WBB Comeback Falls Short at Albertus Magnus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A late rally by the Mitchell College women's basketball team fell just short on Saturday afternoon, as the Mariners fell to Abertus Magnus College 87-86 in non-conference action at The Nest.

A tightly contested first half led to the Falcons carrying a seven-point lead into the third quarter, where the home team then appeared to pull away, outscoring Mitchell 29-21 in the frame. The Mariners looked to be fading when they fell behind by 18 points after a pair of free throws by Caitlyn Scott with just seven minutes and 27 seconds remaining in the game.

What followed was a flawless stretch of basketball by Mitchell, who went on a 25-6 run and eventually took their first lead since the opening quarter on a jump shot by junior Yasmine Santos (Pawcatuck, R.I.) with 2:19 on the clock. After Natasha Rivera tied the game at 81-81 with a made free throw, senior Sam McKenna (Millbrook, N.Y.) drilled a three pointer to give the Mariners the lead back with under a minute left. Rivera followed with a layup, trimming the Albertus deficit to one-point, before Kiki Nowell (El Paso, T.X.) was fouled and went 1-2 at the line.

Trailing by two, Jakara Murray-Leach then made one of two free throws, before Mitchell's Amina Wiley (New Rochelle, N.Y.) drew a foul and went to the line with 23 seconds on the clock. Wiley made the first of two free throws, which led to an Albertus rebound and subsequent timeout. Out of the timeout, Murray-Leach nailed a clutch three-pointer from the wing, giving the Falcons a one-point advantage, and after a Mitchell timeout, the Mariners were unable to make a basket as time expired.

Wiley paced the Mariners with a game-high 32 points on 15-22 shooting. The 32 points were a season best for the Mitchell forward, who also grabbed 25 rebounds, a game and season high. Jermia Dumas (Stratford, Conn.) poured in 15 points, while Dede Stevenson (Hartford, Conn.) added 12 points, and Santos contributed 11.

Caitlyn Scott led Albertus with 26 points, and was joined in in double-figures by Murray-Leach (20 points), Diamond White (19 points), and Rivera (13 points, 12 rebounds).

The Mariners shot 47.9% from the field, 40.0% from long range, yet just 38.1% from the free-throw line. Mitchell dominated in the rebounding department, 50-33, but turned the ball over nine more times than the Falcons, which led to Albertus scoring 29 points off turnovers.

The Mariners (3-6) will close out the first semester on Sunday, December 17^th, with a road matchup against Division I Bryant University at 1:00 pm. Albertus (8-1) will play next on January 3rd, at home against Colby-Sawyer.