SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - On a day dedicated to the Class of 2026, it was a junior and a sophomore that stole the show as the American International College women's basketball team guaranteed itself a home postseason game with a 72-59 win in Northeast 10 Conference play against Saint Anselm College on Saturday, February 21.

AIC is now 16-9 overall and 10-7 in the NE10.

The matchup was headlined by the two leading scorers in the NE10, Tatum Forbes of Saint Anselm and AIC's Chelsea Reeves, squaring off for the second time in less than a month; the Yellow Jackets rode a 22-9 first-quarter surge to a 67-52 win at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on January 24, and the Hawks were looking for payback and a critical NE10 win to bolster their playoff hopes.

AIC's duo of Tia-Marie Martinez and Peyton Grant connected, with Martinez sinking the opening three in a back-and-forth first quarter. The lead changed hands twice, coming back to AIC on a Reeves and-one followed by Reeves setting up Keyvanna Bennett for a jumper. Martinez then splashed another from deep, expanding AIC's edge to seven.

Just as quickly, the Hawks countered with six straight, cutting AIC's lead to one, and had a chance to take over, but missed a layup. Bennett grabbed the bard, and Reeves found Martinez open for a last-second three, putting AIC up 16-12 at the first stoppage.

Eden Monka scored the first bucket of the second, and the back-and-forth continued for much of the second as the lead ebbed and flowed between two and six points before a five-point AIC run pushed it to eight. Bennett and Monka were among the offensive leaders, and back-to-back layups by the junior, both assisted by Martinez, allowed AIC to build to a 38-26 advantage at the break.

The Hawks refused to fold, and cut back AIC's lead to seven to start the third, but Bennett set up Monka for a make from range, and on AIC's next possession, Monka added a pair at the line. The Hawks scored five in a row, only for Monka to counter again with six straight, and despite the continued efforts of Forbes, AIC led 53-44 at the final period break.

In the fourth, Bennett continued to grab boards and Monka continued to put the ball through the mesh at a phenomenal rate. AIC's lead stayed above nine, and expanded further thanks to Ruzgar Christina Boyle knocking down two from deep. The Hawks never were able to close the gap, and AIC locked up the win and a home postseason game in the process.

Monka netted a career-best 21 as part of a double-double with 11 rebounds; Bennett also hit the double-double, with 16 points and a career-best 18 boards. Boyle scored 18 and Martinez had an impressive night of 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. 

Prior to the game, AIC held its annual Senior Day Ceremony. The team's MVP award, the Esther Frary Hansen '38 Memorial Award, was given to Reeves and Martinez. The award honors Hansen, the first women's basketball coach and director of women's athletics at AIC, and the College's longtime registrar; it is annually presented by Hansen's son, Rich Hansen, himself a longtime College employee.

Hansen additionally presented head coach Kristen Hutchison with a plaque honoring her for passing legendary men's basketball coach Jim Powell for the fifth-most wins in AIC history among head coaches in any sport.

AIC closes out the regular season with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against Adelphi University on Tuesday, February 24.