VESTAL, N.Y. – The Niagara women’s basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit to defeat the Binghamton Bearcats, 57-52, on Saturday afternoon at the Events Center.

“It’s a big win for us against a good team,” head coach Kendra Faustin said. “We played in a couple of close games earlier and now we are learning how to win close games.”

Freshman guard Kayla Stroman (Syracuse, N.Y.) stole the show, literally and figuratively, in the comeback win. She led Niagara (2-6) with 14 points and led the game with six steals.

Binghamton (1-5) took a 33-23 halftime lead and built its lead to 45-30 with 13:36 remaining in the game. Senior forward Rachele Folino (Novi, Mich.) grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup with 13:07 left to start a 21-6 run for the Purple Eagles. Stroman tied the game at 51-51 when she collected one of her five steals in the second half and went coast-to-coast for a layup with 4:02 left.

Folino scored the go-ahead basket with a baseline jumper to give NU a 53-51 lead with 2:58 remaining. Niagara defense clamped down to hold off Binghamton. The Bearcats missed their final seven shots, had two turnovers and scored only one point for the rest of the game. Stroman scored the final four points in the game.

“We really defended well and took care of the ball despite being outrebounded on the offensive board in the second half,” Faustin said.

Niagara had four players scoring in double-figures for the second-straight game. Stroman led the team in scoring for the second-straight game; Liz Flooks (White Plains, N.Y.) scored 13 points while Jennifer McNamee (Oxford, Ohio) and Folino each had 11 points.

Niagara also won consecutive games for the first-time since Feb. 2008.

The Purple Eagles head to play at Hofstra on Thursday, Dec. 10 for a 7 p.m. tip.