SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team picked up its second win of the young season on Thursday night, defeating the Golden Bears of Western New England University by a final score of 73-61 inside the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center. 

Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) picked up her first double-double of the season with a 20-point, 13-rebound performance, while Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) led all players with 22 points. Fellow starters Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) and Robin Selitte (Bridgeport, Conn.) chipped in with 16 points and 11 points, respectively.    

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 73 | Western New England 61 
Records: Albertus Magnus (2-0) | Western New England (1-4)
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Golden Bears raced out to an early 6-0 lead three minutes into the first quarter. 
• At the 6:43 mark, Murray-Leach broke the scoreless drought for the Falcons as the sophomore guard hit a deep jumper, bringing the score to 6-2. 
• From there, the Falcons rattled off an 8-4 run, including baskets from Scott, Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.), and Murray-Leach,  over the next five minutes to tie the game at 10-all heading into the final minute and a half of the first quarter.
• The Golden Bears closed out the stanza with a 4-0 spurt to take the 14-10 lead heading into the second quarter. 
• AMC came out of the huddle rattling off a 6-2 run to knot the score at 16-all just 1:27 into the frame on a pair of Scott lay-ups and a White lay-up. 
• Shortly after, a Selitte layup ignited a 9-1 run that pushed the Falcons ahead by eight, 25-17, with 6:32 left on the clock.
• The Golden Bears responded with a 7-0 push to make it a one-point game, 25-24, in favor of the Falcons, with four minutes left in the frame. 
• The teams traded baskets until the 2:21 mark when a Scott lay-up sparked a 6-0 run for the Falcons that saw Murray-Leach drain a jumper while Rivera chipped in with a pair of made free throws. 
• The Golden Bears added five more points to their total before the half expired, but not before White nailed a long trey from behind the arc to send the teams into the break, with the Falcons holding the 38-33 advantage.   
• WNE started the third quarter by cutting the lead down to five, 43-38, following a free throw from Lindsey Carey, but the blue-and-white countered the basket with a 7-0 run that put the visitors up 12, 50-38, with 5:50 remaining. 
• The Falcons' double-digit lead started to dwindle as a three-pointer from Abby Garaban brought the hosts to within nine, 53-44, heading into the final stanza. 
• AMC opened the fourth stanza with an 8-2 run that saw Murray-Leach score five points while White netted the remaining two. 
• Trailing by 15, 61-46, the Golden Bears continued to chip away at the Falcons' double-digit lead until the 3:59 mark as Carey hit a deep three to make it an eight-point ball game, 63-55. 
• Despite battling back to within single digits on two occasions, WNE could not secure the comeback, suffering its fourth season loss.

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 41% FG | 28.6% 3PT| 67.9% FT
Western New England: 37.7% FG | 22.2% 3PT| 68.8% FT

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
Albertus:
Caitlyn Scott - 22 points (6-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 9-13 FT) | 4 rebounds | 3 assists | 2 steals | 1 block
Jakara Murray-Leach - 20 points (8-17 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-6 FT) | 13 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals | 2 blocks
Diamond White - 16 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3PT, 1-3 FT) | 4 rebounds | 4 assists
Robin Selitte - 11 points (4-9 FG, 3-4 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist

Western New England:
Lindsay Carey - 19 points (7-17 FG, 1-5 3PT, 4-4 FT) | 6 rebounds | 1 assist 
Abby Garaban - 11 points (3-9 FG, 1-4 3PT, 4-6 FT) | 3 rebounds | 4 assists 

NOTEWORTHY

• Following tonight's win, the Falcons are now 10-7 all-time against WNE.
• Tonight's game saw two ties and one lead change.
• 34 of the Falcons' 73 points came in the paint, while 20 points were scored off turnovers. 
• Murray-Leach's double-double was her third of her career and the first of the season.
• Scott and Murray-Leach have both scored 20+ points in back-to-back games for the Falcons.
• White has recorded 10 or more points in both games so far this season. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons return to New Haven, Conn., for their home opener on Monday, November 21, for a 7 PM non-conference match-up against the Bears of Coast Guard Academy inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.