NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Sophomore Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) and junior Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) spearheaded the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team to a thrilling 82-77 home victory over Lasell University on Saturday afternoon inside "The Nest". 

Murray-Leach finished the game with her 14th double-double of the season behind a 29-point, 10-rebound performance. Scott followed close behind with 27 points, with four rebounds and two steals. 

Junior Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) put together a great game for the blue-and-white, tallying 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two assists. Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) also served as a defensive threat for the Falcons, posting a team-high 11 rebounds, eight points, two steals, two blocks, and an assist.    

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 82 | Lasell 77         
Records: Albertus Magnus (21-3, 16-2 GNAC) | Lasell (6-19, 5-13 GNAC)  
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• AMC raced out to a quick 4-0 lead over the first 1:36 of play, as Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) and Murray-Leach scored back-to-back lay-ups. 
• The Lasers countered with a 6-0 run before Zdru nailed paydirt from beyond the arc to spark a 14-0 Falcons' run that gave the host's the 18-6 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. 
• The teams traded shots until Murray-Leach drained a three-point jumper to push AMC's advantage to 14, 25-11, with 2:43 left in the first. 
• The Lasers countered with a 7-2 push before Scott nailed a last-second three-pointer to send the teams into the second stanza with the Falcons up 30-18. 
• Albertus opened the second frame with a 6-2 surge to push its lead to 16, 36-20.
• The teams traded 6-0 runs over the next few minutes to boost the score to 42-29 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
• Albertus would head into the halftime break with a 51-38 advantage.
• The Lasers opened the third frame with a quick lay-up before Scott retaliated with a made three-pointer that sparked a 7-1 Falcon run that pushed the score to 58-41. 
• A 4-0 spurt from the Lasers was immediately countered by a 7-0 push from the Falcons that saw five points from Murray-Leach and two from Scott to run the score to 65-45 with just under four minutes remaining.  
• The Lasers roared back with a 10-2 push over the final minutes of the third quarter to send the teams into the final frame, with the Falcons holding the 69-55 lead.
• Lasell cobbled together a 10-3 run over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 72-65. 
• A Murray-Leach jumper extended Albertus' lead to nine, 74-65, before Lasell answered back with a made three-pointer to make it a six-point game, 74-68. 
• Lasell continued to battle, putting together a 7-2 stretch to come within one, 76-75, with 1:14 left on the clock. 
• Lasell would score once more but was unable to fend off Scott, who exploded for six points of her own in the final minute to put the finishing touches on the Falcons' 82-77 victory over the Lasers.

TEAM STATS

Albertus: 43.3% FG | 25.0% 3PT | 82.6% FT
Lasell: 40.8% FG | 42.9% 3PT | 77.8% FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach - 29 points (12-20 FG, 2-5 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals | 2 blocks    
Caitlyn Scott - 27 points (8-15 FG, 2-6 3PT, 9-9 FT) | 4 rebounds | 8 assists | 2 steals | blocks    
Amanda Zdru - 10 points (4-12 FG, 1-6 3PT, 1-3 FT) | 5 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals 

Lasell:
Shirle Major - 31 points (10-18 FG, 7-12 3PT, 4-4 FT) | 1 rebound | 3 assists | 1 steal  
Juju Nealy - 18 points (7-16 FG, 4-7 3PT) | 4 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal | 1 block 

NOTEWORTHY

• Today's game marked the 17th all-time meeting between the Falcons and the Lasers.
• After this afternoon's win by Albertus, they now hold a 14-3 lead in the all-time series. 
• Murray-Leach scored 25+ for the fifth time this season. 
• Scott netted 25+ for the sixth time this season. 
• Murray-Leach recorded her 14th double-double of the season. 

UP NEXT

The Falcons now look ahead to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament as the Falcons clinched the number one seed in the South Division and will open up tournament play on Tuesday, February 21st, with a 5:30 home battle with the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College.  

Tuesday, February 21 - QUARTERFINALS
GAME 1: #4S JWU at #1N Saint Joseph's Maine - 5:30PM
GAME 2: #3N Rivier at #2S Regis - 7:30PM
GAME 3: #3S St. Joseph CT at #2N Emmanuel - 7:30PM
GAME 4: #4N Colby-Sawyer at #1S Albertus Magnus - 5:30PM

Thursday, February 23 - SEMIFINALS
GAME 5: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner
GAME 6: Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner

Saturday, February 25 - CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 7: at highest remaining seed