Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) scored 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team fell to New England College 78-66 on Tuesday night.
The result moves the Falcons to 4-1 on the year as it was their first loss of the 2011-12 season. New England College remains unbeaten with the victory as the Pilgrims improve to 4-0.
Carrero tallied 16 of her 22 points in the first half as she shot 8-of-10 from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play. She finished the night shooting 10-of-14 from the field, while she added six assists before fouling out with 19 seconds left in the game.
The Falcons trailed by eight at the half as they shot 45% from the floor in the frame and went into the break down 36-28. In the first half, New England College turned the ball over 12 times, while the Falcons were outrebounded 27-10.
Albertus opened the second half with a 10-5 run to cut the New England lead to 41-38 four minutes into the frame. New England bounced back, going on a 14-2 run of its own in a six-minute span to extend its lead back up to 15 at 55-40.
With less than three minutes to go in the game, sophomore Lindsay Karle (Wallingford, Conn.) drained a three pointer to put the Falcons to within five at 66-61. A layup by Carrero made the score 67-63 before New England was able to expand their lead as the Pilgrims hit 11-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe to secure the 12-point victory.
Bianca Brown (West Haven, Conn.) finished the contest with 19 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Taylor Jagoe (Milford, Conn.) scored a season-high seven points. For the fifth-straight game, Brown led the Falcons with double figure scoring.
Albertus shot 50.9% from the floor, while New England College shot 39.1%, including a 16.7% showing from behind the arc.
The Pilgrims were led by Kayla Lawlor who scored 19 points, while Taylor Burgess tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds in 31 minutes of work.
Albertus will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Newbury College for a 5:00 p.m. non-conference match-up. The Nighthawks are currently 0-3 on the year.
