NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team used a second half surge enroute to its first victory of the season and the 200th career win for head coach J.R. Fredette as the Falcons defeated Farmingdale State, 65-58 on Thursday evening in The Nest.

Ariellys Velez (Watertown, Conn.) had her first double-double with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists. Adriana DeBernardo (Stratford, Conn.) scored 18 points with five rebounds and Isabella Fiorillo (West Haven, Conn.) scored 10 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus 65 | Farmingdale State 58

RECORDS: Albertus (1-3) | Farmingdale State (1-1)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons held an early 6-4 lead in the first quarter after a three from Keira Reynolds (Guilford, Conn.) just over three minutes into the game. After seven straight points by the Rams, Albertus got a three from Dejahlee Dogans (Bloomfield, Conn.) and a layup from Velez to tie the game, before the Rams scored the final three points to take a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.
• Framingdale State took a 23-16 lead with just over three minutes remaining after a layup from Alexandria Walbroehl. Albertus would get baskets from Velez and Fiorillo down the stretch of the first half, but the Rams held a 27-22 lead into the break.
• Albertus faced its largest deficit of the game at 31-22 after Walbroehl scored the first four points of the second half for the Rams. DeBernardo scored five of the next seven points for the Falcons, cutting their deficit to 33-29. With the Falcons trailing 37-33, a jumper from Ava Johnson (North Haven, Conn.) and a layup from DeBernardo tied the game at 37-37 with 3:24 left. The Rams took the lead once more on a free throw, but DeBernardo buried a three and Velez followed with a transition layup to take a 42-39 with 1:41 left in the third. Velez went on to score seven straight points in the third quarter and the Falcons took a 48-39 lead into the fourth. DeBernardo finished with 12 points in the third quarter, while Velez had nine.
• A layup from Fiorillo to open the fourth gave the Falcons their biggest lead of the game at 50-39 with 8:33 left. The Rams followed with the next 11 points behind Shyann Parker and a three from Mia Simmons to tie the game at 50-50 with 4:36 left. After the two teams exchanged baskets, Velez scored the next six points for the Falcons as they took a 58-54 lead with 2:49 left. DeBernardo followed with a second chance bucket for the Falcons and Fiorillo sealed the win with a three with 55 seconds left.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

34.8 FG% | 31.3 3PT% | 41.4 FT%

Farmingdale State

30.9 FG% | 14.3 3PT% | 66.7 FT%

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus

Ariellys Velez 22 PTS | 8-16 FG | 10 REBS | 5 ASTS

Adriana DeBernardo 18 PTS | 7-10 FG | 5 REBS | 2 STLS

Isabella Fiorillo 10 Points | 7 REBS | 7 ASTS

Farmingdale State

Alex Walbroehl 20 PTS | 10-16 FT | 6 REBS

Mia Simmons 17 PTS | 6 REBS | 7-15 FG

Samyah Allen 11 PTS | 5-10 | 6 REBS

NOTEWORTHY

Albertus is now 9-3 all-time against Farmingdale State.

Albertus outscored Farmingdale State 32-28 in the paint.

The Falcons finished with 21 fastbreak points.

Fredette is now 200-120 overall in his career.

UP NEXT

The Falcons head to Wesleyan University for the Courtyard by Marriott Classic as they take on Emerson on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Hunter at 1 p.m. on Sunday.