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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Alexis Castro struck for a game-high 38 points on Saturday afternoon to lead American International to a 67-57 victory over the No. 8 nationally ranked Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Butova Gymnasium. Senior forward Kate Lynch (Rumford, R.I.) led SCSU with 20 points in defeat. Sophomore forward Jacqueline Johannes (Southbury, Conn.) finished one shy of her career high with 14 points for SCSU. With the loss, SCSU falls to 6-2 (4-2 NE-10), while AIC improvise to 5-2 (4-2 NE-10).

The first half featured mostly back-and-forth action, with the lead changing hands four times and neither team leading by more than five points. SCSU controlled the play early on in the first half, scoring seven of the contest's first nine points over the first seven minutes. Lynch scored five points in the opening run on a pair of field goals and a free throw. AIC answered with a 13-6 run of their own over the next eight minutes to take a 15-13 lead on a pair of Stacy Boisvert free throws with 4:51 to play in the first half. The Yellow Jackets' run was keyed by six points on three field goals from Alexis Castro. SCSU ended the half on a 12-7 run over the final 4:28, including 10 points from Johannes, to take a 25-22 lead into the halftime break.

For SCSU, Johannes led the way with 10 first-half points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor and 4-for-6 from the free throw line. Lynch scored eight points of her own in the first half on 3-for-7 shooting and a pair of free throws. Lynch and senior forward Rochelle Johnson (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Owls with four rebounds each.

For AIC, Castro posted a double-double in the opening 20 minutes. She led all scorers with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting and 4-for-4 from the foul line. She also led all players with 10 rebounds in the opening stanza. Boisvert added eight points of her own, including 4-for-6 from the foul line, for the Yellow Jackets.
AIC opened the second half on a 6-2 run, including four points each from Castro and Alissa Rubino to take a 30-27 lead at 16:42, prompting an SCSU timeout. AIC would lead by 5-7 points for much of the second half. Castro would score 14 of the Yellow Jackets' final 20 points as AIC went on to win, 67-57.

SCSU was led by Lynch, who scored 20 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the floor and 9-for-11 from the foul line. Johannes notched 14 points of 4-for-7 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Lynch led SCSU with eight rebounds.

For AIC, Castro scored 38 of the team's 67 points on 14-for-20 from the field and 10-for-11 from the foul line. Boisvert chipped in 15 points, including 7-for-10 from the foul line. Castro led the Yellow Jackets with 13 rebounds.

SCSU shot 15-for-49 (30.6%) from the floor, 4-for-16 (25.0%) from three-point range and 23-for-33 (69.7%) from the free-throw line on the evening.

AIC shot 23-for-49 (46.9%) from the field, 0-for-5 from behind the arc and 21-for-26 (80.8%) from the charity stripe.

The Owls return to action on Friday, Dec. 14 when they return home to host Merrimack in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Moore Fieldhouse in New Haven, Conn