COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team cut a 22-point deficit to nine in the final minute on Friday before falling to American International College, 76-67, during the opening contest of the three-team DoubleTree Tip-Off Classic in the Ross Sports Center. The Purple Knights fell to 1-1 while playing their second contest in as many days, and for the second time in a four-day stretch, while the Yellow Jackets were opening their season.

First-year Indira Evora (Somerville, Mass./Somerville) notched a season-high 14 points for Saint Michael's off the bench, while sophomore Makenzie Burud (Red Hook, N.Y./Coleman Catholic) had 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Senior Alexa Long (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) added 10 points and nine rebounds, and junior Kelly Frappier (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) and sophomore Megan Gaudreau (Brooklyn, Conn./Pomfret School) notched eight points apiece. Junior Maggie Sabine (Litchfield, Maine/Oak Hill/Central Maine CC) snared eight boards. The Purple Knights shot 42.3 percent and went 12-of-15 on free throws.

Sophomore Sydney Tepley (Racine, Wis./Saint Catherine's) led a balanced AIC scoring effort with 14 points, going 7-for-11 from the floor, in addition to grabbing six rebounds. Classmates Briana Bishop (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) and Danielle Dorsett (Waterbury, Conn./Bridgeport) each added 12 points off the bench, and junior Krista Ferrentino (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow/Bryant) had 10. The Yellow Jackets shot 49.3 percent from the field while holding a 52-32 scoring advantage in the paint and an edge of 27-12 off turnovers

Saint Michael's trailed by a 69-47 count with 4:56 remaining in regulation before scoring 20 points in the final 4:38 alone, holding the visitors to only one field goal in that stretch. The Purple Knights continued to trail by double figures into the final minute, including being down 76-60 with less than a minute remaining before scoring the final seven points, with three coming from Burud and the final four by Evora.

AIC scored the first nine points of the game by 17:05 of the opening half before Frappier contributed a pair of buckets during a 6-0 run, and the Purple Knights crept to within 11-9 on senior Cara Deroy's (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) free throw at 13:21. Saint Michael's came no closer, however, but received a pair of freebies by Burud with less than two seconds left to trail just 34-27 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets slowly built their lead to 22 points at 53-31 with 12:24 left before the Purple Knights put together their late comeback effort.

Action continues tomorrow when AIC takes on Queens (N.Y.) College in a 1:30 p.m. neutral-site contest. Saint Michael's plays next on Sunday, opposing Queens at 1:30 p.m.