AIC Wins Double OT Thriller, Castro Breaks Single-Game Scoring Record
Smithfield, R.I. - Senior forward Alexis Castro
(Chula Vista, Calif.) broke her own school record with 41
points to lead the American International College women's
basketball team to a 76-74 double-overtime victory at Bryant
Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets improved to 13-9 on the
season and 9-8 in the Northeast-10, while the Bulldogs, who were
fifth in the latest NCAA Northeast Regional Rankings, dropped to
14-9 overall and 9-9 in conference play. She also grabbed a
season-high 17 rebounds to record her ninth double-double of the
year.
Castro dominated the game from the second half on, scoring 35 of the team's 52 points after the opening period. She had just six points in the first half on 3 of 13 shooting from the floor, but hit 10 of 14 field goal attempts and 13 of 15 free throws in the final 30 minutes. Castro set the previous mark of 38 points in a game when AIC defeated then eighth-ranked Southern Connecticut, 67-57, on Dec. 8, 2007.
Neither team led by more than three points in overtime, which was exactly the lead the Yellow Jackets had with seven seconds left in the first OT after a pair of made free throws from junior guard Jeannette Johnathan (Central Islip, N.Y.). Bryant had an answer, however, as senior guard Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, Mass.) banked in a desperation 3 to tie the game at 68-all as time expired.
The game, which was tied 15 times in the game and seven times in overtime, was knotted at 74 after sophomore guard Kristin Mraz (Johnstown, N.Y.) hit a jumper with 2:06 left in the game. The score remained that way until Castro's bucket 15 seconds left on the clock to put AIC ahead 76-74. She was fouled on the play and missed the free throw, but the Yellow Jackets didn't allow an easy shot on the defensive end and Johnathan blocked junior guard Cara Johnson's (Endicott, N.Y.) baseline jumper with one second left in the game to seal the win.
Junior forward Stacy Boisvert (Agawam, Mass.) and Johnathan also scored in double figures for AIC with respective scoring totals of 12 and 10 points. Freshman forward Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, N.Y.) registered career-highs of 23 points and15 boards for the Bulldogs before fouling out halfway into the second overtime and sophomore forward Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) added 18 points and 10 boards
AIC trailed 25-10 with 7:25 to go in the first half before closing the period on a 9-4 and trailed 29-24 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets opened the second frame with a 9-0 run to take a 33-29 lead 5:10 into the second half, but trailed by two, 54-52, after a layin from Bennett with 58 seconds left in regulation. Castro then stepped the free throw line with 23 seconds to go in the half and drained both to send the game to overtime.
The Yellow Jackets return to action Wednesday when they host
Bentley at 5:30 p.m. AIC will be participating the Women's
Basketball Coaches Association's Think Pink initiative for
breast cancer awareness. Each fan that wears a pink shirt to the
game will be given free admission