Raiders Down Falcons, 79-71

Nashua, NH - The Raivier College women's basketball team beat the Albertus Colege Falcons 79-71 today in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) basketball action.  The win improves the Raiders to 5-17 overall and 3-6 in conference while the Falcons fall to 8-13, 2-8 in the GNAC.

Amandra Purcell (Hudson, NH) led the way for the Raiders as she went 3 for 8 from the 3-point line on her way to 21 points.  The Raiders went up by as many as 15 points in the first half after a jumper by senior Stacey Laine (Hudson, NH) and again after a pair of free throws by senior Steph Adams (Nashua, NH).  However, the Falcons would not go away, chipping into the lead and cutting it to 8 points at the half after a Lindsay Karle lay-up with time running out.

The Raiders jumped out at the second half, extending their lead to 16 points after a pair of Purcell free throws, but again the Falcons chipped away at the lead cutting it to as few as 2 points twice.  The first after a 3-pointer by Lianna Carrero and again after Carrero sank two free throws.  Rivier freshman Jackie Penniman (Dudley, MA) and Purcell were not about to let their hard work, or their senior down on senior day, go to waste as the two combined to go on a 10-4 run over the final 2 minutes of play to seal the 8 point victory for the Raiders.

Laine finished with a season high 14 points and 14 rebounds on senior day while Adams added 8 points and 7 rebounds. 

Carrero led all scorers with 29 points for the Falcons while Katelyn White chipped in with 11 points and a team high 11 rebounds.

The Raiders have 3 more games to try to claw their way into the GNAC playoff picture with the first scheduled for Tuesday night at Simmons College in Boston, MA at 7:00 PM.