Despite 45 points from senior Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team dropped a 99-93 overtime decision to the College of New Rochelle on Saturday afternoon.
Carrero hit a three-pointer at the buzzer at the end of regulation to tie the game at 84 and to send the contest into overtime.
With the loss, the Falcons are now 3-13 on the year, while the Blue Angels have a 9-6 overall record.
Carrero finished 15-of-34 from the floor and 13-of-17 from the free-throw line. She played 44 minutes in the contest.
New Rochelle was led by Jasmine Brandon who had 47 points and 17 rebounds as she shot 20-of-41 from the floor. The Blue Angels hit just one 3-point field goal in the contest and scored 99 points.
The Blue Angels opened the contest with a 10-0 run in the first 2:32 until Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) hit two free throws to get the Falcons on the scoreboard. Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) made the Falcons' first bucket of the game to make the score 12-4 three minutes into the game.
New Rochelle extended its lead to 18-4 before the Falcons' battled back thanks to three-straight 3-pointers by Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) which made the score 18-15. A free throw cut the score to 18-16 before New Rochelle extended its lead once again.
The Blue Angels held the Falcons without a field goal for a span of 8:49 midway through the frame as New Rochelle took a 40-19 lead.
The Falcons finished the half with a 13-0 run to go into the break down 40-32. Sutila led the Falcons at intermission with 11 points as she hit 3-of-8 from behind the arc. New Rochelle was led by 15 points from Jasmine Brandon.
In the second half, the Falcons worked their way to tie the game for the first time at 57 with 8:56 left in regulation. The Falcons' outscored the Blue Angels 52-44 in the frame before New Rochelle outscored the Falcons 15-9 in the overtime period.
Albertus shot 50% from the floor in the second half after shooting just 31.3% in the opening frame as the Falcons' second-half performance was able to give Albertus a chance to play in overtime. During the extra period, the Falcons took their first lead of the game at two points with 4:55 left in the contest.
New Rochelle led by as much as 21 points in the first half with 3:54 left on the clock.
Jah-Leah Ellis added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Angels. Alyssa Pechin chipped in with 16 points as she shot 12-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Albertus' Sutila finished with 17 points on five made 3-pointers, while Aaliyah Bohannon (Bridgeport, Conn.) added a career-high 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. She added eight rebounds as well.
This was the Falcons' first loss to New Rochelle as they are now 3-1 all-time against the Blue Angels.
The Falcons will host Rivier on Monday afternoon in a 1:00 p.m. contest. The Raiders are 11-3 on the year with a 2-0 record in league play. The Falcons enter the Monday match-up looking for their first win in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.
