NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus women's basketball team kept its winning streak alive Thursday night, winning its third straight contest with a 70-63 triumph over the Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph (CT). Before the start of tonight's home showdown, the Albertus Magnus Athletic Department and women's basketball team honored its lone senior - Cassie Couture (Waterbury, Conn.) - for her hard work and dedication to the program over the past four seasons.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 70 | University of Saint Joseph 63
MATCH-UP: This is the 36th all-time meeting between these long-time conference foes. Albertus leads the series with a 28-8 record.
LOCATION: New Haven, Conn. | "The Nest"
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Blue Jays struck first on a made jumper by Jordan Ouellette. Freshman Alexis Pendziwater (East Haven, Conn.) nailed a trey from the corner a minute later to give the Falcons the 3-2 lead. A second Ouellete jumper was then erased by a long three from sophomore Kyah Nowlin (Stamford, Conn.). Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) then took the Falcons on a 5-0 scoring run to give Albertus an 11-4 advantage with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter. The teams would trade baskets until the 2:47 mark, when Nowlin nailed another three from the corner to give the hosts the seven-point lead, 16-9. A Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) lay-up gave the Falcons the nine-point lead before the Blue Jays went on a 5-0 run. A Pendziwater trey with a little over a minute remaining put the Falcons up 21-14. A pair of Pierson free throws increased the hosts' advantage to eight, 23-15, to end the first quarter.

The Blue Jays struck first in the second quarter on a long 3-pointer from Taylor Verboven. Emma Pierson (Branford, Conn.) countered with a trey from the corner to regain the eight-point lead, 26-18. The teams traded baskets until the 6:36 mark when Nowlin swished another long three to make it a ten-point game in favor of the Falcons. A Barcomb trey dropped the hosts' lead to seven, 31- 24, with just under five minutes remaining in the half. The Blue Jays then went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 33-all. A Scott lay-up gave them the quick advantage before the Blue Jays tied it 35-35 at the half on a made lay-up by Cheyenne Mone-Smith.

The third quarter was the closest of the contest, as neither team took a lead larger than four points for its duration. Scott and Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) led the way for the Falcons, scoring 11 of the team's 13 points. The duo also shined on the defensive end of the court, with Rivera nabbing two steals and a block and Scott swiping two passes. Rivera tallied the quarter's final bucket to send the home team into the fourth holding a slim 48-45 advantage.

The action really picked up in the fourth quarter, as tensions rose in another hard-fought quarter. Both teams were whistled for eight fouls with a combined 21 free-throw attempts.

USJ opened the fourth on a 6-2 run to take a 51-50 lead with 7:02 left. The Falcons answered with the following five points to go ahead by a 55-51 margin. The back-and-forth affair continued with the Blue Jays rallying to knot the score at 60-all with 2:08 left on an Ouellette free throw. At this point, Albertus stepped on the gas with an 8-0 surge to swing the game. Pierson accounted for three of the eight points on her way to a season-high 17. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) and Pierson each hit four clutch free throws late to seal the bout, 70-63.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Albertus:
Emma Pierson - 17 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 8-9 FT) | 8 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal | 1 block
Caitlyn Scott - 16 points (6-15 FG, 1-4 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 6 rebound | 2 assists | 3 steals
Natasha Rivera - 12 points (5-14 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-3 FT) | 4 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals | 2 blocks
Kyah Nowlin - 11 points (3-11 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 5 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals | 1 block

University of Saint Joseph:
Jordan Ouellette - 17 points (8-17 FG, 1-3 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 block
Silvana Barcomb - 17 points (5-16 FG, 5-10 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal
Taylor Verboven - 12 points (4-9 FG, 3-6 3PT, 1-6 FT) | 3 rebounds | 4 assists | 1 block