NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team extended its winning streak to three straight, defeating the Bears of Coast Guard Academy in overtime, 84-82, Monday evening inside "The Nest".
Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) and Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) led the offensive attack for the Falcons, as Murray-Leach led all players with 29 points and 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Scott followed close behind with a season-high 26 points to go along with four rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) also chipped in with a season-high 15 points and three blocks, while Robin Selitte (Brideport, Conn.) tallied four points, while grabbing a season-high 11 boards, one assist, one steal, and four points.
THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 84 | Coast Guard 82 (OT)
Records: Albertus Magnus (3-0) | Coast Guard (1-4)
Box Score
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams traded leads four times and battled through two ties through the first five minutes of regulation.
- A 6-1 run, highlighted by four points from Rivera and two from Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.), pushed the Falcons ahead by five, 14-9.
- Four straight points from the Bears brought the score to within one, 14-13, and forced Coach Fredette to call a timeout with 3:29 left on the clock.
- At the 2:25 mark, a layup from Coast Guard's Kelly Hagerty evened the game for a third time, 18-18.
- Albertus closed out the opening 10 minutes of regulation with a 6-0 run that put the hosts ahead by six, 24-18, with Murray-Leach putting in four points.
- Coast Guard controlled the second quarter as the Bears outscored the Falcons 11-2 to take a three-point lead heading into halftime, 29-26.
- Albertus came out of the locker room with renewed intensity, opening the third quarter with a 4-2 run that made it a one possession game, 31-30, two minutes in.
- From there, Coast Guard resumed control of the game by increasing its lead to eight, 43-35, following a layup from Jacqueline Ward at the three minute mark.
- The Falcons cut the deficit to within six, 43-37, on a jump shot from Rivera at the 2:33 mark, but would trail the Bears by nine, 48-39, at the end of three.
- It was a high scoring affair as Albertus outshot Coast Guard, 15-11, over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the score to five, 59-54.
- Coast Guard maintained a seven-point advantage until a three from Dorothy Stotts made it a 10-point ball game, 66-56.
- Murray-Leach countered the three from Stotts with a three of her own, just 12 seconds later, to make it a three possession game, 66-58, heading into a Falcon timeout at 4:15.
- Seven points from Scott, two from Murray-Leach, and two from RIvera kept the Falcons alive and brought the score to within one, 70-69, heading into the final two minutes of play.
- After trailing for a majority of the game, Albertus took its first lead, 74-73, with 45 seconds on the clock following a deep three from Scott.
- A made free throw from Ward would even the game at 74-all, but the final 30 seconds would come to an end as the teams prepared for overtime.
- The Falcons opened overtime with a 7-2 run to take an 81-76 lead with 2:36 left to play in the overtime stanza.
- The Bears retaliated quickly with a 6-0 spurt to take the 82-81 lead with 42 seconds left in the game.
- A made jumper from Murray-Leach pushed the Falcons ahead by one 83-82 with 20 seconds left. A Bears foul sent Murray-Leach to the charity stripe, where the sophomore guard nailed the shot to give the Falcons the 84-82 lead with six seconds remaining.
- The Falcons locked down the court in the final seconds to secure the 84-82 non-conference victory and remain undefeated in the yung season.
TEAM STATS
Albertus: 42.5% FG | 21.7% 3PT| 73.9% FT
Coast Guard: 38.0% FG | 42.3% 3PT| 64.7% FT
PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach - 29 points (12-23 FG, 1-7 3PT, 4-5 FT) | 11 rebounds | 4 assist | 3 steals | 1 block
Caitlyn Scott- 26 points (8-15 FG, 1-5 3PT, 9-10 FT) | 4 rebounds | 5 assist | 1 steal
Natasha Rivera- points (5-12 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-6 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals | 3 blocks
Coast Guard:
Dorothy Stotts - 22 points (7-12 FG, 7-9 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 assist
Glory Blethen - 19 points (7-18 FG, 1-5 3PT, 4-5 FT) | 12 rebounds | 3 assist | 2 steals
Jacqueline Ward- 16 points (6-9 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-8 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 assist
NOTEWORTHY
- Tonight's match-up was the 16th meeting between the Falcons and Bears.
- Albertus is now 6-10 all-time against Coast Guard following tonight's win.
- The Falcons tied their season-high in blocks with five and steals with nine.
- Tonight's game had six ties and eight lead changes.
- Murray-Leach and Scott have recorded 20+ points in three straight games.
- Murray-Leach recorded back-to-back doubles-doubles.
- Rivera's 15 points was her first double-digit performance of the young season.
- Selitte recorded a season-high 11 rebounds.
- Rivera led the defensive unit with a season-high three blocks.
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to the court on Tuesday November 29th for a home clash with the Falcons of Fisher College. Tip-off is set for 7 PM inside the cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.
