SPARKILL, N.Y. – The D'Youville University women's basketball team opened their 2024-25 season with a 57-51 loss to American International on Friday evening.
 
Senior Anna Jankovic (Averill Park, N.Y.) and junior Morgan Giancaterino (Orchard Park, N.Y.) led the scoring charge for the Saints, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively. Redshirt junior Megan Fedor (Elmira, N.Y.) dominated on the boards, grabbing nine rebounds coming off the bench.
 
DYU got out to an early 5-4 lead thanks to a three-pointer from Aliviya Vallone Russell (Buffalo, N.Y.). A layup from Giancaterino made it 7-6 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter, but American International would take a 10-8 lead to close the quarter.
 
A mid-range jumper from Jankovic tied the game at 12-12 in the early goings of the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets went on a 9-2 run over the next seven minutes before junior Isabella Kostyal-Larrier (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) hit a layup to make it a 21-16 deficit with under three minutes until halftime. Jankovic put in a layup in the closing seconds of the half as the Saints went into the locker room trailing by seven.
 
A 10-0 run by American International to open the second half put DYU in a 17-point hole. A pair of free throws by Fedor and a three-pointer from Jankovic brought the Saints within 12 with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter. Jankovic cashed in another three in the final minute of the quarter, and DYU went to the fourth quarter down by 14.
 
The Saints began to chip away at the Yellow Jackets' lead in the fourth quarter, as five straight points from senior Sofie Fuglsang (Oberanven, Luxembourg) cut the deficit to eight with five minutes to play. A layup from freshman Allie Hall (Rochester, N.Y.) then cut the deficit to six at the 4:11 mark. A three-pointer from Vallone Russell kept it a six-point game with 2:54 remaining. That's the closest the Saints would get, though, and American International went on to close out the victory.
 
D'Youville will look to bounce back tomorrow when they face Bridgeport University at 2:00 p.m.