NEW HAVEN, Conn. — In the final seconds of the first half, Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) connected for a mid-range jumper and snapped the game's final tie as Albertus Magnus College women's basketball maintained that lead until the final buzzer. The Falcons outlasted Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent New England College, 68-59, to close out the regular season. Albertus finished third in the GNAC with an 11-3 conference record, while the Pilgrims sat sixth with an 8-6 GNAC record.

A quartet of Falcons mustered double-digits as Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) and Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) each netted 17, while Murray-Leach made 15 and Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) posted 12.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 68 | New England College 59

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (19-6, 11-3 GNAC) | Regis (13-12, 8-6 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the opening seconds, Amya Moss swished for three off the side pass from Makiah Scott to put the visitors up, 3-0, which lasted four and a half minutes before Murray-Leach drove to the basket for a layup and put Albertus on the board.
• Scott notched a deep three-point bucket and ignited a 15-9 Albertus run to knot the contest at 17 a piece to close out the first quarter. White dominated the hardwood during the run with a pair of back-to-back threes.
• Less than a minute into the second quarter, Kathleen Rodriguez regained the lead for NEC until a trio of free throws and a three-pointer by Zdru put the hosts up, 23-19.
• The teams traded baskets for the remaining six minutes until Murray-Leach's jumpshot with seven seconds left in the half put Albertus up, 33-31.
• Back-to-back layups by Scott and White opened the third quarter and padded the Falcons' lead by six.
• Four-straight layups by Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.), Murray Leach, and Scott ignited a 13-2 run to push the lead margin to 13 with 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter. NEC closed out the quarter with five unanswered points to cut the deficit to eight with Albertus up, 53-45.
• Zdru and White each netted a three-pointer in the final quarter and helped maintain the Albertus lead.

TEAM STATS

Albertus 39.7 FG% | 29.6 3PT% | 82.4 FT%

NEC 32.4 FG% | 25.0 3PT% | 60.0 FT%

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Albertus

Diamond White 17 Points | 4 Rebounds | 9 Assists | 2 Steals

Caitlyn Scott 17 Points | 4 Rebounds | 3 Assists

Jakara Murray-Leach 15 Points | 7 Rebounds | 3 Assists | 1 Steal | 3 Blocks

NEC

Amya Moss 13 Points | 3 Rebounds | 3 Assists | 1 Steal | 1 Block

Juliana Hernandez 11 Points | 8 Rebounds | 1 Assist

NOTEWORTHY

• Albertus ties the all-time record against the Pilgrims at three apiece.
• Murray-Leach has posted three or more blocks in six games this season and leads the Falcons with 1.8 blocks per game.

UP NEXT

The Falcons host the Pilgrims again for the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 20 at 5:30 p.m. in The Nest.