The Albertus Magnus women's basketball team earned its second-straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory of the season on Saturday afternoon with a 66-59 win over Mount Ida College.  Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.) tallied 26 points, while Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) added 12 to lead the Falcons to victory.

The Falcons are now 5-17 on the year and 2-6 in league action, while the Mustangs fall to 3-18 overall and 0-7 in GNAC play.

Albertus jumped out to an early 15-8 lead on a Carrero three-pointer before extending its lead to 24-12 on an Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) jump shot.

The Falcons held a 30-17 lead at the half thanks to 14 points by Carrero.  Both teams shot less than 30% from the field in the opening frame but the Falcons were 7-of-9 from the free-throw line and held the Mustangs to a 0-for-4 showing behind the arc.

The Falcons controlled most of the second half, taking their largest lead of the contest of 21 points with 12:50 to go on the clock.  A late rally by the Mustangs cut the score to within seven with 1:03 left on the clock as free throws made the score 58-51.  Despite a made half-court shot at the buzzer by Katlyn Jesse, the Falcons took away a 66-59 victory.

Carrero finished the contest with 10 rebounds, all of which she grabbed on the defensive end, to go along with her 26 points. It was her second double-double of the season.  Sutila hit 3 three-pointers and finished with 12 points for her seventh game in double figures this season.

Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.) added eight points and two blocks for the Falcons before fouling out, while Raucci had eight points, two steals and seven rebounds for the Falcons.

Mount Ida was led by Jesse with 18 points, while Jenn Rafuse had 10 points and 13 rebounds.  Abbey Fedigan added 17 points for the Mustangs.

Albertus returns to action in one week when the Falcons travel to Northfield, Vt. to take on Norwich in GNAC action. That contest is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.