SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts- The American International College women's basketball team hosted the Skyhawks of Stonehill. The two teams battled until the very end, but it was the Skyhawks that took the game, 54-52.

Dana Watts led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points and 12 boards. Imani Stepney had 11 points and eight rebounds.

It took nearly two and a half minutes for a team to get on the board. The Yellow Jackets struck with a layup by Watts at the 7:32 mark. On the next AIC possession, the Yellow Jackets crashed the boards hard and got a second scoring opportunity that Watts took advantage of to make it 4-0. Down one with four seconds left on the clock, Gilmore stole the ball and put it up before time expired to give the Yellow Jackets the one point lead after the first quarter.

In the second, the Skyhawks tied the game just seconds in on a jumper. That started their 6-0 run over almost two minutes. AIC battled back and took the lead at the 5:30 mark on a Tanisha Moyer transition layup. At the half, AIC led 25-23.

Watts started the second half by getting to the line and knocking down a pair of free throws, to make it a 27-23 game. The Skyhawks earned their first lead of the half with 6:54 on the clock. The Skyhawks' defense held the Yellow Jackets to just nine points in the quarter, and held the 41-34 advantage headed into the last quarter of play.

With 5:23 remaining in the game, the Yellow Jackets retook the lead 44-43 on a Watts layup. The teams traded baskets and the lead but with just a minute and a half left, Nadia Wooten swished a free throw and tied the game. On the next AIC possession, Watts grabbed an offensive board. The shot clock was winding down as Destine Perry had to get the shot off. She drove to the free throw line and as she was falling down, through up the shot and hit nothing but net. Perry gave the Yellow Jackets the 52-50 lead. The Skyhawks answered with a layup up 15 second later to tie the game.

With 21 seconds left, the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over. The Yellow Jackets had two fouls to give before the Skyhawks would be in the bonus. AIC strategically fouled to try and run some time off the clock. With 1.2 seconds left, The Skyhawks' Samantha Hyslip drew the shooting foul and knocked down a pair. AIC called a timeout and advanced the ball up to mid-court. The Yellow Jackets got a three-pointer off, but it was not on targe as the Skyhawks took the win, 54-52.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Tuesday, January 24 at Merrimack for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.