AIC Pulls Away from Women's Basketball, 64-37
Links: Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The American International Yellow Jackets outscored the Merrimack College women's basketball team by 13 points in the second quarter to distance themselves from the Warriors and never looked back, defeating the Navy and Gold, 64-37, on Tuesday evening from Butova Gymnasium in Northeast-10 Conference action.
The Basics
Score: AIC 64, Merrimack 37
Records: Merrimack (8-12, 4-10 NE-10) | AIC (16-4, 9-4 NE-10)
Location: Butova Gymnasium | Springfield, Mass.
How It Happened
Senior point guard Tia Scott (Harlem, N.Y.) scored Merrimack's first six points of the game and the score was tied at six-all midway through the first quarter. From there the Yellow Jackets outscore the Warriors 8-4 to take a 14-10 lead into the second frame. Scott finished with six points and four rebounds over the first 10 minutes.
Scott scored the first points of the second, but the Yellow Jackets accounted the next seven of the quarter. Captain Ashley Weissmann (Highland, Calif.) ended the run with a straightaway triple to make it 21-15 at the 6:38 mark. The Yellow Jackets answered again, pouring in seven unanswered over the next three minutes to build a 28-15 lead. The hosts took a 32-15 advantage into halftime.
A free throw from Scott cut the deficit to 13 points, 36-23, with 5:11 on the clock in the third, but the Yellow Jackets responded with an 8-0 run to build their largest lead to that point at 21 points. Freshman Lexi Martin (Franklin, Mass.) converted on a baseline layup with only a few ticks to play in the third, sending the game to the final quarter with AIC up 48-28.
In the fourth quarter, AIC's lead never dipped below 18 points. The final score read 64-37 in favor for the hosts, as the Yellow Jackets snapped a four-game losing streak after winning their first 15 games of the year. Merrimack fell to 4-10 in league action with the loss.
Inside The Numbers
- Scott finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds, making five of her six field-goal attempts
- Junior forward Savannah Johnson (Palmdale, Calif.) posted double-digit rebounds for the second straight game, finishing the night with 10 caroms. Senior forward Amanda Hoover (Columbus, Ohio) led the team with four boards on the offensive glass
- Brianna Bishop, the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer with 13 points, became the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 career points with two free throws in the final quarter
- The Yellow Jackets limited the Warriors attack to just 25 percent shooting from the field, while the hosts won thanks in part to hitting 17-of-18 from the free-throw line
Up Next
The Warriors are set for a week-long layoff before Merrimack returns to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when they host Saint Michael's at 5:30 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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