NEW HAVEN, Conn.-  The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team won a hard-fought non-conference showdown against the Mariners of Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon by a score of 58-57 inside the Yarnall Athletic Center. 

Freshman Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) finished the game with a season-best 28 points and went 7-9 from behind the arc, while Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) finished with 10 points, a game-high three steals, two assists, and two rebounds. 

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 58 | Mitchell 57
Records: Albertus Magnus (3-7) | Mitchell (6-5)     
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Albertus and Mitchell came out hot to kick off the first quarter as both teams battled back-and-forth for the lead over the first two minutes of play. From there, a three-pointer from Alexia Watson ignited a 9-0 run that put the hosts ahead 13-5 with 4:58 remaining in the frame. 

A jump shot from Albertus' Murray-Leach at the 4:17 mark broke the scoreless drought for the Falcons, but Mitchell's Amina Wiley countered the made basket a minute later with a layup to make the score 15-7.

With three minutes left in the stanza, Albertus rallied together as a team as a three from Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) and a three-point play from Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) cut the deficit to within two, 15-13, heading into the second quarter.

The Mariners didn't pay attention to the Falcons' threat as the hosts put up the first eight points of the second stanza to increase their lead to double-digits, 23-13. Albertus chipped away the double-digit deficit and rallied to within single digits on three different occasions with less than five minutes remaining in the frame. 

Up by 11, 31-20, Mitchell saw its lead dwindle to six, 31-25, following a pair of free throws from White and a deep trey from Murray-Leach. However, Albertus couldn't stop Mitchell from closing out the half with a 12-point advantage, 37-25.

Out of the break, Albertus and Mitchell traded hoops over the first three minutes of the third, which allowed the Falcons to battle back to within nine twice. Shortly after, Mitchell saw its lead increase to as much as 14 until a three from Murray-Leach at the 2:38 mark sparked a 9-0 run that brought the visitors to within five, 49-44, heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Albertus carried its momentum over into the fourth as Murray-Leach scored the Falcons' first seven points of the stanza to even the game at 51-all. From there a layup from Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) and a layup from White gave the Falcons a four-point cushion, 55-51, with five minutes remaining in regulation. 

Despite Mitchell threatening the Falcons over the final three minutes of play, the visitors took care of business to hang on for the road victory.

TEAM STATS

• Albertus: 33.3% FG | 36.4% 3PT | 66.7% FT
• Mitchell: 47.9% FG | 38.5% 3PT | 60% FT

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:

• Jakara Murray-Leach - 28 points (10-15 FG, 7-9 3PT, 1-3 FT) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 3 steals 
• Diamond White -10 points (4-14 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 2 rebounds | 2 assists | 3 steals
• Caitlyn Scott - 9 points (3-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal

Mitchell:

• Yasmine Santos  - 12 points (4-8 FG, 1-1 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 8 rebounds | 1 assist
• Le'Sandra Turner - 11 points (5-8 FG, 1-2 FT) | 2 rebounds | 6 assists  | 1 steal | 2 blocks
• Dede Stevenson - 10 points (4-10 FG, 2-7 3PT) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the 12th meeting between the Falcons and Mariners.
• Following today's win, the Falcons are 12-0 all-time against the Mariners.
• Murray-Leach has scored 20 or more points in three games.
• White has scored in double-digits in four straight games.
• The Falcons recorded a season-low eight turnovers.
• Rivera and Tamara Sigler (Yonkers, N.Y.) led the defensive unit with a block each.
• Rivera led the Falcons with seven rebounds behind four offensive and three defensive rebounds, respectively. 
• 26 of the Falcons' 58 points were off turnovers by the Mariners. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons will next hit the road to play the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) University on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest is slated to begin at 1 p.m. at the Wildcat Center in Providence, R.I.