Women's Basketball Takes Down No. 12 Stonehill 49-46
Easton, Mass. - The American International College women's basketball team improved to 9-6 on the season and 6-5 in the Northeast-10 after registering a 49-46 victory at No. 12 Stonehill College Wednesday evening. The Skyhawks dropped to 13-3 on the season and 9-2 in conference play and had their winning streak snapped at four games. Senior forward Alexi Castro (Chula Vista, Calif.) registered a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Junior forward Stacy Boisvert (Agawam, Mass.) also tallied 17 points each for AIC and grabbed four rebounds. Junior forward/center Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) led Stonehill with nine points and eight boards.
Despite a three for 27 (11.1%) shooting performance from the floor, the Skyhawks led 18-16 at halftime thanks to a 12 for 15 performance at the free throw line. AIC also struggled from the field in the first half, making just six of its 26 attempts from the floor.
The Yellow Jackets held a 12-7 lead at the 12:06 mark of the first period and it would remain that way for the next seven minutes until senior guard Erika Stupinski (Topsham, Maine) hit a pair of free throws with 5:08 remaining in the first half. Boisvert answered with a layup on the following possession before Stonehill went on a 10-2 to close the half.
AIC opened the second half with a 6-0 burst on a pair of Boisvert layups and a layup from Castro to take the lead for good at 22-18. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as nine points in the second half at 35-26 with 9:22 to go before an 8-1 Skyhawk run cut the lead to two at 36-34.
AIC shot 55.6 percent (10-18) from the field in the second half and was 13 of 20 at the free throw line, while Stonehill shot just 27.3 percent (6-22) from the field and was 12 of 16 at the line.
The Yellow Jackets return to action Saturday when they host
Saint Anselm at 1:30 p.m. in a Northeast-10 contest.