NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Southern Connecticut women's basketball beat American International College, 58-46, in a Northeast 10 Conference game in New Haven, Conn. The win boosts the Owls up to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the NE10, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in NE10 play.
Zoe Amalbert (Nanuet, N.Y.), Delaney Connors (West Hartford, Conn.), and Isabella Santoro (Durham, Conn.) each recorded a double-double in the win. Amalbert led the Owls with 23 points, going 4-of-5 from the three-point line. She recorded 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and also notched four assists. This is Amalbert's fourth career double-double at Southern. Delaney Connors accumulated 10 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, and is recorded as second career double-double. Connors shot 5-of-6 from the free throw line to add to her two baskets from the field, including one three-pointer. Isabella Santoro scored 10 points and collected 12 rebounds, shooting 3-of-7 from the field and notching 4-of-8 free throws. Southern had the most rebounds in a game with 55 since Dec. 19, 2018 where the Owls beat Concordia, 98-46.
The game started out at a slow pace, with just four baskets made by both teams within the first six minutes to make the score 4-4. The Owls then jumped into the lead with three and a half minutes remaining in the quarter off a three-pointer by Zoe Amalbert, 9-6. The Owls then pulled away further off baskets from Katie Williamson (Dublin, Ireland) and Isabella Santoro to finish the quarter, 13-7.
The Owls created as much as an 11 point advantage over the Yellow Jackets during the second quarter. This lead would exist for the remainder of the game. Amalbert notched eight points during this period, while Delaney Connors scored five. Southern went 5-of-12 shooting from the field, with 3-of-6 scored from three-point range. At the halftime buzzer, Southern led 29-22.
Southern scored 10 points in the third period, while AIC fought back to tab on 12 points. The Owls' defensive efforts helped to squander Yellow Jacket's seven three-point attempts, and only allowed the Yellow Jackets to record five baskets and two free throws. Santoro notched four points in the quarter and also grabbed six rebounds with three on offense and three on defense. She converted one basket directly off her own offensive rebound. The Owls boosted their lead to a 13 point advantage with four minutes remaining in the quarter, but the Yellow Jackets edged their way back onto the scoreboard to conclude the period with a score of 39-34.
Southern had seven different scorers in the fourth period to combine for 20 points. Six points were scored in the first three minutes to boost the Owls scoreline to 45-34. With three and a half minutes remaining, the Owls had a 13 point advantage once again, 52-39, before battling back and forth with the visiting Yellow Jackets. 11 points in the quarter derived from free throws by Renza Milner (Carlsbad, Calif.), Delaney Connors, Blake Greer (Victoria, Minn.), Zoe Amalbert, and Isabella Santoro. With 22 seconds remaining, the Owls took a 14 point advantage for a scoreline of 58-44 before being scored on in the final 14 seconds off a jumper by AIC's Tia-Marie Martinez. The final scoreline read 58-46 in Southern's conference win over American International.
The Owls are back in action in 2023 when they travel to Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday, Jan. 4 for a Northeast 10 Conference matchup at 5:30 p.m. in Rindge, N.H.
