NORTH ANDOVER, Massachusetts- The American International College women's basketball team paid a visit to North Andover on Tuesday, January 24 for a midweek showdown with the Warriors of Merrimack. The Yellow Jackets rallied after trailing after three to take the 58-55 victory.

Dana Watts led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points and nine boards. Eleven of her 22 points came in the fourth quarter. Tanisha Moyer was the only other Yellow Jacket in double digits with 11. Imani Stepney had nine points and seven boards, while Rashana Siders added eight.

Stepney got the scoreboard changing a minute and 20 seconds into the game on a 15-foot jumper. The Warriors evened things up at the seven-minute mark, but Watts scored her first points 10 seconds later to take back the lead. Rashana Siders and Stepney added to the Yellow Jacket lead as they built it up to seven, 9-2.

A five-point swing in 18 seconds made it a one-possession, two-point game. Siders stopped that run with a three from the right corner, making the score 12-7. After one quarter, the Yellow Jackets led 18-10.

The Warriors took the first points of the second, then went on a 3:28-long drought as AIC added five points and had the 24-12 lead with seven minutes on the clock. The Warriors rallied back with a 5-0 run to make a five point, 26-21 game with a little over two minutes left in the half. An offensive rebound and put-back helped the Warriors make it a 26-23 game at the half.

Dana Watts got the second half going with a layup, but for the next four minutes, it was all Warriors. Down 28-23, they went on a 6-0 run and took their first lead of the game, 29-28. Despite being held to just one field goal in the third, the Yellow Jackets kept up with the Warriors. Heading into the last 10 minutes of play, AIC trailed 39-35.

The Yellow Jackets finally broke the field goal-less streak with 9:43 on the clock in the fourth. The streak lasted 9:58 and was broken on a Tanisha Moyer layup. Down eight, Watts started the AIC comeback on a layup with six minutes left in the game. The 6-0 run brought it to a two-point game, 46-44. With 2:56 on the clock, Watts' layup gave the Yellow Jackets the 50-49 lead.

With 46.3 seconds left, the Warriors turned the ball over as they trailed 55-53. The Yellow Jackets got the ball and ran 14 seconds off before the Warriors fouled. Moyer hit the first, but missed the second. The Warriors got the ball with 32.9 seconds on the clock and down three. They hit a layup with 17.5 left to make it a one-point game. AIC called a timeout and advanced the ball to half court. Merrimack fouled Stepney, who stepped up to the line and knocked down both shots. The Warriors' best three-point shooter, Hannah Neild, got a deep three off and the ball rolled in with one second left, but it was called off by the officials as she traveled.

The Yellow Jackets will return to action on Saturday, January 28 when they host St. Michael's. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.