NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team extended its winning streak to three straight following a 71-58 home victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference-foe Regis (Mass.) College on Thursday night inside "The Nest".

Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Falcon's offensive attack with a 22-point performance, to go along with six rebounds, two steals, and six blocks. Teammate Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) followed close behind with a 20-point performance. At the same time, junior Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) was a force on defense for the Falcons, posting 15 rebounds, six blocks, and two steals, to go along with five points.          

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 71 | Regis (Mass.) 58  
Records: Albertus Magnus (10-1, 5-0 GNAC) | Regis (Mass.) (3-7, 3-1 GNAC )
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Pride opened the game with a 5-0 run over the first 1:10 in the first stanza before Murray-Leach sparked a 7-1 run with a made lay-up. 

• The squads traded baskets until a Murray-Leach trey at the 3:54 mark ignited a 7-2 run for the blue-and-white, giving the hosts the 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter.  
• A defensive battle ensued for the first 2:40 of the second, as both teams were held to a single basket. A Scott lay-up at the 7:20 mark gave the Falcons a four-point cushion, 18-14.  

• The Falcons rallied and put together a 6-2 run to expand the lead to 24-16 with just over five minutes left on the clock. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.), Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.), and Murray-Leach all found net for AMC.
• The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the frame, heading into the locker room with Albertus holding the 32-25 advantage. 
• The teams traded three-pointers to open the third quarter, as a Pam Gonzalez three from Regis (Mass.) was immediately countered by a trey from Scott to keep the Falcons' ahead by seven. 
• AMC put together a 4-0 spurt before the Pride responded with their own 5-0 run to bring the score to 39-33 with 6:15 left in the third. 

• A pair of Scott lay-ups in the final two minutes sandwiched a made three-pointer from White to push the Falcons' lead to 54-40 heading into the final frame. 
• Scott opened the fourth with a made trey just 52 seconds in to push AMC's lead to 17, 57-40. 
• The Pride retaliated with a 5-0 push to cut the deficit to 12, 57-45, but a Scott lay-up at the 7:28 mark halted the run. 
• A pair of lay-ups from White and Murray-Leach sandwiched a Pride trey to give the Falcons the 15-point advantage, 63-48, with just over five minutes left in regulation. 
• The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, and the Falcons walked away with the 71-58 conference triumph.   

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 46.7% FG | 40.0% 3PT | 64.3% FT
Regis (Mass.): 29.1% FG | 26.1% 3PT | 60.0% FT

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach - 22 points (10-23 FG, 2-5 3PT, 0-2 FT) | 6 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals | 6 blocks
Caitlyn Scott- 20 points (7-14 FG, 2-3 3PT, 4-6 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist
Diamond White - 15 points  (7-12 FG, 1-4 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 5 assists | 1 steal 

Regis (Mass.): 
Pam Gonzalez- 25 points (10-21 FG, 2-5 3PT, 3-5 FT) | 15 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal 
Valerie Whalen- 10 points (4-12 FG, 2-2 FT) | 15 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal

NOTEWORTHY

• With tonight's victory, the Falcons improve to 7-3 all-time against the Pride.
• The Falcons are now in sole possession of first place in the GNAC South division at 5-0 and have the fewest number of losses (1) in the entire conference.  
• Following tonight's home victory, Coach Fredette earned his 150th career win.

• Scott has scored 20+ points in five straight games. 
• Murray-Leach recorded her sixth game this season with 20+ points. 
• White tallied her sixth game of the season with 10+ points. 
• Rivera set a new career-high in blocks with six while recording a season-high in rebounds with 15. 
• Tonight's 12-block performance was a season-high for the blue-and-white. 

UP NEXT
The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team continues their conference slate on Saturday, Jan. 7, with a 12 p.m. road bout against Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass.