NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The New England College women's basketball team fell at Albertus Magnus on Saturday afternoon, 59-68, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action, to close out the team's 2023-24 regular season slate. 

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 59, Albertus Magnus 68 
Records: Pilgrims 14-11, 8-6 GNAC | Falcons 19-6, 11-3 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The first quarter was back and forth as both offenses shot well, and a layup by senior center Kathleen Rodriguez (McFarland, Calif.) with eight seconds left would send the game into the second quarter tied at 17-a-piece.  
• With two minutes to go in the second, a 25-25 game would see a barrage of three-point buckets by both teams to close out the quarter. Albertus Magnus' senior guard Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) would drain a three to send her team up three, but NEC would have an immediate answer in the form of a three from junior guard Krystle Medrano (Ontario, Calif.). The next Falcons possession would again result in a Scott triple, and again the 'Grims would answer as sophomore guard Macy Gordon (Boscawen, N.H.) would immediately sink a three to return the game to a tie. This time, it would be the hosts who would score in the waning seconds of the quarter, taking a 33-31 lead into the break. 
• Coming out of halftime, Albertus would jump out to a slightly larger lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter. A pair of buckets by senior guard Juliana Hernandez (McFarland, Calif.) would trim the NEC deficit to three with 6:32 left in the third, but Albertus would immediately answer with an 8-0 run to obtain their largest lead of the game at 49-38. The NEC offense was stuck in neutral for most of the quarter, but a mini 7-4 run capped off by three free throws by Medrano with one second remaining would cut the lead to 8. 
• With ten minutes left to play, the two teams would again go back-and-forth, matching shots all the while the Falcons were managing to keep the Pilgrims at arm's length. A Medrano triple would trim the lead to seven points with 4:25 remaining, but it would be the closest the 'Grims would get. Albertus Magnus would hold on for the 68-59 win to close out the regular season for both teams.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• The 'Grims featured a balanced attack in this one, but it was junior guard Amya Moss (Norfolk, Va.) who led the way in scoring for the second consecutive game with 13 points. 
• Medrano scored a season-high 12 points while going 2-of-5 from distance and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Gordon also shot 2-of-5 from beyond-the-arc, adding in nine points. 
• Hernandez continued to provide a steady presence for NEC, supplying 11 points and eight rebounds. 
• Albertus was led by a pair of 17-point scorers in Scott and junior guard Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.), while White led all players with nine assists. Junior guard Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) added 15 points and seven boards. 
• Despite the loss, NEC outrebounded Albertus 44-28. But the Falcons won the turnover battle, 14-19, and made the most of them with a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

UP NEXT 

• With the loss, New England College remains positioned to receive a first-round bye in postseason play, avoiding the play-in round. The team will enter the tournament as the six seed in the program's very first season in the GNAC. With the win, Albertus Magnus will move up to the three seed as they possess the tiebreaker over Emmanuel. This sets up a rematch between the Pilgrims and Falcons on Tuesday right back in New Haven starting at 5:30 PM.

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.