NEWARK, Del. - - American International used a big second quarter to pull away from the Wilmington University women's basketball team as the Wildcats fell, 89-40, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex in the final game of the 2024 calendar year.

A 17-2 second quarter gave the Yellow Jackets (7-4) a 44-17 lead at the halftime break as they went on to win their third game in a row. The Wildcats show 1-for-30 in the second and third quarters combined, scoring only 11 points in the 20 minutes of action to fall behind and were unable to catch up.

Trailing 8-4 in the first quarter, Aniyah Bond and Mya Nisbet hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Wildcats a 10-8 lead with 7:01 to play. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 9-0 run of their own, taking the lead for good while taking a 23-12 lead.

They Wildcats were outscored, 17-2, in the second quarter, scoring on two free throws to fall behind the Yellow Jackets, 44-17, at the half. Aniyah Bond hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter, but that would be the only bucket of the frame for the Wildcats as well, scoring six more points at the line. The Yellow Jackets won the third quarter, 22-9, to lead 66-26, heading into the fourth.

Emma Brown scored eight points in the fourth quarter, shooting 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the foul line but AIC went on to win the quarter, 23-14, and the contest, 89-40.

Brown led the Wildcats with 12 points in the game, shooting 4-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the foul line. She also added five rebounds. Aniyah Bond scored nine points to go with seven rebounds while Mya Nisbet finished with eight points. Jasmine McDuffie tied Bond for the team lead with seven rebounds. The Wildcats shot 12-for-60 from the floor, including 3-for-21 from three-point range.

The Wildcats head into the NCAA Division II mandatory break and return to game action on Monday, January, against Penn State Brandywine. The opening tip is set for 6:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.