Women's Basketball Comeback Falls Short Against Massasoit

ARNOLD, Md. – The Anne Arundel Community College women's basketball team outscored visiting Massasoit, 16-7, in the fourth quarter, but the Riverhawks' comeback bid fell just short in a 61-53 loss to the Warriors at Jenkins Gym Friday evening.

Isabella Papaleonti recorded her second-straight double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds (13 defensive). Leila Townsend led AACC with 14 points, and Brandy Middleton added 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

The two teams traded buckets through most of the first quarter with the Riverhawks holding onto the lead until 2:26 left in the frame when Jordan Hue hit the Warrior's first three-pointer of the night for a 13-11 lead.

Massasoit added to its lead and closed out the first half on a 12-2 run to carry a 38-21 advantage into the locker room.

AACC didn't gain much ground in the third quarter, but limited the Warriors to seven points in the final frame. The Riverhawks got within nine at the midpoint of the fourth on a Papaleonti jumper, 56-47, then inched closer on a pair of Jada Turner free throws to make it 57-49 with just over three minutes remaining.

The Riverhawks kept up the pressure and took advantage of their time outs as the clock ticked away. With 20 seconds left, the Riverhawks advanced the ball where Townsend inbounded it to Syrena Boone for an easy layup to cut the deficit to seven, 60-53. The Riverhawks' next time out to advance wasn't as fruitful as the ball got loose off the inbound and AACC was forced to foul.

Massasoit led in rebounding, 46-42, and outscored the Riverhawks in the paint at a 34-20 clip. AACC generated 13 points off of the Warriors' 21 turnovers, while giving up 13 off of 16 miscues.

The Riverhawks are back in action on Saturday at 1 pm in Jenkins Gym when they host Northern Virginia.