NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team saw their season come to a close on Friday night with a heartbreaking loss to the Saints of Emmanuel (Mass.) College in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semi-final round, suffering a hard-fought 66-55 setback inside "The Nest". 

Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Falcons with her 15th double-double of the season behind a 19-point, 10-rebound performance. Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) and Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) also had good games for the Falcons, as the duo scored 13 points each.         

THE BASICS
Final: Emmanuel (Mass.) 66 | Albertus Magnus 55
Records: Albertus Magnus (22-4) | Emmanuel (Mass.) (22-5) 
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emmanuel (Mass.) controlled the opening six minutes of play as the Saints held a six-point lead, 10-4, following a three-point jumper from Allison Wild. 
• A free throw from White and a layup from Murray-Leach brought the score to within three, 10-7, heading into an Albertus 30-second timeout at 4:11. 
• From there, the Saints closed out the opening stanza on a 7-4 run to take a six-point lead, 17-11, over the Falcons heading into the second quarter. 
• Albertus came out with the hot hand to start the second frame, putting together a 4-0 run on baskets from White and Murray-Leach, cutting the deficit to two, 17-15. 
• The Saints countered the Falcons' spurt with a 10-2 run before Murray-Leach halted the run with a made jumper at the 4:12 mark to make it a 27-19 game. 
• Emmanuel continued to score, putting together a 6-2 run to make it a 33-21 game going into the final three minutes of the half. 
• Albertus put together a 4-3 run to close out the stanza and send the teams into the halftime break, with the Falcons trailing 36-25. 
• The Falcons erupted out of the gate to start the third, crafting a 7-0 run to make it a 4-point contest, 36-32, on baskets from Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.), Murray-Leach, and White. 
• The Saints answered back with a 10-0 run to expand their advantage to 46-32 with 3:05 left in the third quarter. 
• Murray-Leach halted the run with a made jumper at the 2:13 mark and sparked a 5-0 run that also saw a made three-pointer from Scott.  
• A defensive battle between the Falcons and Saints closed the quarter, with the visitors leading by nine, 48-39. 
• A Zdru layup just 38 seconds into the fourth ignited a 6-0 run that brought the hosts to within three, 48-45. 
• A Saints' three-pointer was countered by a made jumper from Sharaya Keele (Adams, Mass.) and sparked a scoring trade-off between the squads. 
• The Saints put the nail in the coffin in the final two minutes, orchestrating a devastating 14-6 run that ended the Falcons' spectacular season.              

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 35.8% FG | 12.0% 3PT | 44.4% FT
Emmanuel (Mass.): 35.8% FG | 30.4% 3PT | 55.0% FT

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Jakara Murray-Leach- 19 points (9-24 FG, 1-9 3PT, 0-2 FT) | 10 rebounds | 4 assists | 5 steals | 3 blocks
Caitlyn Scott- 13 points (5-15 FG, 1-6 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 2 rebounds | 3 assists | 2 steals
Diamond White- 13 points (6-14 FG, 0-4 3PT, 1-3 FT) | 3 rebounds | 4 assists 

Emmanuel (Mass.):
Olivia Matela- 19 points (7-20 FG, 3-12 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 6 rebounds | 2 assists | 4 steals
Yannie Chan- 14 points (5-16 FG, 1-5 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 7 rebounds | 4 assists 

NOTEWORTHY

• Tonight's game marked the 33rd meeting between the Falcons and Saints.
• After tonight's loss, Emmanuel holds a 30-3 lead in the all-time series. 
• The Falcons conclude the season with an overall record of 22-4.
• Murray-Leach recorded her 15th double-double of the season.
• White scored 10+ points for the 19th time this season.
• Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) posted a team-high 14 rebounds, just one shy of tallying her season-high of 15.
• White has scored 10+ points in the last three games for the Falcons.