The third-seeded Albertus Magnus Falcons topped the Suffolk University Women's Basketball team, 82-81 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quartefinals on Tuesday evening. Albertus' Kendrae Walker hit a layup with :08 seconds remaining for the game-deciding basket as the Falcons now move on in the eight-team field.
The Rams bid for victory fell just short as the Rams lead by two points with one minute remaining as sophomore Mary Garon (Auburn, N.H.) put Suffolk up, 79-77 after nailing a three-point shot.
Both teams would go back and forth in the final minute. The Falcons' Bianca Brown would put Albertus up 80-79 with :45 seconds remaining after hitting a pair of free throws. On Suffolk's next offensive possession senior Laura Thompson (Kennebunk, Me.) put the Rams back up by one after she had a put back off an offensive rebound.
Walker finished the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Falcons who will now move on to play Norwich University on Thursday evening. Brown finished the game with 22 points, scoring 16 in the game's second half going 7-for-8 from the free throw.
Suffolk got another monster game out of sophomore Kristina Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) who scored 22 points, matching her season-high total from when the two teams first met this past Saturday.
Freshman Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, N.H.) finished the game with 14 points for Suffolk, going 4-for-8 from three-point land, while freshman Emily Forzano (Beacon, N.Y.) netted 11 points as she shot 4-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
The close battle saw the game tied six different times throughout the contest, as well as five different lead changes.
The Rams were able to push their biggest lead in the game to a five-point margin with eight minutes remaining as sophomore Meghan Black (Roslindale, Mass.) hit a lay-up to give the Rams a 63-58 lead as they were down as many as seven points just minutes earlier. Albertus would manage to go on a 15-5 runs just minutes later which pulled them back in the game as they headed into the closing minutes of play.
Garon finished the game with 11 points for Suffolk, while Thompson had six points and six rebounds.
Suffolk will now await the bids to be announced in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC)Tournament to continue the 2009-10 season.