After leading 36-28 at the halftime break, the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team was out-scored by Rivier University 50-32 in the second half as the Raiders went on to take a 73-63 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over the Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
Albertus junior Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) scored 26 points on 10-of-27 shooting from the floor to lead the Falcons as they dropped to 15-5 on the year and 5-4 in GNAC play. Deanna Purcell, who has led the Raiders all season, also scored 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in Rivier's 13th win of the season. The Raiders are now 13-6 overall and 7-1 in the league standings.
The Falcons shot 37.8% in the first half and went into the break with an eight-point lead before Rivier bounced back in the second half to shoot 45.5%, a 15-of-33 showing from the floor.
Both teams had trouble handling the ball as the Falcons committed 21 turnovers, while the Raiders added 19 of their own miscues.
Eleven points was the largest lead for either team in today's contest as the Falcons held an 11-point advantage with 38 seconds left before intermission. Rivier's 11-point lead came with 2:54 left in regulation.
Albertus' Kendrea Walker (New Haven, Conn.) tallied 13 points and eight rebounds for the Falcons in 25 minutes of work, while Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) was 3-of-12 from behind the arc for nine points, while Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) added seven points, nine rebounds and four assists for Albertus.
With her 26-point effort, Carrero moved up to seventh place on the Albertus Magnus women's basketball all-time scoring list as she surpassed Diana Burrough's (1993-97) tally of 1,210 career points. Carrero now has 1,214 points in her career.
Albertus will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 5 when the Falcons host Pine Manor College for a non-conference match-up. That contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
