WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Behind a career-high 32 points from Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.), the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team earned its seventh consecutive win with a 72-55 road victory over the University of Saint Joseph (CT) Saturday afternoon.
In addition to Scott's outstanding game, Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) also tallied double-digits with 14 points. On the defensive end, Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) swatted a career-best six shots to go along with nine points and a team-leading seven rebounds.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 72 | Saint Joseph's (CT) 55
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (11-8, 10-2 GNAC) | Saint Joseph's (CT) (11-8, 7-5 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus controlled the opening minute as Rivera and Scott hit back-to-back shots to give the Falcons the early 5-2 advantage, until a 4-0 run by the Blue Jays gave the hosts its first lead, 6-5, with 7:45 on the clock.
Albertus and USJ (CT) battled offensively over the next six minutes, forcing two ties and three lead changes, until back-to-back threes from Scott in the final minute gave the visitors the five-point lead, 16-11, with 35 seconds left on the clock.
The Blue Jays and Falcons traded foul shots over the final 30 seconds, with AMC taking an 18-13 lead into the second stanza.
Despite USJ (CT) cutting the deficit to within three, 18-15, to start the second, Albertus found its rhythm offensively, scoring nine unanswered points to take a commanding 12-point lead, 27-15, with 5:52 left in the half.
Thirty seconds later, USJ (CT) capitalized on a Maya Slisz jumper and rallied back to within six, 27-21, following a 6-0 spurt. However, the Falcons retaliated quickly, with Rivera igniting a 7-0 run on a quick lay-up that gave the Falcons their largest lead of the half at 13, 34-21, heading into a timeout at the 2:22 mark.
Both teams played tight defense for the final two minutes of the quarter, with Blue Jays' Jordan Ouellette putting in a lay-up on a quick drive to the hoop to cut the deficit to 11, 34-23, as the clock ran down to zero and the teams transitioned into the halftime break.
The defensive battle between Albertus and USJ (CT) carried over into the third quarter, with both teams being held scoreless over the first two minutes. Back-to-back free throws from Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I) and Scott got the Falcons on the board, but USJ (CT) countered the baskets with a pair of free throws 15 seconds later.
Raposo and Scott continued to carry the Falcons' offense as the duo increased the visitors lead to 15, 40-25, until another back-and-forth cycle between the two programs. Following the three score changes, Albertus picked up momentum and closed out the remaining 3:53 with a 10-5 run to take a 17-point lead, 52-35, heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Murray-Leach began to pick up steam, scoring six of the Falcons' first eight points in the fourth quarter, behind a pair of lay-ups and a pair of made free throws, extending the Falcons lead to 22, 60-38. Shortly after, the Blue Jays responded with a quick 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 62-44 with five minutes remaining in regulation as both teams headed into a media timeout.
Out of the break, the teams traded baskets for the remainder of the contest, with USJ (CT) putting together a quick 4-0 run in the final seconds. However, the effort was for naught as the Falcons held on to secure the 72-55 conference victory.
TEAM STATS
Albertus: 39.7% FG | 32.0% 3PT | 78.3% FT
USJ (CT): 25.0% FG | 23.1% 3PT | 64.3% FT
KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
Caitlyn Scott - 32 points (8-13 FG, 4-4 3PT, 12-13 FT) | 5 rebounds | 3 assists | 3 steals
Jakara Murray-Leach - 14 points (6-13 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 2 rebounds | 2 steals
Natasha Rivera - 9 points (4-9 FG, 1-3 3PT) | 7 rebounds | 6 blocks
Saint Joseph's CT:
Maya Slisz - 20 points (7-15 FG, 2-3 3PT, 4-6 FT) | 7 rebounds | 1 steal | block
Jordan Ouellette - 12 points (4-13 FG, 4-5 FT) |4 rebounds | 1 block
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the 35th meeting between Albertus and USJ.
- Albertus improves to 27-8 all-time against the Blue Jays with the win.
- With the victory today, the Falcons rank second in the GNAC with a 10-2 league record.
- Scott had a career-high with 32 points.
- Rivera tallied a career-best six blocks.
- Murray-Leach has now scored 315 points for the season and is one of only four players to date in the conference, with 300+ points scored.
- Murray-Leach has run her streak of consecutive games with 10+ points to 13.
- The Falcons have scored over 70 points in each of the last five games.
UP NEXT
The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team will host the Blue Jays of Saint Joseph's (CT) on Monday, Feb. 7, at 5:30 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center for a home rematch.
