SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The No. 24 American International College women's basketball; team fell short 64-55 to Mercyhurst University in the second meeting of the weekend between the teams on Sunday, January 31.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: Mercyhurst 64, No. 24 AIC 55.
Records: AIC suffers its first loss and drops to 3-1 on the season while Mercyhurst improves to 7-2.
Location: Henry Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Massachusetts



STATS LEADERS:
Mercyhurst:
Meghan Komendarek: 18 points, eight rebounds
Julian Buchman: 12 points, three rebounds, two assists
Paige Woodford: Nine points, three assists
Grace Centrulla: Nine points, three blocks, three rebounds

AIC:
Kyla Smith: 21 points, three rebounds
Destine Perry: 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals
Nora Young: Six points, four rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The teams traded first-quarter runs as rookie Nora Young hit the game's first shot, followed by two field goals from the Lakers, before junior Kyla Smith sank a three to put the hosts back up. Senior Destine Perry drained two free throws and then Smith hit a jumper to build the lead to five; the Lakers countered with a pair of points at the line, but Smith set up senior Sara Guntin Barriero for an open three to give AIC a 12-6 edge at 4:31.
• The Lakers battled back with four straight points from Meghan Komendarek to get within two, but senior Asia Turner hit a layup and the free throw that followed with 1:10 left in the frame. However, Mercyhurst's Emily Shopene sank a layup on the next possession, followed by a free throw in the final moments of the period, to cut AIC's edge to 15-13 after one.
• The Lakers tied the game on the first possession of the second quarter on a layup, and then took back the lead on a jumper by Jayde Boyd a minute later. The teams traded points from there, with Smith hitting a trio of jumpers in the process to keep AIC within one, 22-21, midway through the period.
• Smith and Perry hit back-to-back shots to briefly give AIC the lead back, but Buchman's layup for the Lakers with 2:00 left in the half put the Lakers ahead once more, and Buchman hit the final shot of the frame after Perry tied the game on a free throw to send the Lakers to the locker room ahead 28-26.
• The third quarter started slowly, with Young making the first basket of the frame 2:32 in to tie the game, and the Lakers only scoring on free throws in the first four minutes before a Grace Centrulla jumper brought Mercyhurst up by a 32-28 count at 4:04. However, that started a run for the Lakers, who saw Paige Woodford drain a three and then Centrulla hit another bucket to build a nine-point edge.
• AIC countered, starting with four in a row from Perry, and even after a three by Centrulla stopped the run briefly, the captain kept going, notching another quartet of free throws before Smith hit a running layup ahead of the buzzer to put her team within one, 40-39, going into the last frame.
• The Lakers adjusted in the fourth and Komendarek scored the first four points of the quarter before Smith drained another three to keep AIC in it; Boyd countered with a field goal and then Buchman sank a triple to extend the visiting squad's edge to six at 3:25 of the frame.
• The teams battled, with Smith landing another three with 2:53 to go to get AIC within a 53-50 margin, but that was as close as the team would get, as Buchman drained a three of her own on the next Lakers possession and Komendarek and Woodford made plays to build the Lakers to a 60-50 edge, ultimately leading to the 64-55 result.

COACH'S CORNER:


NEXT UP:

• AIC has not announced its next contest; when that information becomes available it will be posted on aicyellowjackets.com.