Women’s basketball loses at buzzer in home opener

The Owls fell just short on Nov. 19, dropping a 69-68 battle to American International College that saw multiple momentum shifts.  AIC hit a go ahead shot at the buzzer to win.

The university opened the night with energy, getting points from all over the floor to build an 11-4 lead in the first six minutes. But once AIC found its groove, the Yellow Jackets grabbed most of the 50-50 balls, something Head Coach Kate Lynch said you cannot afford in NE10 play. 

“They out-hustled us,” Lynch said. “We weren’t ready, we weren’t getting after loose balls or defending shooters. We just didn’t do it tonight. And that’s the result you get when you play that way against NE10 teams.”  

After trailing 28-25 through the first, the Owls fought back, outscoring the Yellow Jackets in each of the final three quarters. Every run felt like the Owls were going to break away. 

The Owls had a defensive stop here, a clean possession there, but each push stalled the same way: missed box-outs and loose balls slipping away,  

The frustration was clear in the player’s voices.

“We played down to their level,” forward Rheyna Steinauer, a senior, said. “We’re a much better basketball team. Credit to them for hitting their threes, but we could’ve picked up the intensity a lot more.”  

Steinauer, who looked like the most dominant interior presence on the floor, said her rebounding has to be a constant. 

“If I am not having a physical game, I am not having a game,” Steinauer said.

Guard Jillian Martin, a graduate, echoed her frustration, but said the team knows how they have to respond. 

“It was a hard-fought game. It was the first conference game of the season,” Martin said. “We know what we did wrong and we are going to go back into practice to fix it and make sure it never happens again.”  

Both Steinauer and Martin had a strong performance statistically, with Steinauer getting 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Martin had 12 points, four rebounds and six assists. Three of Martin’s assists came in the third quarter alone. 

Lynch praised the veterans for keeping the team competitive despite the offensive inconsistency around them. 

“Both Jillian and Rheyna had really good games,” Lynch said. “But we shot 5-for-27 from three and had many miscues offensively. In this league, every possession is extremely important.”  

Beyond the score, Lynch said the team must “learn from it,” serving as a reminder of how tough the NE10 can be.

The Owls will look to regroup quickly and use this moment as a source of accountability, not discouragement. It is still early in the season, and their goals will remain intact. 

“If we want to be elite, we’ve got to be elite every single day,” Lynch said.