Women's basketball overcomes early deficit to beat Saint Anselm
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – Down five heading into the fourth quarter, the American International College women's basketball team dominated the final 10 minutes to defeat Saint Anselm College 58-46 in Northeast-10 Conference play on Thursday, December 8.
AIC now sits at 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the NE10, having won four straight.
Kayla Robinson hit the game's first bucket, and Taylor Tomlinson followed with a jumper to put AIC back ahead after a Macy Spinks three early, but the Hawks ended the first quarter on an 8-0 run with a pair of free throws and a pair of triples, the latter both by Alexa Quirolo, to take a 15-8 lead into the first break.
The run extended briefly into the second, but Robinson knocked down a deep shot, and Tomlinson followed with two baskets of her own to shrink the lead. The teams traded baskets, with Cierra Highland and Rosa Vreugd both hitting threes for AIC on back-to-back possessions to put AIC up 24-23 midway through the quarter, and Martinez followed with another. AIC ultimately led 29-27 at halftime.
Though Tia-Marie Martinez put away a three in the first minute of the third, that quarter belonged to the Hawks, who went on an eight-point run to retake the advantage. AIC was able to get close after a Tomlinson field goal, but the Hawks netted the final four points of the period to go into the last stanza up 43-38.
Tomlinson and Robinson quickly erased AIC's deficit, as the duo combined for a 6-1 run in the first three minutes of the fourth, with only a Liv Robles free throw appearing on the scoreboard for the Hawks. The duo then added six more, with two baskets by Tomlinson near the midpoint of the period forcing a Hawks timeout as AIC led 50-44.
Though Turco drew and made two free throws shortly after, the Hawks did not score again the rest of the night. Martinez sank a pair of shots to put the game out of reach,and the only remaining scoring was on four AIC free throws as the Yellow Jackets shut down Saint Anselm to earn the win.
Tomlinson was AIC's scoring leader with 21; she has averaged 22.0 points per game during AIC's four-game win streak, while shooting 39-of-64 from the field, a 60.9 percent clip. Robinson added 14 and Martinez 10. Julia Carbonell Munoz led AIC with 13 rebounds as well as five assists and four steals.
The win was especially significant for assistant coach Jen Peel, who is a graduate of Saint Anselm College; it was her first game coaching against her alma mater.
AIC breaks from conference play to take on Queens College on Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m.