New Haven, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team finished the 2015-16 regular season with a 14-11 overall record and earned the No. 6 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament courtesy of a 6-5 mark in league action.
The Falcons open post-season play on Tuesday, February 23, with a road clash against third-seeded Emmanuel in the GNAC Quarterfinals at 7:00 pm inside the Jean Yawkey Center. The winning team will advance to Thursday's Semifinal round. The winner of the GNAC Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
The two teams met just three days ago in New Haven, with the Saints pulling away in the fourth quarter to earn a 70-60 win and spoil Senior Day for Albertus Magnus. Emmanuel outscored the hosts, 23-15, over the final 10 minutes to secure the No. 3 seed in the league tournament. The Saints shot 43 percent from the field and forced 24 AMC turnovers in the triumph.
Albertus Magnus enters the post-season in the midst of a four-game skid and are looking to end a 19-game losing streak versus Emmanuel. The Falcons are making their 15th appearance in the GNAC Tournament and looking to advance past the Quarterfinals for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Albertus Magnus is 1-3 all-time against Emmanuel in GNAC Tournament history. The team is 10-14 all-time in the GNAC Tournament.
Albertus Magnus leads the GNAC in scoring this winter, netting over 72 points per game. The Falcons are also second in the league in rebounding (46.7 boards per game) and three-point shooting (31.5 % from beyond the arc).
The team sees three players average in double figures, led by the scoring tandem of sophomore forward Olivia Bolden (South Windsor, Conn.) and junior guard Liz Falcigno (Wallingford, Conn.). Bolden leads the team in scoring (17. 4 points per game) and rebounding (9.4 boards per contest). She has topped the 20-point plateau eight times this year and has recorded a team-leading 11 double-doubles in 2015-16. In her first season with the team, Falcigno is second in the conference in free-throw shooting, hitting over 81 percent (99-of-121) from the charity stripe. She is also sixth in the league in three-point shooting, knocking down just under 37 percent of her treys. She is averaging just shy of 17 points a game and hitting more than two three-pointers a contest. Senior forward Kelsey Pendagast is the other Falcon averaging in double figures, scoring over 10 points and pulling down over nine rebounds per game.
