New Haven, Conn. -  The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team improved to 16-7 on the season as the Lady Falcons cruised past in-state foe the University of Saint Joseph (CT), 90-45, on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash at "The Nest" located inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.

Prior to tip-off, the women's basketball program team honored its two seniors -  Shyla Osmond (New Haven, Conn.) and senior forward Rah-Rah Thompson (Bridgeport, Conn.) - for their hard work and dedication to the program over the past two seasons. 

THE BASICS 
FINAL: Albertus Magnus College 90 | Saint Joseph (CT) 45
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (16-7, 6-3 GNAC) | St. Joe Conn. (10-13, 2-7 GNAC) 
BOX SCORE 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
Neither team scored for the first two minutes until the 7:17 mark as Raelyn Voislow scored the Blue Jays first basket of the afternoon. Osmond retaliated with her own layup to knot it at 2, before a deep trey by Kyah Nowlin (Stamford, Conn.) gave the Falcons their first lead of the day four minutes in. Shortly after, the Blue Jays Anna Chevralla answered with her own three-pointer to tie it at 5.  

From there, the Falcons increased their lead to 13, 20-7, with a minute left in the quarter, following a 15-2 run capped by a basket from Osmond. A pair of free throws by Katelyn Vazquez cut the hosts' lead to 11, before Osmond regained the 13-point lead on a pair of made free throws to end the quarter with the Falcons leading 22-9. 

The momentum shifted in favor of the Blue Jays, as the visitors chipped away at the Falcons' lead and cut the deficit to eight. With momentum back on the Falcons' side, Osmond put away another easy lay-up to give the Falcons their largest lead of the half with 18, 39-21, but the Blue Jays went on an 8-2 run to head into intermission trailing 41-29.    

Albertus struck first in the second half as Beatriz Honorio (Bridgeport, Conn.) pulled down the offensive rebound and scored on a made lay-up that ignited a 16-0 run to bring the score to 57-29. The Blue Jays finally got on the board in the third with a made basket from Vasquez at the 4:46 minute mark. The Falcons pushed their lead to 36 and led 71-38 at the end of the 30 minutes. 

Osmond opened the fourth with a long three to make the score 74-38, in favor of the Falcons. A pair of baskets from Thompson pushed the Falcon lead to 40, 78-38 with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. The Falcons then went on a 6-1 scoring run, bringing it to 84-39, with just under four minutes left to play.

The Falcons were too much for the Blue Jays the rest of the way, as the hosts secured the 90-45 home victory.  

TEAM STATS

• Albertus - 46.8% FG | 18.2% 3PT| 91.7% FT
• Saint Joseph -  27.9% FG | 30.4% 3PT| 70% FT
• This game saw 2 ties and 1 lead change. 
• This is the second time this year the Falcons held an opponent to 45 points or less.
• Albertus was two blocks shy of tying its season-high of 10.
• The Falcons tallied 17 steals, which was three shy of their season-high.
• Albertus recorded a season-high 26 assists. 

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:

• Shyla Osmond - 22 points (8-14 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-4 FT) | 4 rebounds | 10 assists | 2 steals
• Rah-Rah Thompson- 14 points (6-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-1 FT) | 7 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals 
• Andreah Orr (Danbruy, Conn.) - 15 points (5-8 FG, 5-5 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 steal | 4 blocks
• Mariah Mandulak - 10 points (4-4 FG, 2-2 FT) | 2 rebounds | 1 block

Saint Joseph (CT):

• Anna Chevarella - 10 points (3-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 2 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals
• Raelynn Voislow - 10 points (12-21 FG, 1-2 FT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal

DOUBLE-DOUBLES

• Albertus: Shyla Osmond (22 points, 10 assists)

NOTEWORTHY 

• Tonight's match-up was the 34th meeting all-time between Albertus and St. Joe Conn.
• Albertus is now 26-8 all-time against Saint Joseph.
• Following today's win, the Falcons are 9-2 at home.
• Osmond's double-double is her 10th of the year.
• Osmond posted 10 or more assists six times this season.
• Nowlin tied her season-high three assists.
• Junior Cassie Couture (Waterbury, Conn.) tied her season-high three assists.
• Junior Morgan Violette (Branford, Conn.) set a new season-high in assists with two.
• Sophomore Emma Pierson (Branford, Conn.) finished the game with three rebounds and two steals.
• Freshman Jah-Naisha Lee (Bridgeport, Conn.) recorded a career-game as the rookie netted five points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
• Freshman Beatriz Honorio (Bridgeport, Conn.) tallied 14 of the Falcons 53 rebounds, which was a season-high for the freshman forward.
• Freshman Mariah Mandulak (Shelton, Conn.) scored a season-best 10 points to go along with two rebounds and a block. 

UP NEXT
The women's basketball team closes out the 2019-20 season with a pair of road games against Johnson & Wales University (Feb. 18 @ 7PM) and Anna Maria (Feb. 22 @ 1PM).