SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College women's basketball team came up just short of a comeback against Merrimack College on Tuesday, January 23.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 54, Merrimack 60
Location: Henry A. Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Massachusetts
Records: AIC falls to 8-13 and 2-11 in Northeast-10 Conference play; while Merrimack improves to 10-8 and 6-7 in NE10 action.
STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Dana Watts: 11 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks
Alyssa Guyon: 20 points, eight rebounds.
Rashana Siders: 12 points, 2-for-5 from three-point range
Merrimack:
Lindsay Werner: 29 points and 4-for-11 from three-point range
Denia Davis-Stewart: Eight points, 10 rebounds, five blocks
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior guard Alyssa Guyon got the scoring started for the game with a layup. AIC remained strong for the beginning of the first quarter, as the team led 9-4 with 3:15 to go.
- A jumper from Lindsay Werner and then a layup from Marissa Gattuso followed, and revived the Warriors' offense.
- Merrimack took its first lead of the game with a jumper from Karlee Alves with less than a minute remaining in the opening period. A Werner jumper with 13 seconds remaining closed the scoring for the quarter and completed a 9-0 run from the Warriors that put them up 13-9 heading into the second quarter.
- A pair of free throws from Guyon opened the scoring in the second period. Mayson Kimball followed with two free throws of her own, and then a Guyon three and jumper from junior guard Dominique Boyd made it 16-15 in favor of AIC a fifth of the way through the quarter.
- An and-one from junior forward Dana Watts extended the lead to 19-15 with five minutes remaining before the end of the half.
- Freshman guard Nyrie Holliman hit a three-pointer to put the Yellow Jackets up 24-18, but Merrimack outscored AIC 5-2 in the final three minutes to prevent the Yellow Jackets from pulling away early.
- The Warriors got off to a hot start in the second half as Werner hit a three to tie the game at 26.
- The lead went back-and-forth until there was just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Watts made a pair of free throws to cut the AIC deficit to two at 35-33, but then the Warriors closed out the quarter with a 17-0 run that forced AIC coach Kristen Hutchison to call three timeouts.
- Six free throws from two different players Denia Davis-Stewart and Mayson Kimball got the run started and from there the Warriors never looked back.
- Down 52-33 heading into the final quarter the Yellow Jackets responded with an incredible surge. A three-pointer from Guyon got things started, and sophomore guard Rashana Siders would then hit two more in the quarter including one with three minutes remaining that cut the lead to single digits at 56-48.
- The closest the Yellow Jackets got was within four with 42 seconds remaining, when Watts shoveled the ball to sophomore guard Nadia Wooten, who finished off the wide-open lay-up to make it 58-54.
- Two free throws from Werner would follow and put an end to the game at 60-54 Merrimack.
GAME NOTES:
- Watts' double-double was her 14th of the season.
- Guyon's 20 points was a season high.
NEXT UP:
- AIC will host Franklin Pierce University on Saturday, January 27, at Henry A. Butova Gymnasium at 1:30.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For more updates about the AIC women's basketball team, follow@AICWBBonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Women's BasketballonFacebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.
