PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team pushed its winning streak to seven straight with a hard-fought 69-54 road victory over the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday evening to remain perfect in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. 

Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) powered the Falcons' offense with a season-high 30 points, while Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) followed up with 12 points. Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) also recorded another strong showing as the sophomore guard collected her fourth straight double-double with a 10-point, 13-rebound performance.               

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 69 | JWU 54 
Records: Albertus Magnus (14-1, 9-0 GNAC) | JWU (6-9, 3-5 GNAC) 
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons opened the first stanza with a 6-2 run following lay-ups from Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.), Scott, and Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.). 

• The Wildcats responded with an 8-2 run to push the score to 10-8 before a Scott lay-up tied the game for a second time at 10-all with 2:52 remaining in the first stanza.   

• The Falcons retaliated instantly with an 8-0 surge to take a seven-point lead, 18-11, into the final eight seconds of the first stanza. 

• During the 8-0 run, a lay-up from Robin Selitte (Bridgeport, Conn.) was preceded by back-to-back three-pointers from White and Zdru.  

• A Wildcat three in the final second of the quarter sent the teams into the second frame, with the Falcons holding the 18-14 lead. 

• The Wildcats erupted out of the gate to start the second quarter by putting together an 8-1 run to take a 22-19 lead, prompting a Falcons' timeout at the 6:27 minute mark.  

• A 6-0 burst from the blue-and-white gave the visitors the 25-22 lead before a made three-pointer from JWU's Sarah Wisniewski re-tied the game at 25 with 3:29 left in the stanza. 

• For the next minute or so, Albertus and JWU could not find the net until a free throw from Selitte at 1:17 broke the drought and gave the Falcons the one-point advantage, 26-25. 

• The Wildcats responded with a pair of made free throws from Wisniewski to retake the lead 27-26 at the 0:33 mark, but Scott swished a pair of free throws and sent the teams into the halftime break with AMC holding the 28-27 advantage. 

• Albertus and JWU opened up the third quarter forcing two ties at 29-29 and 33-33 before heading into a media timeout at the 6:33 mark. 

• Out of the break, the Falcons took the 46-36 lead on a 13-3 run via a three-pointer from Rivera, a lay-up from Murray-Leach, and seven points from Scott. 

• The Wildcats countered the Falcons' run with a 6-3 push over the final 2:30 of the third to cut the deficit to seven, 49-42,  heading into the fourth and final stanza.

• Albertus opened the fourth stanza with an explosive 10-0 run to take a commanding 17-point lead, 59-42.  

• The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, running the score to 65-48 heading into a media timeout with 3:54 left on the clock. 

• The Wildcats put together a 6-2 run out of the break to cut the deficit to 67-54, but a Scott lay-up at the 1:16 mark pushed the Falcons' advantage to 69-54. 

• The Falcons ran out the clock to finish the contest and walked away with the 69-54 conference victory over the Wildcats.    

TEAM STATS

Albertus: 33.3 % FG | 28.6 % 3PT | 52.0 % FT

JWU: 35.5 % FG | 26.7 % 3PT | 50.0 % FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:

Caitlyn Scott - 30 points (11-25 FG, 1-5 3PT, 7-14 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 assist | 3 steals  

Diamond White - 12 points (4-13 FG, 1-4 3PT, 3-5 FT) | 4 rebounds | 4 assists | 4 steals 

Jakara Murray-Leach - 10 points (5-21 FG, 0-2 3PT) | 13 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals | 1 block  

JWU:

Naheema Walker - 12 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 FT) | 7 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal | 1 block  

Mikayla Caruso - 12 points (6-14 FG) | 6 rebounds | assist | steals 

Peyton Oliver - 6 points (3-11 FG, 0-1 3PT) | 13 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal | 3 blocks    

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons are 17-12 all-time against the Wildcats and have won the last seven straight match-ups. 

• Scott set a season-high in points with 30. 

• Murray-Leach now has eight double-doubles for the season following tonight's performance. 

• White has scored 10+ points in five straight contests. 

• Rivera recorded her eighth game of the season with 10+ rebounds. 

UP NEXT

The Falcons will return home on Saturday, January 21st for a conference battle with the Dean College Bulldogs. Tip-off is slated for 1 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.