WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Ariel Wilson (Chesapeake, Va.) scored a team-high 19 points, including 17 in the second half, but the seventh-seeded Bloomfield College women's basketball team was toppled by American International College, 61-59, in an NCAA East Region quarterfinal at Bentley University's Dana Athletic Center.  The Bears did not trail for 39-minutes and 58.3 seconds of the game but senior Briana Bishop scored on the Yellow Jackets final possession and crushed Bloomfield's hopes of advancing to the semifinal round for the first time ever.
 
The Bears, appearing in their 2nd NCAA Tournament, end the season at 24-8 overall, while the Yellow Jackets, playing in their eleventh NCAA Tourney, improve to 26-5 and advance to Saturday's (5 p.m.) semifinal against sixth-seeded NYIT. The heart breaking loss marked the second in an NCAA Tournament game for Bloomfield since a 65-80 loss to Bentley University in 2014.
 
Wilson put forth a gutsy effort as she went 7-for-12 from the field including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and 2-for-3 at the line. Junior guard Tianna Smith (Spring Valley, N.Y) finished with 13 while tallying four steals. Classmate Gabriella Bennett (Willingboro, N.J.) played a big role of the bench and finished with 10 points (3-5 FG, 4-4 FT) and four rebounds, while freshman Deja McKenzie (Baltimore, M.D.) had 8 points (4-7 FG,) to go along with two assists and a rebound. Junior Morgan Taylor (Paterson, N.J.) had a solid day at the office in her point guard role, dishing six assists and snagging eight boards on the defensive glass.
 
Kamika Mason registered 18 points (8-16 FG, 2-4 FT), 11 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal to lead AIC. Bishop, the Yellow Jacket's leading scorer, netted 13 total points (5-15 FG, 3-8 3FG) including the game-winner.
 
Bloomfield opened the game with back to back steals but failed to convert any points until Taylor found Smith on a fast break layup and the Bears where on the board first 2-0. A foul by McKenzie led to the Yellow Jackets' first point from the line after Smith had buried a three-pointer. A block and subsequent fast break layup by Ariel Wilson capped a Bloomfield 7-1 run.
 
A McKenzie basket two minutes later forced an AIC timeout with the Bears in front 12-5 with 3:47 to play in the opening quarter.  The freshman forward went to the bench and the Yellow Jackets quickly converted four straight points.  Gabriella Bennett scored her first two points of the game to halt the spurt as Bloomfield took a 14-9 lead into the second quarter. Bloomfield outshot AIC 42.9 percent (9-14) to 23.1 percent (3-13) in the opening frame.
 
The Bears, fired up on defense, scorched the #2 seed for a 7-0 run to begin the second quarter. Ebony Easter converted a bucket to stop the outburst and Dana Watts layup prompted a time out from Head Coach Dave Caputo. Out of the break, Bennett netted her second basket down low as the sophomore saw extended playing time with McKenzie on the bench with three personal fouls. Bennett nailed a pair of free throws to put the #7 seed up 25-17 with two minutes left until halftime.  The Yellow Jackets scored four unanswered and settled for a four-point deficit (25-21) heading into the locker room.
Smith led all scorers at the break with 11 points on 4-for-11 from the field and four steals.  Chyna Golden (Neptune, N.J.) and Morgan Taylor (Paterson, N.J.) each recorded four rebounds with all of them coming by way of the defensive glass.
 
Wilson drained a shot from long distance to open up the third quarter scoring as the teams traded baskets to the tune of a 34-29 Bear advantage after five minutes of play. The Bloomfield guard tickled the net with another three-pointer at the 4:33 minute mark that put the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) at-large bid winner up eight (37-29) heading into a media timeout.
 
Bennett converted a pass from Golden that gave the Bears a ten-point advantage (39-29) and the center returned the favor that Golden turned into a conventional three-point play to preserve the margin with less than two minutes to go in the period.  The Yellow Jackets converted a pair of free throws to cut their deficit to 44-36 and the end of the third quarter.
 
Smith scored a fast break layup to begin the fourth quarter scoring, but AIC answered with eight straight to pull within two (46-44) with 7:30 on the clock.  Wilson converted a drive to the hoop to stop the Yellow Jacket surge and buried a shot from beyond the arc to put her team up 51-46 with 5:45 to go.  An Easter three-pointer drew the Yellow Jackets to within two (53-55) but the Bears refused to relinquish their lead as Wilson stole the ball and scored a transition layup at the other end. 
 
A turn around jumper in the middle of the lane from Tamika Mason prompted a Bloomfield timeout with a little over a minute left to play. Easter heaved up a runner in the lane that connected and finally drew AIC even at 59-59 with 35.0 seconds to go in regulation. Bloomfield's possession ended with an 8-foot jumper from McKenzie that rimmed out and the forward hustled to tie up the loose ball but the possession arrow favored AIC with 7.6 on the clock leading to Bishop's buzzer beating finished.
 
AIC outshot Bloomfield, 46.9 percent (23-49) to 42.9 percent (21-49), including 40 percent (4-10) to 33.3 percent (5-15) from downtown. Both teams were close from the line, but the Bears went 12-for-16 (75%), while the AIC were 11-for-17 (64.7%). The Yellow Jackets held a slight edge in the paint, 26-24 and a 34-26 edge on the glass. Bloomfield forced 15 AIC mistakes and converted them to 15 points while the Yellow Jackets bench owned a 25-10 margin in point production.
 
This marked the final games for seniors Wilson, Golden and Iman Williams (Shreveport, La.). Wilson finished her career with 1,163 points and 278 steals. The Bears defensive specialist ranked in the top 50 players in the nation with 2.45 steals per game and 77 steals this season. Golden ended her Bloomfield career with 227 points and 311 rebounds after a single season with the Bears. Williams finished with 633 points and 455 rebounds as the Bears forward also blocked 14 shots over her career.

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