Blazers Come up Short at Albertus

New Haven, CT. – The Elms College women's basketball team dropped a conference road game at Albertus Magnus College on Monday night.

THE BASICS
Final: Elms 61 | Albertus 71
Records:  Elms (6-7, 3-7 GNAC), Albertus Magnus (8-8, 7-2 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Elms controlled the opening three minutes of play as the visitors kicked off regulation with a 6-3 run, highlighted by four points from Angelica Peguero-Flores (Springfield, MA). However, a deep three from Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) at the 5:19 mark evened the game at 6-all.

Following the three from Scott, Albertus settled down offensively, rallying for a 9-2 run that gave the Falcons a seven-point advantage, 15-8, heading into the final 10 minutes of the first half.

Albertus carried its momentum into the second quarter, opening the stanza with a 12-5 run to extend its lead to 14, 27-13, forcing Elms to call a timeout following a three from Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.). Out of the break, Albertus continued to press their advantage offensively as four points from Zdru and a three from Scott gave the hosts a 19-point cushion, 34-15, with 3:22 remaining in the frame.

With the clock ticking down, the Blazers' offense began to challenge the Falcons' defensive unit by making shots inside, but the hosts were not deterred as they headed into the halftime break with a 16-point lead, 40-24.

Elms wasted no time cutting the lead to single digits, 42-33, after opening the third quarter with a 9-2 run behind three 3-pointers from Rahmia Johnston (Trumbull, CT). However, the Falcons rallied as a team, answering back with a 10-2 run, capped by a pair of free throws from Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.), to push its lead back up to 17, 52-35, with 3:16 left in the third.

Elms remained in the game despite the commanding lead, closing out the third quarter with a 10-6 run to bring the score to within 13, 58-45.

It was a defensive battle between the Falcons and Blazers, with both teams struggling to make a basket over the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Shortly after, Elms began to find its stride offensively and found themselves trailing by just nine, 58-49, with 6:36 left on the clock, but a 6-0 burst by the Falcons pushed the score back up to 15, 64-49, and forced Elms to call a timeout.

Out of the break, the Blazers regrouped offensively by drawing the Falcons' double-digit lead to single digits over the remaining five minutes of play, but the visitors' comeback came up short in a 71-61 loss.

FROM THE DESK OF COACH PROULX:"I am proud of our effort and fight last night against a tough Albertus team. We had a great second half, made some big shots and battled on the boards. Ang and Aiyana were beasts on the boards and really kept us competitive. Rehmia hit some key shots in the third quarter that helped us battle back through our early deficit. We are excited to have the next week to rest and prep for our next GNAC game at Norwich."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Peguero-Flores registered a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds
• Johnston pitched in with 22 points

UP NEXT:

The Blazers are back in action on Tuesday 1/2 when they travel to Norwich University at 7:30PM.