NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team defeated the Blazers of Elms College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday night by a final score of 93-57 inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.

The Falcons were led by a career night by freshman Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn) with 40 points. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) was second on the team with 15 points, while Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.) rounded out AMC's double-digit scorers with 12. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: No. 2 Albertus Magnus 93 | No. 7 Elms 57
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (17-8, 15-2 GNAC) | Elms (14-9, 10-8 GNAC)
BOX SCORE

KEY HIGHLIGHTS
First Half:

• At the end of the first quarter, Albertus led the Blazers, 20-8, with Murray-Leach scoring 13 of the Falcons' 20 points.
• The Falcons kept the Blazers at bay for the second quarter, out-scoring the visitors, 29-13, to take a commanding 28-point lead at the half, 49-21.
• Murray-Leach paced the offensive attack scoring a season-high 31 points in the first half.

Second Half:

• The Falcons continued to press the throttle to start the third quarter, starting the half on an 8-0 run to go ahead by 36 points, 57-21.
• The quick start of the quarter sparked the Falcons to win the frame by a 24-21 margin.
• With the game well in hand, Albertus put the finishing touches on the victory with a 20-15 win in the fourth quarter.
• Murray-Leach continued to excel in the third quarter with nine in the frame.
• Zdru thrived in the fourth quarter with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor.
• The Falcons advance to the semifinals with a 93-57 victory.

TEAM STATS
Albertus – 51.3 % FG | 50.0 % 3PT | 63.6 % FT
Elms – 28.8 % FG | 32.0 % 3PT | 68.8 % FT

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach - 40 points (17-25 FG, 5-7 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists | 3 steals | 2 blocks
Amanda Zdru - 15 points (6-6 FG, 2-2 3PT, 1-1 FT) | 7 rebounds | 3 assists | 3 steals
Katherine Raposo - 12 points (5-6 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-1 FT) | 7 rebounds | 6 assists | 2 steals

Elms:
McKenzie Huria - 16 points ( 4-12 FG, 4-8 3PT, 4-4 FT) | 8 rebounds | 2 assists
Sarah Evangelista - 11 points ( 4-10 FG, 3-7 3PT) | 4 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals

NOTEWORTHY

• Albertus is 12-1 all-time against Elms College and 3-0 against Elms this season.
• The Falcons are now 13-19 all-time in the playoffs.
• Murray-Leach scored a season and career-high 40 points tonight.
• Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) recorded her fifth game this season with 10+ rebounds.
• Zdru recorded her second straight game of 10+ points.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will play Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Friday, Feb. 25th, at 5:30 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center in the GNAC semifinal matchup.