NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) scored 30 points and Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) scored 27, but the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team lost a 101-86 game to the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) in a non-conference game on Thursday night.

Murray-Leach shot 13-for-25 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Scott had five assists and four rebounds.

Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) had 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.

THE BASICS

FINAL: USCGA 101 | Albertus Magnus 86

RECORDS: Albertus (4-5) | USCGA (9-1)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first quarter in a high-scoring first 10 minutes. The Bears took a 5-2 lead on a three from Dorothy Stotts, but a three from Murray-Leach and five straight points from Scott were part of a 9-2 run that gave the Falcons an 11-7 lead at the 7:16 mark of the period.
• Albertus went up by as much as seven points at 15-8 after back-to-back layups from White and Scott at the 6:04 mark. The Falcons held the lead thanks to baskets from Murray-Leach, White and Ava Johnson (North Haven, Conn.) until a three from Taylor Lynch gave the Bears the lead back at 24-21 with 1:51 left. USCGA took a 26-23 lead after the first period. Scott led Albertus with nine points and Murray-Leach scored eight. Glory Blethen scored 11 for USCGA.
• Albertus briefly took the lead back at the 7:58 mark of the second quarter as White hit two threes early on to put the Falcons up, 31-30. The Bears took a 43-36 lead after a layup from Kelly Hagerty, but two free throws from Scott and a layup from White put Albertus within two. USCGA went up by five points one more time in the quarter, but a layup from Johnson followed by a Scott layup and free throw made it a 47-45 USCGA lead heading into halftime. White finished with eight points in the quarter.
• Murray-Leach scored the first four points for Albertus to start the third quarter, but the Bears went on a 7-0 run, including four points from Stotts and a three from Julia Mann that gave them a 59-49 lead at the 6:51 mark. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) hit a three to bring the deficit back down to single digits and back-to-back layups from Murray-Leach and Scott made it a 61-56 game with 5:36 left. The Bears, however finished the quarter with a 14-6 run, which included six points from Blethen to take a 75-62 lead heading into the fourth.
• In the fourth quarter, Murray-Leach hit two threes over the first 1:40 to trim the Albertus deficit to 80-70. It was the closest the Falcons would get the rest of the way as the Bears led by as much as 19 points on two different occasions. Murray-Leach finished with 14 points in the quarter on 6-for-8 shooting from the field.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

48.6 FG% | 43.8 3PT% | 75.0 FT%

USCGA

51.3 FG% | 41.2 3PT% | 77.8 FT%

LEADERS

Albertus

Jakara Murray-Leach 30 Points | 13-25 FG | 8 Rebounds | 3 Steals

Caitlyn Scott 27 Points | 8-10 FT | 4 Rebounds | 5 Assists

Diamond White 12 Points | 3 Rebounds | 3 Assists | 2 Steals

USCGA

Dorothy Stotts 29 Points | 13-18 FG | 6 Rebounds | 5 Assists

Glory Blethen 24 Points | 10-20 FG | 8 Rebounds | 8 Assists | 4 Steals

Taylor Lynch 19 Points | 4-9 3PT | 6 Rebounds | 4 Steals

NOTEWORTHY

It was the third time Murray-Leach scored at least 30 points in a game in her career.

Albertus shot 48.6 from the field, which was a season-high.

Scott has scored more than 20 points in three straight games.

UP NEXT

The Falcons play their final game of the 2024 calendar year as they take on Springfield College on the road on Saturday at 1 p.m.