Women's Basketball: Late rally falls short in 64-55 loss to Albertus Magnus

(Nashua, N.H.) Trailing by 15 with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, host Rivier staged a furious rally to whittle the deficit down to three inside a minute before Albertus Magnus pulled away in the final seconds to hold off the Raiders, 64-55 in a matchup of Great Northeast Athletic Conference foes Saturday at Muldoon Gymnasium.

The Falcons (7-5, 2-1 GNAC) led by as many as 16 in the final frame and were up 53-38 at the 5:53 mark before the Raiders (3-7, 1-2 GNAC) used three steals, a blocked shot and four Falcon misfires to put together a 14-2 run with 10 points coming for Raider Caitlin Perry (Nashua) that shaved the lead to 55-52 with 1:23 to go.

A pair of Perry free throws later kept the deficit at three (58-55) with 42 ticks on the clock, but the Raiders missed on their final three shots and the Falcons went a perfect 6 for 6 at the line in the final moments to ice it.

Olivia Bolden (S. Windsor, Conn.) led four Falcons in double figures with a double double and pair of game-highs posting 23 points and 13 rebounds while Liz Falcigno (Wallingford, Conn.) picked up a double shot of her own with 14 points and 10 caroms and added four steals. Angelina Piccirillo (Naugatuck, Conn.) posted 11 points and Kiki Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) chipped in with 10.

Perry finished with 17 to lead Rivier, adding eight rebounds. Caitlin Bulger (Quincy, Mass.) posted 15 points with three three-pointers and Kaylee Kacavas (Dracut, Mass.) picked up nine points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.

AMC led 16-9 after one, 31-20 after two and 46-32 after three. Rivier finishing shooting 36-percent on the day while Albertus was 31-percent and the Raiders outrebounded the Falcons 49-38 but were undone by 24 turnovers leading to 21 Falcons points.

Rivier visits Lasell on Tuesday for GNAC contest at 6:00 p.m. Albertus hosts Norwich in a GNAC meeting on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.