The Albertus Magnus women's basketball team downed Elms College 79-61 in the opening game of the Salem State Holiday Tournament in Salem, Mass. on Sunday afternoon.  Senior Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) tallied a game-high 25 points, while Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) had 16 points for the Falcons.

The Falcons, who are now 3-6 on the year, opened the contest with a 14-4 lead before Elms battled back with a 21-11 run to tie the game at 25. Albertus answered with a 14-3 surge as Carrero and fellow senior Lindsay Karle (Wallingford, Conn.) combined for the 14 points during the run.

Despite Elms cutting to within 10 at 60-50, Albertus controlled the second-half of play before taking the eventual 79-61 victory.

Along with Carrero's 25 points, Karle came off the bench to score 13 points.

Carrero now has 1,496 career points as she is 80 points away from tying the Albertus Magnus women's basketball all-time scoring record of 1,576 points held by Albertus Hall of Famer Natalia Perlaza '05.

The Blazers fall to 4-4 on the year with the loss.

Albertus moves on to the championship game scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 30 against the winner of Sunday's Salem State/Skidmore contest.