Women's basketball rallies to beat No. 13 Assumption
WORCESTER, Massachusetts - Down three with under 70 seconds to play, the American International College women's basketball team scored seven straight points to upend No. 13 Assumption University 53-49 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Wednesday, February 1.
AIC improves to 14-8 on the year and 10-4 in the NE10, and has won eight consecutive games.
After a Molly Stokes triple put the home team up 49-46 with 2:44 to go, AIC was in a tough spot. However, the Yellow Jackets were able to hold the Greyhounds off the board, and three possessions later, Julia Carbonell Munoz passed inside to Nora Young, and the defenders bit, allowing Young to return the ball to the left wing for Carbonell Munoz to nail the wide-open three with 1:02 to play and tie the game.
On the next possession, AIC's defenses held, ultimately generating a turnover as Taylor Tomlinson scored a swipe. AIC called a timeout with 10 seconds left, and on the subsequent inbound, Carbonell Munoz pump-faked the throw, drawing a technical foul when Assumption defender Ashley Pacheco knocked the ball out of her hand.
Tia-Marie Martinez hit both free throws, and then when play resumed, Carbonell Munoz got the ball in to Nora Young, who was immediately fouled and sank the first of two at the line to put AIC up three. Assumption snagged the rebound of the missed second free throw, giving the hosts a chance to tie the game, but on that opportunity Kayla Robinson drew a jump ball, and with the arrow favoring AIC, possession. Assumption had to foul again, and Tomlinson hit the second free throw to ice the game.
An early 11-point run was part of a strong start for the Greyhounds, who led 16-4 just under seven minutes in after a Monica Spain three and a pair of Grace Leary free throws, but AIC rallied as Robinson stole the ball and scored to start an AIC run that saw Robinson knock down two threes and another late steal-and-score jumper; Cierra Highland also hit a basket in the middle of the run that tied the game 16-16 after one.
The second was back and forth; AIC built to a five-point lead midway through the quarter after Rosa Vreugd set up Carbonell Munoz for a layup and then scored a field goal of her own on the next possession. Assumption countered with a pair of threes among its nine points down the stretch, but Highland set up Tomlinson for a layup near the buzzer, sending the teams to the locker room all square at 28-28.
Assumption opened the third on a six-point run, but Martinez answered with a three to put AIC right back in the game just past the three-minute mark. Both teams made free throws over the next four minutes, but no field goals until Tomlinson stole the ball and sent Highland in with Carbonell Munoz, who ultimately finished strong to tie the game. With under 10 seconds left in the frame the score was still even, but Stokes had a shot blocked by Carbonell Munoz to Martinez, who found Ahliya Phillips streaking down the court for a buzzer-beating layup to give AIC the lead heading into the fourth, 40-38.
Assumption rallied, outscoring AIC 8-3 over the first 5:24 of the final frame, but Robinson knocked down what was at the time the biggest shot of the game, a three set up by Martinez on a give-and-go after Robinson snagged an offensive rebound. That tied the game at 46-46 with 4:06 to play, setting up the incredible ending.
Robinson's 17 points were a game best, as she was AIC's only player in double figures scoring. Tomlinson scored eight points and pulled in seven boards, four steals, and three blocks in the win, while Carbonell Munoz notched eight points and five rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets will try to keep the winning ways going at the University of New Haven on Wednesday, Feburary 4 at 1:30 p.m.