Kendrea Walker (New Haven, Conn.) registered her third double-double of the season as the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team defeated Pine Manor College 73-65 in non-conference action on Tuesday night.
Tonight marked the Falcons' 16th victory of the season to give Albertus its most wins in a single season since finishing the 2003-04 season 16-11. Albertus is now 16-5 on the year. With the loss, Pine Manor is 8-11 overall.
Walker finished the night with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while she shot 9-of-16 from the floor to lead the Falcons. Junior Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) also led the Falcons as she pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end. Raucci added eight points, three blocked shots and two steals.
Walker scored eight of her 20 points in the first half, while she also pulled down seven rebounds in the frame. Pine Manor shot just 28.6% from the floor, an 8-of-28 showing in the half. Both teams struggled from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of play as the Falcons connected on two of their 10 attempts, while the Gators hit four 3-pointers in 10 tries. Albertus shot 32.5% from the floor in the opening half and went into the break with a 30-29 lead after junior Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) connected on a free throw with 13 seconds left on the clock before intermission.
The Falcons, who were out-rebounded 26-24 in the half, came out in the second frame and pulled down 31 boards opposed to Pine Manor's 20.
The Falcons' largest lead came in the second half with 13:10 to go as they went ahead by 13. Pine Manor battled back to get to within one with 5:41 left on the clock. Albertus used a 10-0 run in a span of 3:32 to extend its one-point lead out to 11 at 71-60.
Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) added nine points for the Falcons, while Acerra scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Her six made-field goals and her 16 attempts from the floor were both career-highs as well. She added five steals and four assists on the night as well. Freshman Timisha Graham (Bridgeport, Conn.) added a career-high seven points for the Falcons.
Pine Manor was led by Natasia Franklin with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Khiyana Isaac added 10 points and 11 boards. Alexis Lee also had 21 points for the Gators.
Albertus will travel to Sage on Thursday, Feb. 7 for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match-up in Troy, N.Y.
