NIAGARA UNIV., - Niagara’s womens basketball team dropped a tough 64-54 decision to the Cleveland State Vikings in front of 294 people at the Gallagher Center on Monday night. With the setback, the Purple Eagles drop to 3-7 (1-1 MAAC).

The Purple Eagle cagers played the Vikings tough wire to wire, but the visitors were able to hit a few clutch shots to help them take the game.

"They took a lot of three point shots," stated head coach Kendra Faustin. "They made some big three pointers with little time left on the shot clock. We need to use the clock and get better looks."

The first half was a back and forth affair that saw Cleveland State jump out to an 18-6 lead. Niagara went on a tear in the ensuing eight minutes in order to tie the game at 27, after a Rachele Folino (Novi, Michigan) layup. With a tied game, the Vikings went on a 5-0 run and headed into the locker room with a 36-29 advantage. Sarah Wilson (St.Catherines, Ont.) had nine points, while Jen McNamee (Oxford, Ohio) and Erika Harris (Gahanna, Ohio) netted five during the first frame.

Niagara was playing from behind in the second half, as at two points during the second half they whittled the Cleveland State lead down to five. After Niagara pulled within five at the 13:15 mark of the second half, the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to make the Purple Eagle deficit 57-43. The Purple Eagles simply could not catch up the Vikings, as they took the game via Kailey Klein’s 22 points. McNamee led all Niagara scorers with 11 points, while Wilson finished the game with nine points.

The Purple Eagles look to rebound from this loss as they take on non-conference foe Jacksonville as part of Kids Day. The tip-off for this Thursday’s game is at 10:55 am.