Albertus Magnus College
Women's Basketball GNAC Tournament Preview

#1S Albertus Magnus (22-3)
vs.
 # 2N Emmanuel (Mass.) (21-5) 
Friday, Feb. 24 • 7:00 p.m. • Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center 

POSTSEASON CONTINUES

The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team has earned the No. 1 seed of the South Division in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament. Following the Falcons' home victory over the fourth-seeded Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College, the blue-and-white will now square off against the second-seeded Saints of Emmanual (Mass.) College from the North Division in the semifinals on Friday, February 24. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.

POSTSEASON NOTES

• This year's tournament berth marks the Falcon's eighth straight GNAC Tournament appearance and is the 21st conference tournament appearance in program history.
• The Falcons are advancing to their second straight conference semifinal game. 
• Albertus holds an all-time GNAC postseason record of 14-20.      

2022-2023 RECAP

• The Falcons finished the 2022-23 regular season with an overall mark of 21-3, the third 20+ win campaign in program history, with a conference mark of 16-2. 
• Albertus opened the season with a seven-game winning streak, which included wins over Coast Guard Academy and conference powerhouse Emmanual (Mass.) College. 
• The Falcons saw their early winning streak snapped with a setback to 11th-ranked Springfield College by a final score of 79-65. 
• Following the defeat, AMC stormed back and rattled off a 12-game winning streak, which included eight conference victories. 
• The Falcons' home victory over Regis (Mass.) College on January 5 was Coach Fredette's 150th career victory, bringing their overall record to 16-1 heading into a clash of conference titans.   
• On January 28, the Monks of Saint Joseph's College of Maine rolled into town, looking to extend their undefeated streak against the Falcons. Still, the Monks could not secure the road victory as the Falcons captured the program's first-ever win against their longtime conference rivals. 
• Three days later, the blue-and-white set more firsts with a match-up against intrastate foe University of Saint Joseph's (CT) as the Falcons and Blue Jays battled ferociously in a back-and-forth brawl, going into a triple-overtime spectacle, the first such instance in program history.  
• Tied 72-72 at the end of regulation, the teams moved through the first two OT frames, matching each other point for point, before Albertus finally held the Blue Jays off long enough in the 3rd OT to create a 2-point cushion for the 106-104 victory.  
• The Falcons went 3-2 in February to close out the season, picking up wins against Johnson & Wales University, Elms College, and Lasell University while suffering a pair of defeats to Rivier University and Regis (Mass.) College.    

LAST TIME OUT

• Albertus women's basketball rolled through the first round of the conference playoffs, defeating the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College by a final score of 75-60.
• Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) and Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Falcons' offensive attack with 22 and 21 points, respectively.
• Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) dropped 12 points in the contest, while Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) grabbed six boards with three blocks, two steals, and nine points scored.       

GNAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

QUARTERFINALS (at high seeds) - Tuesday, February 21 
GAME 1: #4S JWU 51 at #1N Saint Joseph's Maine 80   
GAME 2: #3N Rivier 78 at #2S Regis 58   
GAME 3: #3S St. Joseph CT 67 at #2N Emmanuel 70 - OT  
GAME 4: #4N Colby-Sawyer 60 at #1S Albertus Magnus 70  

SEMIFINALS (at high seeds) - Friday, February 24  
GAME 5: #3N Rivier at #1N Saint Joseph's Maine - 7:00 PM 
GAME 6: #2N Emmanual (Mass.) at #1S Albertus Magnus - 7:00 PM   

CHAMPIONSHIP - Sunday, February 26
GAME 7:at highest remaining seed 

SCOUTING ALBERTUS MAGNUS
Points Per Game: 76.2 PPG (2nd in GNAC)
Rebounds Per Game: 42.3 RPG (5th in GNAC)
Assists Per Game: 13.3 APG (6th in GNAC)
Scoring Defense: 63.1 PPG (8th in GNAC)

ALBERTUS MAGNUS PLAYER & TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Falcons are led this year with a cast of talented players, including returners Murray-Leach, Scott, Rivera, and White. 
• Scott leads the conference in scoring, averaging 21.7 points per game, the 11th-highest total in all of NCAA DIII this season, while Murray-Leach is cemented solidly in third place with 18.8 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game. 
• Murray-Leach paces the GNAC in double-doubles with 14, averaging 18.9 points per game this season. 
• AMC has three players in the top 20 in scoring in the conference, including Murray-Leach (18.9 PPG) and Scott (21.7 PPG), and sophomore White (12.5 PPG).  
• Rivera paced the blue-and-white in blocks with 56 and was second in the GNAC, averaging 2.3 per game.     

THIS YEAR VS. EMMANUAL (Mass.)

• (01/3/2023): Albertus Magnus 89 | Emmanuel (Mass.) 72 BOX SCORE 
• Quick Highlights: Murray-Leach led all players with 32 points and 11 rebounds, while Scott was right behind her with 27 points. Rivera also scored a season-high 19 points in the contest. 

SCOUTING EMMANUAL (Mass.) 
Points Per Game: 77.7 PPG (1st in GNAC)
Rebounds Per Game: 50.5 RPG (1st in GNAC)
Assists Per Game: 18.2 APG (1st in GNAC)
Scoring Defense: 56.6 PPG (2nd in GNAC)