yellow Jackets for their second win of the season. The fourth quarter saw 16 points between the teams. The game winning basket for the Yellow Jackets came at the 5:26 mark when Stepney swished a jumper and gave the Yellow Jackets the 43-40 advantage. Watts added a layup for security as AIC took the game by a score of 45-42.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Wednesday, January 4 at 5:30 when they host the Greyhounds of Assumption.