SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Junior Ashlee Talbot (Dracut, Mass./Dracut) scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half, and the fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College women's basketball team never trailed during a 73-61 victory at No. 4 American International College during a Northeast 10 Conference Championship first-round contest on Sunday in Butova Gymnasium. The Purple Knights were 10th in this week's NCAA East Region rankings, while the Yellow Jackets were sixth.
 
Saint Michael's advances to play top-seeded Bentley University, which was ranked 12th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national poll, during Thursday's semifinal round. The Falcons received a first-round bye. The Purple and Gold returns to the NE10 Championship semifinals for the first time since 1992.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (15-12), AIC (16-11)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Talbot, 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7-for-10 field goals
• Junior Jayla Tyler (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central/Saint Rose), 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 6-for-11 field goals, 4-for-4 free throws
• Junior Ruby Santos (New Paltz, N.Y./Kent School), 11 points, 4 rebounds (3 offensive), 4-for-6 field goals
• Sophomore Margaret Montplaisir (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Junior Amber Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School), 9 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4-for-4 free throws
• Junior Bella Franchi (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie), 8 rebounds, 3 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Chelsea Reeves, 20 points, 4 assists, 10-for-12 free throws
• Sophomore Keyvanna Bennett, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights led for all but 28 seconds and never trailed.
• Saint Michael's held a 39-25 rebounding lead while shooting 21-of-23 on free throws and holding AIC to a 4-of-17 three-point performance.
• AIC lost at home for only the fourth time in 12 games this season.
• The Purple and Gold earned its first true postseason road win in program history while winning away from home for the first time since the 1990 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament semifinals, a 62-59 victory against Mercyhurst University on the University of Massachusetts at Lowell's home court.
• Saint Michael's captured its initial postseason win since the opening round of the 2011 NE10 Championship, a 74-59 triumph against UMass Lowell at the Ross Sports Center.
• Saint Michael's improved to 2-1 all-time in the postseason against AIC while also moving to 2-1 in the teams' 2025-26 series, with the road team winning for the first time on Sunday.
• The Purple Knights will return to the NE10 Championship semifinals for the first time since 1992, when they advanced to that round for the second time in three seasons.

THE ACTION

• Talbot buried a three-pointer 28 seconds into the game for the contest's opening points to give Saint Michael's the lead for good, and her jumper at 8:00 of the first quarter had her team up 10-2. By the time she knocked down another jumper with 5:35 gone, the visitors were ahead 14-4.
• Three players scored during AIC's 7-0 response, but Furch's driving lay-up capped a 6-0 counter that put the Purple Knights up 20-11. Santos drained a three 15 seconds into the second quarter to create a 25-13 margin.
• Down 11, AIC finished the opening half on a 16-7 run, rallying within 38-36 on Reeves' pair of free throws with 31 seconds to go. The hosts cut their deficit to a single point three times during the third quarter but never tied or took the lead.
• Tyler opened the fourth quarter by hitting a three before Montplaisir's lay-in made it 57-51 at 8:31.
• Bennett split two free throws at 1:20 to keep her team within 65-61, but Furch made two freebies just seconds later before coming up with a steal on the next possession and feeding Santos for a lay-in at 34 seconds. The Purple Knights led by eight amid a game-clinching 8-0 run.
• Saint Michael's held AIC without a field goal for the final 7:02, as the Yellow Jackets missed their final nine shots.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Thursday at Bentley, TBA time for NE10 Championship semifinal.