Springfield, Mass. (January 30) -- American International used a 20-0 first half run to race to a nine-point halftime lead, en route to a 67-48 victory over Saint Anselm on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Henry Butova Gym. The win is the ninth straight in the series for the Yellow Jackets.

The Hawks jumped out to an early 9-2 lead and pushed it to 14-6 with 11:18 left in the first half after a layup from Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.). Over the next 6:51 though, it was all AIC as the Yellow Jackets embarked on a decisive 20-0 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Kristin Boesenberg. The Hawks ended that run with a three from sophomore Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) to make it a 26-17 game with 4:12 left in the period. After the Hawks cut the lead down to five with 1:33 on the clock, the Yellow Jackets took a 32-23 lead into the halftime break. 

In the second half, the Yellow Jackets led by double digits for nearly the entire period and pushed the advantage to as many as 26 before coming away with the victory.

Smith had 15 points for the Hawks, while Howard was the other player in double figures for Saint Anselm with a 10-point effort. Boesenberg led three Yellow Jackets in double figures with 24 points, including seven three-pointers.

With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 8-12 overall and 5-10 in Northeast-10 play, while American International improves to 7-13 overall and also 5-10 in league action. The Hawks are back in action on Wednesday night, hosting Southern New Hampshire for a 5:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym.