WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team held an early double digit lead but fell to the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 78-65 on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game between two of the top three teams in the conference.

Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) led four Falcons in double digit scoring with 19 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds. Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) had 12 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) scored 18 points and Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) had 12 points and eight rebounds.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak.

THE BASICS

FINAL: University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 78 | Albertus Magnus 65

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (17-5, 9-2 GNAC) | University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (18-3, 9-1 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 14-2 lead less than four minutes into the game behind four three pointers, two from Natasha Rivera. The Blue Jays rallied back, cutting the Albertus lead to 18-13 behind six points from Tayler Verboven. Albertus took a 20-17 lead after the first quarter as it shot 8-for-15 from the field including 4-for-8 from three.
• USJ scored the first eight points of the second quarter as Amanda Fudge scored five points in the opening run. Albertus then cut its deficit to 25-24 after two free throws from Amanda Zdru and a spinning jumper in the lane from Scott. The Blue Jays took their biggest lead of the first half at 34-26. 
• With USJ leading 39-32 in the final seconds, White hit a buzzer-beating jumper to cut the Albertus deficit to 39-34 at halftime.
• Maya Slisz hit two jumpers early in the third quarter for USJ followed by a jump shot from White to make it a 43-38 USJ lead. On the following possession, Fudge hit a three that started an 11-3 run, where she scored nine of the points, giving the Blue Jays a 54-41 lead with 3:46 left. The Falcons got to within ten at 59-49 after a three from Murray-Leach with a minute left. The Blue Jays took a 61-50 lead into the fourth.
• An 8-2 run from USJ gave it a 69-52 lead with six minutes remaining thanks to six points from Jordan Ouellette. Six straight points from Elizabeth Bruno, Scott and Murray-Leach cut the deficit to 69-58. Albertus got the deficit under double digits one more time on a layup and free throw from Scott with under a minute left, but USJ hit free throws down the stretch to close out the game.

TEAM STATS

Albertus 32.4 FG% | 21.7 3PG% | 82.4 FT%

USJ 44.1 FG% | 46.7 3PT% | 84.6 FT%

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Albertus

Diamond White 19 Points | 12 Rebounds

Caitlyn Scott 18 Points | 3 Rebounds

Jakara Murray-Leach 12 Points | 10 Rebounds

Natasha Rivera 12 Points | 2-3 3PT | 8 Rebounds

USJ

Amanda Fudge 21 Points | 5-9 3PT | 5 Rebounds

Taylor Verboven 19 Points | 8 Rebounds | 7 Assists

Jordan Ouellette 12 Points | 10 Rebounds

NOTEWORTHY

• Scott moved to seventh all-time in scoring in program history, surpassing Candace Young. Scott now has 1,372 points in her career.
• White had her first double-double and a career-high in rebounds with 12. She also surpassed 900 points in her career. She now has 905.
• Rivera has reached double-digits in points in two straight games and three of the last four.
• Murray-Leach now has nine double-doubles on the season.

UP NEXT

The Falcons head back to The Nest to host Anna Maria on Wednesday, February 7 at 5:30 p.m. in GNAC action.