NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara‘s three seniors, helped by a career-high 22 points from Kristina Walton (Cleveland, Ohio), led the Purple Eagles to a 70-65 win over the Loyola Greyhounds on Sunday afternoon at the Gallagher Center. The win on senior day snaps Niagara’s 24-game losing streak.
“What a great way for them (seniors) to end their careers at the Gallagher Center,” head coach Kendra Faustin said. “I’m really excited for all of them. They played like seniors and brought the energy we wanted.”
The three seniors, Erika Harris (Gahanna, Ohio), Kayleigh Scannell (Lowell, Mass.) and Walton, scored the opening 15 points for the Purple Eagles. Niagara (2-26, 1-16 MAAC) took a 24-18 lead under the eight minute media timeout, in which the seniors had now scored 20 of the Purple Eagles 24 points.
Loyola (9-18, 4-13 MAAC) scratched back into the game and eventually took a 37-35 halftime lead.
Walton surpassed her previous career-high of 14 points with 16 in the first half.
The second half was back-and-forth with neither team maintaining momentum. The Niagara defense clamped down on Loyola offense, especially from behind the arc. The Greyhounds were 7-for-15 from the 3-point line the first half, but was 3-for-9 in the second.
“We were very active and aggressive on defensive and did a great job of containing (shooters) and the post players did a great job defending guards when we switched,” Faustin said.
Niagara also dominated in the paint; the Purple Eagles outscored the Greyhounds 32-14 in the paint and scored 21 points off of turnovers.
The turning point of the game was a 10-2 Niagara run, starting with 13:35 on the clock, to break a 45-45 deadlock. The Greyhounds cut the lead to 63-58 with 1:30 remaining when Jaclyn Konieckza (Parma, Ohio) made the defensive stop of the game. Loyola’s Melissa Bangay looked to have a clear layup, but Konieczka blocked her shot and the ball was picked up by Walton.
On the en suing Niagara possession, Liz Flooks (White Plains) drained a step back 3-pointer to give Niagara a 66-58 lead with one minute remaining. The Purple and White connected on their free throws to close out the game.
“Liz (Flooks) made big shots (today),” Faustin said. “She made some big 3-pointers late to answer Loyola’s 3-pointers.”
The senior class combined for 39 of Niagara’s 70 points. Walton had her third career double-double with a career-high 22 points and tied a career-best 11 rebounds, Scannell had seven points, two shy of her career-high, and Harris scored 10 points to be in double figures for the 12th time this season.
Niagara closes out the regular season with a Battle of the Bridge game at the Canisius Golden Griffins on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
