WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team battled ferociously to the end of a nail-biting triple-overtime performance, coming away with the intense 106-104 victory over intra-state rival University of Saint Joseph (CT) on Tuesday night inside the O'Connell Center.  

Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) led all players with 39 points, while Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn. tallied a double-double behind a 20-point, 12-rebound showing. Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) set a season-high with 25 points, while Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) put in 13 points to go along with seven rebounds, a steal, and six blocks.            

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 106 | USJ (CT) 104 - 3OT     
Records: Albertus Magnus (18-1, 13-0 GNAC) | USJ (CT) (13-8, 9-5 GNAC) 
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Over the first five minutes of play, Albertus and USJ battled through five ties until a layup from White ignited an 11-2 run that put the Falcons ahead by nine, 22-13, with 3:14 left on the clock in the first. 
• A pair of free throws from USJ's Jordan Farrell halted Albertus' run, but the Falcons stormed back with a 5-0 push on a three-pointer from White and a lay-up from Rivera, extending their lead to 12, 27-15, with 2:05 remaining in the stanza. 
• USJ closed out the final two minutes of the first quarter with a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to eight, 27-19. 
• It was a back-and-forth scoring affair to start the second stanza before Murray-Leach and Rivera nailed two straight three-pointers to extend the Falcons' advantage to 37-23 with 6:36 remaining in the half.  
• The teams played tight defense for the remainder of the frame before the Falcons closed out the half with an explosive 6-1 run to take the 52-34 lead into the halftime break. Adrianna Faienza (New Britain, Conn.), White, and Scott all scored for the blue-and-white during the scoring stretch. 
• Albertus controlled the opening 2:16 of the third quarter as the Falcons went on a 6-2 run, highlighted by lay-ups from Rivera and Scott.
• However, a three-point play from Farrell sparked a 10-0 run for the Blue Jays to cut the deficit to 12, 58-46, with 4:33 left on the clock.
• A 5-0 run from the Falcons pushed the advantage back up to 17, 63-46,  but the Blue Jays stormed back with a 12-1 surge to cut the deficit to 64-58 heading into the fourth and final quarter.  
• USJ carried its scoring surge into the next stanza outscoring the Falcons 8-2 over the first three minutes to even the game at 66-66.  
• A media timeout at 4:54 paused the game before the Blue Jays surged ahead with a 6-3 run to make it a 72-69 game with 2:57 remaining in regulation. 
• Over the next 1:55, the teams played stonewall defense before Scott nailed a heroic jumper from beyond the arc to tie the game at 72-all with 1:02 remaining on the clock. 
• The Blue Jays made a herculean effort for the basket, but spectacular defensive work from the blue-and-white kept the hosts from the net, and the teams moved into the first overtime stanza, deadlocked at 72.  
• The first overtime stanza featured a pair of ties, with the second coming at 76-76 before the Blue Jays put together a 4-0 run to take an 80-76 lead.
• The Falcons retaliated immediately, putting together a 7-0 run, but a two-second three-pointer from USJ's Amanda Fudge sent the game into a second overtime, tied at 83-all. 
• The Falcons opened up the second OT with a 3-0 spurt on a White free throw and a Scott lay-up. 
• The teams battled to an 88-88 draw with 2:02 left on the clock before Blue Jays' Fudge nailed a three-pointer to make it a 91-89, before a Blue Jays foul sent Scott to the charity stripe. The sophomore guard drained both shots to re-tie the game at 91-all. 
• Back-to-back three-pointers countered a 5-0 Blue Jay spurt from White to give the AMC the one-point advantage, but a made Blue Jay free throw sent the squads into the third OT still deadlocked at 97-97. 
• The Falcons opened the third OT with a 5-2 run to take the 102-99 lead. 
• The teams traded tallies running the score to 104-101 before a White free throw, and Robin Selitte (Bridgeport, Conn.) free throw pushed the Falcon's advantage to five, 106-101. 
• USJ's Jelly Frigo nailed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two, 106-104, but the Falcon's luck held as the buzzer sounded a second later, signaling the end of the battle and the Falcon's hard-fought victory.     

TEAM STATS

Albertus: 39.1 % FG | 38.7 % 3PT | 76.5 % FT
USJ (CT): 38.8 % FG | 23.1 % 3PT | 70.0 % FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Caitlyn Scott - 39 points (12-33 FG, 3-10 3PT, 12-14 FT) | 6 rebounds | 4 assists | 4 steals | 1 block  
Diamond White - 25 points (7-16 FG, 5-7 3PT, 6-8 FT) | 4 rebounds | 6 assists | 1 steal  
Jakara Murray-Leach - 20 points (7-21 FG, 3-9 3PT, 3-6 FT) | 12 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals
Natasha Rivera - 13 points (5-11 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 7 rebounds | 5 assists | 1 steal | 6 blocks     

USJ (CT):
Jordan Ouellette - 31 points (14-29 FG, 3-4 FT) | 16 rebounds | 2 steals | 3 blocks  
Taylor Verboven - 25points (10-19 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-7 FT) | 22 rebounds | 3 assists | 2 steals   
Maya Slisz - 24 points (10-22 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-10 FT) | 4 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals  

NOTEWORTHY

• Tonight's contest marked the first triple-overtime game in program history. 
• Tonight's 100-point showing was the Falcon's first triple-digit effort since last season when they defeated the Lasell College Lasers by a final score of 101-53. 
• Scott's 39 points tonight were a season and career-high for the junior guard. 
• White had a season-high 25 points. 
• Murray-Leach scored 20 points for the third consecutive game. 
• Rivera has eight games this season with 10+ points and 10+ in back-to-back games. 
• Scott has three straight games with multiple steals, including four tonight.   

UP NEXT

The Falcons return to their home court on Thursday, February 2nd, for a conference clash with the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University. Game time is slated for 5:30 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.