Women’s Notebook
By Stephen Zerdelian
American International College’s women’s basketball fortunes have been tied to head coach Kristen Hutchison since her arrival on the Springfield, Massachusetts campus in the fall of 1998. She led the Yellow Jackets to their first NCAA Elite Eight as a senior in 2002 and was an assistant coach when they went to the national title game in 2006. Hutchison took over as head coach for the 2007-’08 season and has been guiding the ship ever since.
Now in her sixteenth season as the AIC mentor, Hutchison boasts a 241-196 record and has her team enjoying their best non-pandemic season in years. The Jackets sit in 5th place in the Northeast-10 at 8-4, right on the teams in front of them (Southern New Hampshire, Bentley and Le Moyne) and holding an 12-8 overall mark. The mixture of young and old on the roster has proven to be a positive one as the Jackets pursue a winning campaign with Hutchison giving credit to the veterans.
“We have (experienced returners) and a graduate student in our starting lineup,” said Hutchison. “They all have a ton of experience and know what it takes to be a student athlete in the NE10 and have helped our younger players gain confidence. Our team has really bought into their roles and want to perform them at the highest level.”
The key new arrival for the Yellow Jackets has been Taylor Tomlinson, an all-league player at Dominican University in the CACC, now using her graduate year to paly at AIC. Tomlinson, a powerful and skilled 5-9 forward, leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and blocked shots (22), and is second on the club off the glass (6.4 ppg). The addition of the current NE10 Player of the Week (her second straight garnering the accolade) has helped others fit into more appropriate roles and the team has flourished.
“Taylor has been a great addition to our team,” admitted Hutchison. “I knew when she came to campus that she was going to be an impact player for us, but I didn’t know it was going to be at this level. She fits into our system so well. She can get to the basket and has a great shot from (mid-range).”
Senior guard Kayla Robinson (5-4) is second on the Jackets in scoring (14.9 ppg), second in three-pointers (22) and tied for first in steals (41) and adds almost two assists a night. Her improvement has been stark and central to AIC’s overall improvement.
“Kayla has had a big jump from last season and is being a great leader for us,” added Hutchison.
Among the other regular starters are Tia-Maria Martinez (5-4 sophomore - 10 ppg, 31 three-pointers), Julia Carbonell Munoz (5-9 junior) and Rosa Vreugd (5-10 senior). AJ Washington (5-4 senior), Nora Young (6-0 junior), Cierra Highland (5-7 junior) and freshmen Jasmine Love (5-9) and Ahliya Phillips (5-7) are all part of the AIC rotation that had a choppy start to the season but has since found their identity.
We started out very slow,” noted Hutchison. “Against Vermont (third game of the season, when they were 0-3) we started figuring out what type of team we are and what type of team we can be. At this point of the season (now) we feel we let a few games get away from us and we should have a better record but at the same time we were picked eleventh in our conference, so I guess we are doing better than what others expected from us.”
AIC figured it out quickly, winning six of their next seven games with only a loss to league leader Assumption marring the run. They then split a pair of games in Puerto Rico, falling to P.R.-Bayamon in the second contest, which ignited a four-game slide (which included three losses by single figures). Since then, however, the Yellow Jackets have won six in a row (the latest a 57-55 squeaker over Queens last night), four in NE10 play, to ascend the ladder.
Despite the recent upturn in fortunes, Hutchison feels that her team has plenty to improve upon.
“We need to improve our rebounding (a major weakness, as they get out-boarded by almost nine per game) and if we make shots we will be in every game,” she admitted. “We just need to continue to improve every day, keep working hard and continue to keep playing our best basketball going into February.”
As usual, the NE10 is a thicket to navigate but the coach likes that everyone gets into the playoff picture, although she would like to see more diversity when it comes to non-league scheduling.
“I like that the NE10 is now seeding 1-13 and that everyone makes the tournament, that is a great experience for all the players to have,” she offered. “It is very difficult for the NE10 to get games verses other teams in our region, and I think it is just going to continue to get worse.”
For AIC, being in the conversation among the top teams in the conference is something they haven’t accomplished in a while. Aside of the pandemic season (when AIC went 7-2 and reached the truncated NCAA regional), the Jackets have had only one winning campaign since 2016-’17, and they have not been an NCAA tournament participant since their 26-6 season in 2015-’16. Given the unpredictable nature of this season, AIC being part of the regional picture is hardly a stretch. With Hutchison’s experience helping guide them, the Jackets might just keep on surprising everyone except themselves.
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Weekly Notables…
As usual, the Northeast10 Conference is eating itself alive. The balance in the league is as good as ever, with teams in the middle picking up critical wins to help their status and tighten the standings… Assumption stayed atop the loop thanks to a 66-48 win over the College of Saint Rose over the weekend. The Greyhounds led all the way and used an eight-minute spell spanning the third and fourth quarters in which they held the Golden Knights scoreless to get the job done. Molly Stokes (17 points; 5-9 3FG) led the AU scoring… Southern New Hampshire was a victim of the team in need of a win, as Southern Connecticut beat them last night, 62-58. Delaney Haines’ 17 points (5-6 3FG) topped the Owls scoring as they snapped a three-game slide. Adriana Timberlake (24 points) and Jess Knight (11 points, 16 boards) led a furious Penmen rally, but they still fell short… SNHU is tied with Bentley for second place in the loop after the Falcons dropped their second game on the spin, a 53-38 setback at Le Moyne on Saturday. Lytoya Baker (11 points and a career-best 18 boards) was the main Dolphin protagonist as they held Bentley to just two third period points (1-13 FG). LC then crept within a game of the second-place teams with a 53-43 win at Pace last night, piloted by Kaia Goode (17 points) … AIC keeps on trucking, now on a six-game win streak thanks to successes over Franklin Pierce (68-61) and Queens (57-55) this week. Taylor Tomlinson (26 points) sparked the Yellow Jackets in the victory over FPU, out-dueling Raven Ines Gimenez Monserrat (23 points) … New Haven has won four in a row to go from afterthought to contender. Camryn DeBose netted 21 points while Aurora Deshaies (17 points, 13 caroms) and Leighanna Lister (10 points, 11 boards) added double-doubles to ignite a 57-50 won over Pace and they followed it up with a 67-58 decision at Adelphi last night, led by Deshaies (19 points) and Lister (15 points, 11 rebounds) … Gabby Turco enjoyed a big game as Saint Anselm picked up a 63-61 win over Southern Connecticut on Saturday. Turco (20 points) scored half of the Hawks points in a game-clinching 12-0 fourth period surge, negating excellent games from Owls Zoe Amalbert (23 points) and Isabella Santoro (21 points, 9-11 FG) … Adelphi put three players in double digits as they nipped St. Michael’s, 65-56. Ty’Zhea Hawkins (19 points), Jenna Jordan (15 points, 12 boards) and Madison Graham (12 points) did the bulk of the work for the Panthers, balancing off a fine outing by SMC’s Paige Slaven (18 points, 11 rebounds).
Five teams are within a game of the top in a clumped ECC race following the weekend action. Mercy is tied with St. Thomas Aquinas for first place after they slipped by Queens, 50-48. Katie Wall (15 points) led the Mavericks while Aalia Carlson (21 points, 5-10 3FG) was the main gun for the Knights. Hard-luck Queens has lost six games this season by single digits… STAC powered past Molloy, 59-43, with Kaitlyn Watrobski (11 points) the only player in the game to reach double figures… UDC, Damen and D’Youville share third place in the standings, with the Firebirds beating the Wildcats over the weekend, 68-47. Latavia Jackson (23 points, 8 boards, 5 assists) authored a terrific stat line to lead UDC to the victory… Jenalyse Alarcon (25 points, 11 boards, 10-10 FT) was immense in the College of Staten Island’s 59-56 win at Roberts Wesleyan, who received 15 points and 12 rebounds from Georgia Haverlock. Alarcon scored CSI’s first 11 fourth period points and closed the door on the Redhawks by sinking two foul shots with 2.2 seconds left.
Hats off the Bloomfield for picking up their first CACC win of the season, a 71-49 rout over Georgian Court. Denia Derby (23 points, 7 boards; 10-13 FG) was excellent for the Bears, who out-scored the Lions, 45-23, during the middle two frames… Jefferson stayed unbeaten in league play with a 72-32 romp over Alliance. Haley Meinel, Emma Kuczynski and Sam Yencha all tallied 18 points to top the Rams scoring and they held Alliance to just 20% from the field… Holy Family stayed within a game of Jefferson in the CACC South with a 64-50 win at Bridgeport. Lindsay Tretter (14 points) led a balanced Tiger attack, negating a big outing from Purple Knight Stephanie McBride (20 points, 15 boards). HFU made eight of the nine three-pointers in the contest… Post held off a Goldey-Beacom rally to collect a 75-73 win and remain on Dominican’s heels in the CACC North. Sha’Raya Haines popped in 30 points (15-18 FT) and had seven boards to lead the Eagles while Alexis Harrison (23 points, 7 boards) sparked the Lightning. Post led 52-41 after three frames and held off GBC in a wild fourth period (GBC won it, 32-25) … Chestnut Hill solidified their spot in third place in the CACC South with a 72-62 victory at Felician as Emily Sekerak scored a career-high 22 points (8-12 FG). A 14-0 fourth stanza run in which Sekerak scored ten points was enough to give the Griffins separation… Caldwell rode the duo of Casey O’Shaughnessy (15 points) and Lucy Coogan (14 points) to a 73-35 triumph over Wilmington to move into third place in the CACC North. The Cougars won the shooting battle (48%-25%) and held the Wildcats to 3-28 from the floor in the middle two frames (Caldwell outscored WU 32-8) to prevail.
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