NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team extended its winning streak to three as the Falcons captured their third home win of the season, defeating the Cadets of Norwich University, 76-57, Sunday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tilt inside "The Nest".

For the fourth straight game, Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) led the offensive attack in scoring with 28 points to go along with eight rebounds, one assist, and three steals. Sophomores Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) and Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points apiece.

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 76 | Norwich 57
Records: Albertus Magnus (7-8, 6-2 GNAC) | Norwich (4-7, 2-2 GNAC)
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus controlled the opening five minutes of play as the hosts held the early eight-point lead, 15-7, behind five straight 3-pointers, including three from Murray-Leach. Shortly after, Norwich answered back with a layup and a 3-point jumper to cut the deficit to three, 15-12, but a layup from Murray-Leach pushed the lead back up to five, 17-12, with 3:07 remaining in the stanza.

A minute later, Norwich struck again on a made layup from Haley Brewster to bring the score to within three once again, 17-14. However, the Falcons managed to close out the quarter with a 5-0 run following a deep trey from Raposo and a layup from Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.), giving the Falcons an eight-point cushion, 22-14.

Albertus carried its momentum into the second quarter, with the Falcons extending their lead to double-digits, 24-14, less than a minute in. However, Norwich continued to battle offensively despite the score and found themselves down seven, 26-19, following a trey from Erika Thomas at the 7:27 mark.

From there, Albertus continued to run its offense as a three from Murray-Leach sparked an 8-3 run that extended the host's lead to 12, 34-22. Soon after, Norwich rallied together as a team and put together a 6-2 run that brought the score to 36-28, heading into the halftime break.

Murray-Leach and Rivera paired up offensively out of the intermission, putting together a 7-1 run that extended their team's lead to 14, 43-29, two minutes in. Norwich's back-to-back baskets cut the lead back down to 11, 43-32, but four straight free throws from the Falcons extended the lead to 15, 47-32, with 5:01 left in the stanza.

Norwich began picking up steam offensively, matching each of the Falcons' made baskets with their own, and headed in the final minutes trailing by just 11, 53-42. The last basket of the quarter came from Murray-Leach, with 27 seconds remaining, to give the Falcons a 12-point cushion, 54-42, heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

It was all Albertus to kick off the fourth and final quarter as the hosts scored nine unanswered points to extend their lead to 21, 63-42. At the 6:05 mark, Norwich broke its scoreless drought with a made free throw from Skylar Burzynski, but Albertus never let up offensively, closing out regulation with a 13-9 run to secure the home victory, 76-57.

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 37.5% FG | 29.4% 3PT | 81.8% FT
Norwich: 31% FG | 20% 3PT | 51.6% FT

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach - 28 points (10-22 FG, 5-12 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 8 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals
Caitlyn Scott - 11 points (4-11 FG, 3-3 FT) | 1 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals
Natasha Rivera - 11 points (3-5 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 5 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal | 1 block

Norwich:
Maren McGinn - 18 points (8-12 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-9 FT) | 10 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 block
Haley Brewster - 13 points (5-13 FG, 1-6 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 6 rebounds | 2 assists

NOTEWORTHY

• Today's game marks the 28th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Cadets.
• Following today's win, the Falcons bring the all-time series record to 12-16, favoring the Cadets.
• Sophomore Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) led the defensive attack in blocks for the second straight game with a season-high three.
• Twenty-one of the Falcons' 76 points were scored on fastbreak attempts.
• The Cadets outrebounded the Falcons, 53-37.
• Murray-Leach has led the Falcons in steals in the last two games.

UP NEXT
The women's basketball team continues to play at home on Monday, Jan. 24, with a GNAC clash against the Blazers of Elms College. The evening bout is set to tip-off at 5 p.m. inside "The Nest".