SPRINGFIELD, Mass. The American International College women's basketball team downed Le Moyne College Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 action at the Butova Gymnasium, 71-58.
With the win, AIC improves to 19-4 overall and 12-4 in NE-10 play, while with the loss the Dolphins fall to 11-11 and 8-8 in league games. The 19 wins by AIC breaks last seasons total, as the Jackets went 18-14 in 2014-15.
Trailing slightly after the first frame, 20-17, the Yellow Jackets used a 23-13 second stanza to pull ahead of Le Moyne. AIC freshman Dana Watts (Rochester, N.Y.) came off the bench and scored eight of the squads 23 points, leading to a 12-point half for the reserve center.
Out of the intermission, the two teams struggled to get into an offensive rhythm as AIC took the quarter by a slim 9-8 advantage. Watts led the Jackets with two layups and four points, both in the final three minutes of play.
The Yellow Jackets broke into a double digit lead early in the fourth. Senior Sydney Tepley (Racine, Wis.) found freshman Jayda Gilmore (Elkridge, Md.) who knocked down a long range jumper to go up, 52-42. At the 7:52 mark, following two offensive rebounds, both by Tepley, Gilmore drove the lane and pulled up, knocking down the jumper to give her team a 12-point lead.
On the ensuing Dolphin possession, Vandell Andrade hit a three followed by a Maggie Brown traditional three-point play and Le Moyne pulled it back within six, 54-48, with 6:41 to go in regulation.
AIC senior Ebony Easter (San Antonio, Texas) knocked down a trey, while Watts hit a pair of jumpers to push the lead back to 12. Junior Imani Stepney (Willingboro, N.J.) hit two free throws at 1:22 to give AIC its largest lead of the game, 69-55. The Yellow Jackets defense kept Le Moyne off the scoreboard the final 1:03 of play to win their 19th game.
Watts netted a team-high 20 points off 7-10 shooting and went 6-6 from the line. Stepney (12) and Bishop (11) were the other players in double figures for AIC. Senior Kamika Mason (Long Beach, Calif.) grabbed 10 boards in the winning effort.
Andrade scored a game-high 26 points in the losing effort. AIC held the Dolphins to 35.2 percent shooting from the field. Both squads hit their freebies on the day, Le Moyne converting 14-17, while the Jackets hit 17-21 from the charity stripe.
AIC returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 10 when Southern Connecticut State University visits the Butova for a Northeast-10 clash. Tip-off with the Owls is slated for 5:30 p.m.
