FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 87 | Mount Ida 71
TEAM RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (10-7, 5-3) | Mount Ida (3-12, 0-7)

NEWTON, Mass. – Behind two double-double performances from senior Liz Falcigno (Wallingford, Conn.) and junior Olivia Bolden (South Windsor, Conn.), the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team defeated Mount Ida 87-71 on Thursday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Over the first seven minutes of play, Albertus and Mount Ida battled through three ties and four lead changes until the Falcons took over at the 3:49 mark in the first. Senior Liz Falcigno (Wallingford, Conn.) sparked the Falcons' 11-0 run that continued into the next quarter to put the visitors up by 13, 26-13, with 9:41 remaining until the half.

Albertus continued to keep its double-digit lead over the Mustangs, but a three from Imani Bumpus brought the hosts to within five, 32-27. Shortly after, Albertus pushed its lead back up to double-digits, despite trailing by one, 41-40 at the 1:39, mark, and would lead 44-41 at halftime.

Similar to the first half, both teams battled back-and-fourth for the lead over the first six minutes before the Falcons secured a 10-point lead entering the fourth, 69-59. Albertus continued its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to secure the 87-71 GNAC victory.

FIRST HALF STATS

• Mount Ida's bench outscored Albertus in the first by a 16-2 margin.
• Albertus held a 25-20 edge over the hosts in rebounds and in points off turnovers, 10-7.
• Junior Olivia Bolden (South Windsor, Conn.) led the offensive attack with 14 points while Falcigno added 11 to the Falcons 44 points.
• The Mustangs had a hug second quarter outscoring the visitors 28-20.

SECOND HALF STATS

• Mount Ida had a better second half shooting 40.6 percent from the floor while the Falcons shot only 38.5 percent.
• Falcigno and Bolden again had double-digit half with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
• Albertus forced 17 Mustang turnovers while the hosts only shot 13 field goals in the second.
• The Falcons collected 10 steals in the final 20 minutes of play.

FINAL STATS

• Bolden finished the game with a team-high 29 points while Falcigno registered 27.
• The Falcons dominated on defense forcing 26 turnovers and scoring 27 of their points off those mistakes.
• On the offensive side, Mount Ida held a 23-2 edge in bench points.
• Both teams finished the game shooting around 39 percent from the floor.

UP NEXT

The Falcons return to action on January 21st at Anna Maria.