Sophomore Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers, to lead the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team to a 67-53 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over Simmons College on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 18-5 on the year to mark the program's most wins since finishing the 1997-98 season with an 18-9 overall record.
Tonight's victory also gives Albertus a 6-4 mark in GNAC play, while Simmons falls to 4-16 on the year and 2-8 in conference action.
Sutila, who finished 6-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-13 from behind the arc, tallied 17 points, just two shy of her career-high. Her five made three-pointers also tied a career-high. Senior Kendrea Walker (New Haven, Conn.) added 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds as it was her fifth double-double of the season and her third-straight. Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) chipped in with her fourth double-double of the season, while it was her seventh game of the year with 10 or more rebounds as she finished with 11 points and 12 boards.
The Falcons opened tonight's contest with a 13-0 run, while they held the Sharks without a point until Desh Perera scored for Simmons six minutes and 40 seconds into the frame. The Falcons shot 43.3% from the field in the opening half, including a 40% clip from behind the arc. Sutila led all scorers with 14 points at the break as she hit 50% from the floor, including a 4-of-8 showing from three-point land.
Albertus went into the break with a 36-21 lead, its largest advantage of the first half. Simmons shot just 25.9% from the floor in the opening frame and hit just four of nine attempts from the free-throw line.
After hitting a three pointer 38 seconds into the second half, the Sharks were held scoreless for 8:31 during the opening 10 minutes of the frame. The Falcons extended their lead to as much as 22 with 9:42 left in the contest.
Albertus scored 21 points off 21 Simmons' turnovers, while the Sharks edged the Falcons in rebounds 47-46.
Junior Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) added eight points and seven assists for the Falcons, while Olivia Sutherland (Wallingford, Conn.) tallied six points, three assists and four rebounds.
Albertus finished the night shooting 38.7%, while Sutila hit all five of the Falcons' made three-pointers.
The Falcons will host Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Thursday, Feb. 14 in their final home regular-season contest of the season. That game was rescheduled from Saturday, Feb. 9 and will begin at 5:30 p.m.
