The Albertus Magnus women's basketball team will open its 2011-12 season on Tuesday, Nov. 15 with a 5:00 p.m. non-conference contest against Mitchell College.
The Falcons, who finished the2010-11 season with an 8-15 record and a 2-10 showing in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, will be led on Tuesday night by first-year head coach Steve Schuler.
Albertus will start the year off with five games in eight days, including two at home. The Falcons' first week of play will feature a showing in Pine Manor's Boston Invitational Tournament on Nov. 19 and 20.
On Tuesday night, the Falcons will host Mitchell, a program that went 14-10 in 2010-11, while being led by the 2011 NECC Coach of the Year Bernadette Macca. Mitchell lost its top-three leading scorers from last year's squad as the Mariners will look to senior Bianca Young to lead the way this season. Young averaged 7.4 points per game and pulled down 139 rebounds last season.
This year, Albertus features a roster of 14 student-athletes with just two seniors, while welcoming four freshmen to the group.
Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.), who was the Falcons' leading scorer in 2010-11 as she averaged 15.1 points per game, will look to lead the Falcons to a successful season beginning on Tuesday in the program's season opener.
As a freshman, Carrero started in 22 games as she averaged 30.8 minutes, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest.
Senior Bianca Brown (West Haven, Conn.) shot 50-percent from the floor last year to lead the Falcons, while she pulled down a team-best 182 rebounds, including 124 on the defensive end. Brown returns to the court for her final season with the Falcons as she has combined for 377 points and 257 rebounds in the last two seasons.
Brown averaged 12.3 points per contest last season, while teammate Lindsay Karle (Wallingford, Conn.) finished the year averaging 12.5 points, 30.4 minutes and 1.8 steals per contest. Karle was the lone player for the Falcons to start in every single game last season.
Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.), Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) and Sarah Boudreau (Pascog, R.I.) also return to the roster for the Falcons for the upcoming year.
After the Falcons' season opener on Tuesday, they will host Wheelock on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before heading to Pine Manor for the weekend. The Falcons' fifth game of the eight-day span will be at New England College in Henniker, N.H. on Tuesday, Nov. 22. That contest is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
