4th Quarter Charge Falls Short, Saints Defeated by Falcons 59-55

BOSTON – In a matchup featuring two of the top teams in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), Saints Women's Basketball (9-10, 6-2 GNAC) fell 59-55 to the Albertus Magnus Falcons (17-4, 9-1 GNAC) on Andy Yosinoff Court Tuesday night. Despite a 12-0 Saints run in the 4th quarter to tie the game at 50, the Falcons re-took the lead and hung on to secure the narrow midseason GNAC victory.

First-year guard Meagan Schuermann (Cooperstown, N.Y.) got the game started with a strong offensive rebound and layup for the Saints. Both sides continued to trade baskets in the early going, but threes from Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) and Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) gave the Falcons a 10-6 advantage. After 10 minutes of play, the visitors held a 15-12 lead.

In the second quarter, the Falcons were able to extend their lead to nine after outscoring the Saints 9-3 over the first seven minutes of the quarter. The Saints battled back with a big three from Olivia Matela (Swampscott, Mass.) along with two other baskets to cut the lead to two. Another three from Albertus Magnus got the vistors advantage back to five and the Falcons went into the break leading 27-22.

A 7-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half allowed Albertus Magnus to open up their largest lead of the game with a score of 34-22. The Falcons led by as many as 13 in the quarter and maintained a 45-35 advantage heading into the final period of the play.

Despite a 12-point Falcons lead with seven minutes remaining, the Saints refused to go out quietly and stormed back. Emmanuel exploded on an extended 12-0 run to level the game at 50-50 that ended with a step-back jumper from Matela for the tie. The Falcons went on to score the next five points, but another big three-pointer from Matela brought the Saints within two with just over a minute to play. Emmanuel had two more chances during the remainder of the game to level the score once again but could not find the bottom of the net. A Diamond White free throw with four seconds left extended the Albertus Magnus lead to two possessions as the Saints fell 59-55.

Jakara Murray-Leach led the Falcons in scoring with 18 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds. Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.)) added a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 15 boards. For the Saints, Matela led the way with a game-high 23 points in the loss. Kiera Eubanks (Portland, Maine) led the Saints on the glass with 10 rebounds.

Up next, Albertus Magnus will head to West Hartford for an in-state GNAC matchup with the University of St. Joseph's (CT) on Saturday (2/3) at 1:00 P.M. The Saints will hit the road for a GNAC contest with Elms College on Saturday (2/3) at 3:00 P.M.