FRANKLIN, Mass. - Five players scored in double figures as the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team defeated Dean College, 89-77 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) road game on Tuesday evening for the team's third straight win.
Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to go with three steals. Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) had an all-around performance with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals. Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) scored 16 points with five assists and three rebounds.
Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) finished with 11 points and five steals and Elizabeth Bruno (Providence, R.I.) scored 11 points off the bench with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Murray-Leach moved up to sixth all-time in scoring in program history and now has 1,575 points in her career.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 89 | Dean 77
RECORDS: Albertus (7-6, 2-0 GNAC) | Dean (5-7, 0-2 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons fell behind 11-4 more than halfway through the first quarter, but it was all Albertus after that as the Falcons scored the final 15 points in the quarter to take a 19-11 lead. Bruno started the run with a put back after an offensive rebound followed by a layup from Murray-Leach. Dean then turned the ball over on two straight possessions which lead to a layup from Zdru after her steal followed by a steal from Bruno that led to a layup from Scott which gave Albertus the lead for good. White scored four of the last five points for Albertus in the quarter.
- Albertus took complete control of the game less than four minutes into the second quarter as they started with a 17-6 run that included seven points from Scott and three pointers from Bruno and Sarah Evangelista. Evangelista would hit one more three in the quarter and White made a layup before the halftime buzzer as Albertus led 44-28 at the break.
- After Dean scored the first five points of the third quarter to cut its deficit to 44-33, Albertus responded in a big way with the next 14 points. White started the run with a jumper followed by a steal and layup from Scott to make it a 48-33 game. Murray-Leach then scored the next four points in a span of eight seconds, with the final two coming after she stole the ball from Alexandria Paquet. White made another layup and Zdru hit four free throws to close the run.
- Albertus took its biggest lead of the game at 1:16 after two free throws from Isabella Fiorillo (West Haven, Conn.). Albertus took a 69-45 lead into the fourth.
- Dean opened up the fourth quarter with a flurry of points that cut the Albertus lead to 69-62 with 6:05 left. Paquet scored eight points in the oprning run including two threes and Abi Boutin scored five points. The Falcons went back up by double digits after two free throw from Zdru and a layup from Murray-Leach. The Falcons were able to hold off the Bulldogs the rest of the way as they hit their final six free throws of the game.
TEAM STATS
Albertus
41.6 FG% | 19.2 3PT% | 74.1 FT%
Dean
38.7 FG% | 31.0 3PT% | 71.4 FT%
LEADERS
Albertus
Jakara Murray-Leach 20 Points | 10-15 FG | 12 Rebounds | 3 Steals
Diamond White 18 Points | 6-6 FT | 5 Rebounds | 4 Assists | 5 Steals
Caitlyn Scott 16 Points | 3 Rebounds | 5 Assists
Amanda Zdru 11 Points | 7-8 FT | 3 Rebounds | 2 Assists | 5 Steals
Elizabeth Bruno 11 Points | 9 Rrebounds | 3 Assists | 3 Steals
Dean
Alexandria Paquet 22 Points | 11 Rebounds | 2 Blocks
Azaria Landry 19 Points | 9 Rebounds
Tori Viau 13 Points | 3 Steals
NOTEWORTHY
- Albertus is now 7-0 all-time against Dean.
- Bruno has scored in double figures in her last two games.
- Hannah Barrientos (East Hampton, Conn.) made her first start of the season.
- Albertus finished with a season-high 19 steals and forced 28 turnovers. The team scored 31 points off of turnovers.
- The Falcons dominated points in the paint, 50-22.
UP NEXT
The Falcons stay on the road and head to Lasell on Saturday, January 11 at 1 p.m. in a GNAC contest.
