New Haven, CT— The Sage College's women's basketball team travelled to Connecticut on Thursday night as they faced Albertus Magnus College. The Gators came away with a 75-71 win as they topped the Falcons in a non-conference match-up behind balance scoring. Sage improves to 2-2, while AMC drops to 1-2.
Sage led 35-31 at the break and by game's end shot 79.1% from the free throw line. Sophomore Gen Schoff's (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) made 8-8 from the line and capped the effort with 16 points. Schoff also pulled down nine rebounds, had two assists, recorded one steal and added one block.
Junior guard Frankie Pearson (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) added 14 points with five assists, while rookie guard Emily Parslow (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) added 13 points in the game. Rookie guard Annie Darling (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) also finished the night with a career-best 10 points off the bench.
Trailing by four with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Albertus Magnus freshman guard Deja Ward drove to the basket and drew a foul. From the free-throw line, Ward jarred the first to pull the Falcons within three at 72-69. Her second attempt clanked off the back of the rim and landed in Ward's hands in traffic, the first-year then found an open Chelsea Sherrod in the key. Sherrod's runner in the lane missed and the rebound was pulled down by Darling. After getting fouled, the Gators made two free throws and forced a turnover. As time expired, Ward hit a layup to make it a 75-71 final in favor of the guests.
Both teams had balanced offensive attacks, with each squad seeing four players reach double figures.
Ward led the charge for the Falcons for the third straight contest, scoring a game-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Albertus Magnus senior tri-captain Kelsey Pendagast had her strongest game of the season, registering a double-double. The 5-10 forward scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior transfer Liz Falcigno started out hot from the field, scoring 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting and sophomore forward Olivia Bolden contributed 10 points and five boards for AMC.
The Gators backcourt of Parslow and Pearson torched the Albertus defense from deep, combining to hit four three pointers and score 27 points. Darling had a quality game off the bench for Sage, scoring 10 points and registering three rebounds.
The biggest difference in the contest was three-point shooting, as the guests knocked down 6-of-15 attempts while the Falcons connected on just 1-of-13 shots from beyond the arc.
The only quarter the Falcons outscored the Gators was in the fourth (25-21). Sage held a slight advantage on the boards, pulling down 43 rebounds compared to 42 for Albertus Magnus. The visitors registered 15 assists on 23 made baskets and the hosts had 10 assists on 25 buckets.
Sage hosts RPI on Tuesday, November 24 at 6:00 p.m. in Kahl Gym.