SYRACUSE, New York – The American International College women's basketball team put up a 25-point fourth quarter to defeat Le Moyne College 71-59 in Northeast-10 Conference play on Tuesday, December 6.
AIC is now 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the NE10.
The Yellow Jackets rode a hot start by Kayla Robinson to an early lead. She went 5-of-6 from the floor, opening the scoring and then going on a personal seven-point run that included a triple down the stretch of the frame to head to the first break up 22-13.
The second was a back-and-forth affair. Le Moyne came out with the first five, but buckets by Taylor Tomlinson, Jasmine Love, and Julia Carbonell Munoz restored AIC's lead. Neither team scored in the final 3:26 of the period, and AIC took a 32-23 lead into the locker room.
Tomlinson hit the first shot of the second half, and Carbonell Munoz set up Tia-Marie Martinez for a deep shot that pushed the advantage to 37-25 for the Yellow Jackets. That proved to be critical, as the Dolphins seemed to answer every AIC basket with two of their own, and a late three that beat the buzzer shrank AIC's lead to just 46-45 heading to the final period.
The teams traded buckets and the lead in the first minute of the fourth, with Robinson finding Love for a layup after the Dolphins briefly pulled ahead, and Tomlinson swiped the ball to give Robinson a chance for another key triple. The Dolphins then answered a Cierra Highland and-one with a triple, keeping it close midway through the quarter.
Tomlinson took over down the stretch. She hit four straight baskets for AIC to help the Yellow Jackets pull away, and a lay-in by Martinez that Tomlinson set up with 65 seconds left pushed AIC ahead by 10, 67-57. The Yellow Jackets hit their free throws in the final minute to put the 71-59 win away.
The final line for Tomlinson featured 26 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, three assists, and three steals. Robinson broke 20 for the second game in a row, while Martinez added 10 points and seven boards. Love's final total included nine points and five boards.
The Yellow Jackets return home to face Saint Anselm College on Thursday, December 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Butova Gym. Tickets are still available through www.aictix.com.
