NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Behind a pair of double-digit performances from Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) and Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.), the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team cruised to a 63-48 home victory over the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College on Monday evening inside "The Nest" in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

Scott paced the Falcons offensively with her fourth straight 20-point performance with 22, followed by Murray-Leach with 19 points. Junior Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) also had a game posting a team-high 13 rebounds and five blocks.        

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 63 | Colby-Sawyer 48
Records: Albertus Magnus (9-1, 4-0 GNAC) | Colby-Sawyer (1-8, 0-3 GNAC)
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Chargers raced out to a 12-3 lead over the first 7:20 minutes of play. Scott scored the lone point for Albertus on a three-point jumper at the 6:59 mark. 
• Following an Albertus time-out, the Falcons closed the quarter with a 4-0 run and headed into the second stanza, trailing the Chargers by five, 12-7. 
• The Falcons roared out of the gate to start the second, putting together a 9-3 run on seven points from Scott and two from Murray-Leach to take their first lead of the day, 16-15, with 7:18 remaining in the half.   

• The Falcons continued to pile on the pressure, putting together a 6-0 run to take the 22-15 lead at the 5:15 mark. 
• The Chargers retaliated with a 4-0 burst to cut the deficit to three, 22-19, but the Falcons closed out the half with a 6-3 run to take a 28-22 lead into the halftime break. 
• The Falcons' offense erupted from the break, outscoring the Chargers by a 22-6 margin. Murray-Leach led the offensive parade with 10 points, Rivera chipped in with six points, and White and Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had four points and two points, respectively. 

• The Chargers put together a 7-0 run to start the fourth stanza, cutting the deficit to 50-35 with 6:31 left in regulation. 
• A Scott lay-up halted the run before the Chargers went on another 7-1 run to cut the deficit to 11, 53-42, with just over three minutes left to play. 

• The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the game, with Scott scoring five points in the final minutes on a made three-pointer and a pair of made free throws to seal the 63-48 victory and give the Falcons their ninth victory of the season.

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 34.7% FG | 23.8% 3PT | 61.5% FT
Colby-Sawyer: 28.3% FG | 36.0% 3PT | 55.6% FT

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
Albertus:
Caitlyn Scott - 22 points (6-13 FG, 4-6 3PT, 6-7 FT) | 6 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals
Jakara Murray-Leach - 19 points (9-25 FG, 0-6 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 8 rebounds | 6 steals | 1 block 
Natasha Rivera - 8 points (3-10 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 13 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal | 5 blocks  

Colby-Sawyer:
Elyza Mitchell- 10 points (5-11FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-1 FT) | 8 rebounds | 1 assist
Marissa Holt- 10 points (3-13 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 12 rebounds | 5  assists | 3 steals 

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the 10th all-time meeting between the Chargers and Falcons.
• Albertus is now 9-1 all-time against Colby-Sawyer.
• Today's win marks Coach Fredette's 149th win for the women's basketball program.
• Albertus recorded a season-high in blocks (7) and steals (14).
• The Falcons posted a season-low of eight turnovers. 
• Rivera registered a season-high in both rebounds and blocks. 
• Scott posted her eighth 20+ point performance. 
• Along with her 19 points, Murray-Leach recorded a season-high six steals, eight rebounds, and a block. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons return to the court on Thursday, January 5th, for a home clash with conference-foe Regis (Mass.) College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.