NEW LONDON, Conn. - Three players scored in double figures as the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team defeated the United States Coast Guard Academy, 83-77 in a non-conference matchup.

Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) led the way with 26 points, while Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) had 20 and Caitlyn Scott, (White Plains, N.Y.) 19.

The Falcons used a third quarter where they outscored Coast Guard, 22-12 to help lead to the win.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 83 | Coast Guard 77
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-3-0) | Coast Guard (5-2-0)
BOXSCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After giving up the first four points to Coast Guard, the Falcons rattled off 11 straight points behind four points from Murray-Leach and a three from White and took an 11-4 lead with 6:44 left in the first quarter.
• Coast Guard scored the next seven points to tie the game as Glory Blethen scored four points during the run.
• Albertus took one more lead in the first on a three from Murray-Leach to make it a 14-11 game, but a 13-4 run from Coast Guard over the final 4:41 gave it a 24-18 lead after the first.  Murray-Leach had 11 points in the first quarter for the Falcons and Kelly Hagerty, Kira Wood and Blethen each had six for the Bears.
• A slow start in the second quarter had the Falcons fall behind 34-22 - the largest deficit of the game for Albertus - at the 5:09 mark.
• Albertus bounced back, cutting the deficit to 39-33 behind four points from White with 1:01 before the half. Wood extended Coast Guard's lead back to nine with a three, but Scott buried a three at the buzzer to cut the Falcons' deficit to 42-36.
• Coast Guard again went up double digits early in the third at 50-39
• The Falcons responded in a big way by going on a 19-4 run over the final 6:20  to take a 58-54 lead heading into the fourth. White scored eight points during the big run in the third, going 2-for-2 from three. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had four points and six rebounds during the quarter.
• Albertus did not relinquish the lead in the fourth. In fact, the Falcons extended their lead to their largest of the game at 70-58 with 4:49 remaining. Elizabeth Bruno (Providence, R.I.) was a spark off the bench during the offensive surge for Albertus, hitting both of her three-pointers.
• Coast Guard knocked the Albertus lead back to five points on three different occasions, but the Falcons went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line over the last 2:16 to hold onto the win.
• The Falcons shot 50 percent (6-for-12) from the field in the fourth.

TEAM STATS
Albertus Magnus: 39.2 FG% | 70.8 FT% | 29.6 3PT%
Coast Guard: 42.4 FG% | 82.4 FT% | 31.8 3PT% 

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Albertus Magnus
Jakara Murray-Leach 26 Points | 5 Rebounds 
Diamond White 20 Points | 5 Rebounds | 8-16 FG 
Caitlyn Scott 19 Points | 8 Rebounds | 5 Assists | 8-8 FT
Amanda Zdru 8 Points | 8 Rebounds 

Coast Guard
Dorthy Stotts 20 Points | 4-9 3PT
Kelly Hagerty 10 Points | 11 Rebounds
Glory Blethen 19 Points | 11 Rebounds
Kira Wood 16 Points | 9 Rebounds

NOTEWORTHY

• There were three ties and three lead changes in the game.
• Albertus dominated in the paint, outscoring Coast Guard, 40-24.
• The Falcons forced 18 turnovers leading to 18 points.
• The Falcons have won the last two meetings against Coast Guard, including a two-point win last season.
• It was White's second game this season with at least 20 points. She also scored 23 against the University of New England earlier in the season. She has scored in double figures in all eight games this season.
• Murray-Leach's 26 points were a season-high.
• Scott has scored in double-figures in every game this season.
• The eight rebounds from Zdru were a season-high.
• Albertus had a season-low eight turnovers.
• White scored her 700th career point in the game.
• Scott is now 12th all-time in scoring in Albertus history with 1,110 points. Murray-Leach is now 13th all-time with 1,081 points.

UP NEXT
Up next, the Falcons open up Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play as they face Colby-Sawyer on Saturday, December 2 on the road at 1 p.m.