NASHUA, N.H. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team saw their winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Falcons suffered a hard-fought 76-70 setback to the Raiders of Rivier University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match-up. 

The Falcons had four players score in double-digits, while sophomore guard Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) continued her dominant play with her 12th double-double of the season behind an 18-point, 10-rebound showing.  

Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) led the team with a 22-point performance, while teammates Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) and Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) chipped in with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) also had a good game for the blue-and-white, as the junior forward recorded seven points, 12 rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks.           

THE BASICS
Final: Rivier 76 | Albertus Magnus 70 
Records: Albertus Magnus (18-2, 13-1 GNAC) | River (12-11, 9-6 GNAC)
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first three minutes of play saw Albertus and Rivier battle through three ties and three lead changes before the Raiders went on a 14-0 scoring run behind four straight made three-pointers to take a 21-9 lead with 5:36 left in the first.  
• From there, the teams traded baskets over the remainder of the stanza, heading into the second frame with the Falcons trailing by 14, 28-14. 
• AMC opened the second quarter with a speedy 5-0 run following a three from Scott and a pair of made free throws from Zdru, but the Raiders countered with a 9-4 run to take the 37-23 lead.
• A Scott lay-up at 5:18 sparked a 12-2 surge by the Falcons, cutting the deficit to within four, 39-35, heading into the final three minutes of the stanza. 
• The Raiders roared right back with an 8-2 run to close out the quarter and send the teams into the halftime break, with the Falcons trailing by 10, 47-37. 
• Albertus opened the third with a 6-0 run, behind a three-pointer from Zdru and a traditional three-point play from Rivera, to make it a four-point contest, 47-43. 
• From there, the Raiders responded with an explosive 12-3 run to expand their lead to 59-46 with just over four minutes left to play in the third. 
• The Falcons rallied for a 7-4 push over the remainder of the third to take a 10-point deficit, 63-53, heading into the fourth and final quarter. 
• The teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, running the score to 70-61 in favor of the Raiders, before a 6-2 spurt cut the deficit to five, 72-67, with 3:18 left in regulation. 
• A three-point jumper from Rivera at the 1:21 mark cut Riviers' lead to four, 74-70, but Wilcox nailed a pair of free throws in the final seconds to end the Falcon's winning streak heartbreakingly and hand them their first conference loss of the season by a final score of 76-70.      

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 34.2% FG | 38.9% 3PT | 64.7% FT
Rivier: 42.9% FG | 36.0% 3PT | 92.9% FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Caitlyn Scott - 22 points (9-19 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals  
Jakara Murray-Leach - 18 points (7-22 FG, 1-2 3PT, 3-6 FT) | 10 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals   
Amanda Zdru - 13 points (4-9 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 8 rebounds | 1 steal | 1 block  
Diamond White - 10 points (4-14 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 5 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal   

Rivier:
Lyric Grumblatt - 29 points (10-22 FG, 4-9 3PT, 5-5 FT) | 10 rebounds | 3 steals | 1 block   
Bea Stafford - 16 points (7-9 FG, 2-2 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 block   
Breanna Wilcox - 14 points (4-13 FG, 3-10 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 4 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 block   
Hannah Muchemore - 10 points (4-11 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 7 rebounds | 7 assists | 1 block   

NOTEWORTHY

• Following today's setback, the Falcons are 22-11 all-time against the Raiders. 
• Scott eclipsed 20+ points for the 14th time this season. 
• Zdru recorded her seventh game of the season with 10+ points. 
• Rivera has grabbed 12 boards in back-to-back games and has 10 games this season with 10+ rebounds. 

UP NEXT

The women's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 11, for a road tilt against Regis (Mass.) College. Tip-off is set for 1 PM.