PROVIDENCE, RI - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team captured its fourth road win of the season following Thursday night's 52-34 win over the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) led the offensive attack with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals, while Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.) finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 52 | Johnson & Wales 34
Records: Albertus Magnus (6-8, 5-2 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (1-11, 1-5 GNAC)
Box Score
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats opened the game with a made jumper from Maiyah Johnson before Albertus' Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) swished a long trey to give the visitors the 3-2 advantage 1:15 into the contest. From there, both teams played tight defense throughout the first quarter, forcing two ties until a made free throw from Murray-Leach with 40 seconds remaining put Albertus on top, 7-6, heading into the second quarter.
Murray-Leach continued to pile on the pressure to start the second quarter, giving Albertus the three-point advantage on a traditional three-point play 20 seconds into the stanza. The Falcons continued their aggressive offensive approach, putting together a 7-3 run following Murray-Leach's three-point play to take a 17-9 lead and force a Wildcat's timeout with 4:34 left in the stanza.
Out of the break, JWU's offense began to pick up steam as the hosts rallied and put together a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to three, 19-16 with 1:13 left in the half. With the clock ticking down, Murray-Leach hit a short jumper, before Natasha Rivera (Ansonia, Conn.) put in a last-second layup to put the Falcons up seven, 23-16, at the half.
The Wildcats opened the second half with a 6-2 run, to cut their deficit to three, 25-22, with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter. From there, Albertus put together a 12-0 run that was sparked by a pair of made free throws from Rivera and capped by back-to-back made three-pointers from Murray-Leach in the final two minutes of the quarter to give the Falcons the 15-point lead, 37-22. Despite a lay-up and a made free throw, the Wildcats were unable to shrink the gap and the teams transitioned into the final quarter, with the Falcons holding a 37-25 lead.
Albertus carried its momentum into the final 10 minutes of play as the Falcons kicked off the fourth with a 10-3 run behind four different scorers. Trailing by 19, 47-28, the Wildcats chipped away at the deficit and found themselves down 47-33 following a 5-0 spurt with 3:35 left on the clock. The Falcons took care of business by closing out regulation with a 5-1 run to win their second straight contest by a final score of 52-34.
TEAM STATS
- Albertus: 27.6% FG | 17.4% 3PT | 72.7% FT
- JWU: 20.7% FG | 20.8% 3PT | 50.0% FT
KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
- Jakara Murray-Leach - 17 points (6-22 FG, 2-10 3PT, 3-5 FT) | 7 rebounds | 4 steals
- Katherine Raposo - 12 points (5-13 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-3 FT) | 6 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal
- Diamond White - 8 points (2-10 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals
JWU:
- Jennell Martin - 9 points (3-13 FG, 3-12 3PT) | 1 rebound | 2 steals
- Peyton Oliver - 6 points (2-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 12 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the 27th all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Falcons.
- Albertus has a 15-12 advantage in the all-time series.
- Murray-Leach extended her streak of consecutive games of at least 10+ points to eight.
- Raposo's 12 points tonight mark her seventh contest of the year with at least 10 points.
- Freshman Sharaya Keele (Adams, Mass.) posted a season-high six rebounds.
- Coach JR Fredette is now one win away from 130 career victories at the helm of the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team following tonight's victory.
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, January 22nd as the Falcons welcome the Cadets of Norwich University for a GNAC showdown. Tip-off is set for 1 PM inside "The Nest".
