Last Week: The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team went 1-2 last week, sandwiching a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win against in-state rival St. Joseph (Conn.) around setbacks versus Western Connecticut and Saint Joseph's (Maine). Albertus Magnus enters the week with a 4-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in conference play. In an 89-66 win against the BlueJays, sophomore guard Jill Johnson poured in a career-best 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting. She also hit 7-of-8 from the free-throw line to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior guard KiKi Epps had her strongest game of the season versus USJ, netting 18 points thanks to hitting all four of her shots from the charity stripe.
This Week: Albertus Magnus has just two more games before the end of the semester and the two-week hiatus due to the Holiday Break. The Falcons have a slow week, welcoming in regional foe Pine Manor for a non-conference showdown on Tuesday evening.
Match-Up:
Albertus Magnus (4-4) vs. Pine Manor (4-4)
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 5:00 pm
New Haven, Conn.
The Nest inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center
Live Stats: Click here (All links will become active at the start of the contest)
Live Video: Click here
Series History: Albertus Magnus leads the all-time series, 12-5, against Pine Manor. The Falcons have won four straight against the Gators with the last meeting coming in December of 2013.
Notes
- Junior forward Olivia Bolden averaged 16 points per game and grabbed just under nine rebounds per contest as the Falcons went 1-2 last week. She shot an efficient 19-of-40 from the field to go along with 1.3 blocks per game and 1.3 steals per game on the defensive end. In a GNAC win against St. Joseph (Conn.), Bolden scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She also added nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks versus the BlueJays. Over the weekend, she scored 15 points and had nine rebounds at Saint Joseph's (Maine).
- Senior guard Liz Falcigno has recorded three double-doubles this winter. She is averaging a career-high 10.1 rebounds per game and she pulled down a career-best 17 boards earlier this season against in-state foe Western Connecticut.
- Johnson is off to a hot start for the Falcons, averaging over 13 points per game and shooting better than 40 percent from the floor. She has topped the 20-point plateau twice this season, highlighted by scoring a career-high 26 against St. Joseph (Conn.) in GNAC play.
- As a team, is hitting just 20.5 percent of its shots from three-point range. Falcigno is 12-of-33 on shots from three-point range this season, every other Falcon is a combined 14-of-94. Sophomore guard Deja Ward is averaging a team-best 4.3 assists per contest. Bolden and Falcigno are accounting for over 21 rebounds per game thus far.
- Beginning this season, GNAC women's basketball will shift to divisional play for all conference contests. Divisional opponents will play each team within their division twice – one home contest and one away tilt – while playing each team in the opposite division once for a total of 16 league games. The South Division will be made up by Albertus Magnus, Emmanuel, Johnson & Wales, Mount Ida, the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Suffolk University. Based on overall conference record, the top four seeds from each division will advance to the GNAC Tournament, as the size of the field (8) will not change despite the new playoff format.
