The Rivier University Raiders defeated the Albertus Magnus women's basketball team 89-76 on Monday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play in New Haven.

Both teams shot well in the opening half as the Raiders took a 48-39 lead into the halftime break.  Rivier shot 47.4% from the floor as half of the Raiders' field goals were three-pointers as they shot 42.9% from behind the arc.  Albertus shot 50% from the floor led by 11 points by Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) and 10 from Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.).

Rivier led by as many as 15 points in the first half with less than two minutes to go in the frame. The Raiders were led at the break by Deanna Purcell and Ryan Baker with 13 and 10 points respectively.

The Falcons battled back into the game in the second half as they tied the score at 62 with 10:07 left on the clock on a three-point play by Carrero.  Rivier answered with a 6-0 run and never looked back.

Purcell finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and four steals for a solid outing, while Caitlyn Perry tallied 18 points off the bench for the Raiders. Rivier finished the game shooting 44.3% from the field as the Raiders hit 14-of-32 from three-point land.

Carrero finished with a team-high 24 points before fouling out.  Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) connected for 17 points as she added 11 boards as well.  Pendagast finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds as she shot 7-of-15 from the floor.

Albertus outrebounded the Raiders 40-39 but allowed 39 bench points.  Rivier scored 31 points off of 18 Albertus turnovers.

The Raiders are now 12-3 on the year with an unbeaten 3-0 record in league play. The Falcons are now 3-14 with a 0-3 record in league action.  The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 when they travel North to take on Lasell in a GNAC match-up. That contest is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.