WESTON, Mass. - Sophomore Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) of the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team tallied a team-high 17 points as the Falcons suffered a 72-59 road setback on Saturday afternoon to divisional rival Regis (Mass.) College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
Along with her 17-point performance, Murray-Leach tallied a team-high eight rebounds, five steals, three blocks, and an assist. Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) netted a double-digit performance for the Falcons as the junior point guard netted 16 points with six rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) rounded out the Falcon's double-digit scorers with 13 points along with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
THE BASICS
Final: Regis (Mass.) 72 | Albertus Magnus 59
Records: Albertus Magnus (19-3, 14-2 GNAC) | Regis (Mass.) (11-11, 11-5 GNAC)
Box Score
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Regis opened regulation with the early 10-2 lead over the first 5:23 until a layup from White halted the run 11 seconds later, making the score 10-4.
- A 4-2 run by the Pride push their advantage to eight, 14-6, forcing Albertus to call a timeout at the 1:13 mark.
- Regis continued to shoot out of the break, as Courtney Doherty sank a three-point jumper to send the teams into the second stanza, with the Falcons trailing by 11, 17-6.
- Albertus saw the deficit grow to as many as 25, 37-12, with 2:12 left in the second period before cutting the deficit to 20, 37-17, at the half.
- White, Sharaya Keele (Adams, Mass.), Robin Selitte (Bridgeport. Conn.), and Scott all scored in the second period for the blue-and-white.
- The first two minutes of the second half saw Albertus and Regis (Mass.) trade baskets until a layup from Pam Gonzalez ignited a 7-0 run for the Pride that pushed the host's advantage to 25, 47-22, with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter.
- Momentum slowly began to shift in favor of the Falcons as the visitors closed out the stanza on a 15-3 run, including six points from Scott, to make it a 50-37 game heading into the fourth and final quarter.
- Regis (Mass.) came out with the hot hand increasing its lead back to 19, 56-37, following back-to-back three-pointers from Jordyn Striggles and Pam Gonzalez just 45 seconds in.
- Albertus countered the pair of threes with a 7-3 run, highlighted by five points from Murray-Leach, but the Pride resumed offensive control by pushing its advantage to 23, 67-44, with 6:40 left on the clock.
- Despite closing the game on a 13-5 run, Albertus could not secure the road comeback, falling to the Pride by a final score of 72-59.
TEAM STATS
Albertus: 33.8% FG | 26.7% 3PT | 69.2% FT
Regis (Mass.): 40.0% FG | 50.0% 3PT | 80.0% FT
PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach - 17 points (7-17 FG, 1-2 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 8 rebounds | 1 assist | 5 steals | 3 blocks
Caitlyn Scott - 16 points (5-23 FG, 0-4 3PT, 6-8 FT) | 6 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal
Diamond White - 13 points (6-12 FG, 1-3 3PT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals
Regis (Mass.):
Maddie Zancan - 20 points (6-14 FG, 1-1 3PT, 7-8 FT) | 9 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 block
Pam Gonzalez - 17 points (7-15 FG, 3-7 3PT) | 14 rebounds | 8 assists | 2 steals | 2 blocks
Jordyn Striggles - 15 points (5-9 FG, 5-8 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals
Courtney Doherty - 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-5 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the 11th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- With today's setback, Albertus is now 7-4 against the Pride.
- Murray-Leach has tallied three or more blocks on five occasions this season.
- Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) also was a defensive threat for the Falcons tallying two blocks, while Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) collected one.
- Rivera finished with a team-high four assists, one shy of her season-high.
UP NEXT
The Falcons return home on Tuesday, February 14th, for a home conference tilt with the Blazers of Elms College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center in New Haven, Conn.
