NORTHFIELD, VT - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat Norwich University, 77-69 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game on Saturday afternoon.

Diamond Scott (Hamden, Conn.)  led all scorers with 26 points with five rebounds and four assists. Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) scored 20 points with four rebounds and four assists and Ava Johnson (North Haven, Conn.) had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Albertus has now won three straight games.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 77 | Norwich 69

RECORDS: Albertus (12-8, 7-2 GNAC) | Norwich (8-10, 2-6 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cadets jumped out to a 15-5 lead just over four minutes into the game behind seven points from Kiley O'Brien and five from Haley Brewster. Albertus scored the next seven points, the last five coming from White who hit a three, followed by a layup after a steal from Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) and assist from Scott. White hit one more three in the quarter, but the Cadets took a 21-15 lead after the first quarter.
• Brewster hit a three to open the second quarter, but was answered with a three from Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.), who then stole the ball on the next two possessions. The first steal led to a layup of her own, followed by an assist on a three from Scott which made it a 24-23 lead for Norwich.
• Over the last 7:28 of the second quarter, Norwich finished on a 17-6 run led by O'Brien and Jessie Zimmerman. Scott scored five of the last six points in the quarter for the Falcons.
• Albertus took over in the third quarter after Norwich scored the first two points of the second half. Johnson sparked the run scoring the first five points, that included a steal from Elizabeth Bruno (Providence, R.I.) that led to a layup. An offensive foul by Norwich led to another basket from Johnson that cut the Albertus deficit to 43-34. 
• The Falcons plucked away at the Norwich lead with free throws and then five different players made field goals to take their first lead of the game at 48-47 with 2:46 on the clock. Johnson started the run with a layup, followed by a jumper from White. After a miss on the other end, White found Zdru for a layup to cut the Albertus deficit to four. Zdru stole the ball on the next possession, leading to a layup from Scott. Bruno blocked a layup in the paint from Sage MaCauley on the defensive end and hit a three on the subsequent possession, giving Albertus the lead. The Falcons took a 52-47 lead into the fourth and held Norwich to six points in the quarter.
• In the fourth quarter, Albertus hit its first field goal at the 7:43 mark as White hit a three to take a 57-48 lead. A layup from Zdru and a three from Scott gave Albertus its first double-digit lead at 62-50 game with 6:03 on the clock. Norwich battled back to cut the Albertus lead to 66-61 but Albertus went 11-for-14 from the free throw line down the stretch to hold on to the win.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

36.8 FG% | 32.0 3PT% | 64.3 FT%

Norwich

42.2 FG% | 34.8 3PT% | 77.8 FT%

LEADERS

Albertus

Diamond White 26 Points | 3-6 3PT | 11-14 FT | 4 Rebounds | 5 Assists

Caitlyn Scott 20 Points | 4 Rebounds | 4 Assists

Ava Johnson 11 Points | 12 Rebounds

Norwich

Kiley O'Brien 22 Points | 11 Rebounds | 9-18 FG

Haley Brewster 20 Points | 4-9 3PT | 7 Rebounds

Maren McGinn 10 Points | 6 Rebounds

NOTEWORTHY

Albertus forced 19 turnovers, leading to 20 points. 

Albertus held a 25-15 edge in fastbreak points.

The Falcons have won the last eight meetings between the two teams.

UP NEXT

Albertus will host Emmanuel in The Nest on Tuesday, February 4 at 5:30 p.m.