NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Four Purple Eagles scored in double-figures and shot 48 percent from the field, but Niagara was unable to stop the 3-point shooting of the Manhattan Lady Jaspers in its 84-73 loss on Friday night.

“We did some good things in the game today,” head coach Kendra Faustin said. “We had a lot of inside scoring which is credit to our post players. In a close game down the stretch, we made mental mistakes and that was the difference.”

Niagara (1-16, 0-6 MAAC) twice cut the lead to four in the second half. 52-48 at the 12 minute mark when freshman Meghan Waterman (Dayton, Ohio) made a layup from an Erika Harris (Gahanna, Ohio) behind the back pass and 58-54 with eight minutes remaining from a Harris layup.

The Purple Eagles just could not stop Manhattan’s shooting.  Guard Alyssa Herrington made a 3-pointer with 6:34 in the second to give Manhattan a 65-57 lead, in which Niagara would not get any closer. The Lady Jaspers (6-11, 3-3 MAAC) were 10-for-18 from 3-pointers and it made a huge difference. In contrast, the Purple Eagles were 5-for-14.

Manhattan connected on 6 3-pointers in the first half and built a 25-13 lead in with nine minutes in left in the half. Niagara battled back with smart ball movement and layups. Liz Flooks (White Plains, N.Y.) made a layup with 3:41 in the half to cut the lead to 32-30; the Lady Jaspers would take a 38-32 halftime lead.

Jennifer McNamee (Oxford, Ohio) scored 18 points to lead the team for the seventh time. Flooks and Harris each had 14, while Waterman had a career-high 11.

The Purple Eagles will play the Fairfield Stags on Sunday at 1 p.m.