FAIFIELD, Conn. – In a MAAC instant classic, the Niagara Purple Eagles took the Fairfield Stags into two overtimes before falling 66-65 on Sunday afternoon.
“We competed against a top team in our conference,” head coach Kendra Faustin said. “It almost makes it worse losing this way, when you give it all you got and it’s not good enough.”
Niagara (1-23, 0-13 MAAC) played in its first-ever double overtime game and suffered its first defeat in overtime since a 75-63 loss to Cornell on Nov. 20, 2005; NU defeated Canisius, 65-63, in overtime last March.
Niagara was 20-for-21 at the free-throw line, connecting on 20-straight, but the only missed proved to be costly. After giving the Purple Eagles a 65-64 lead with 36 seconds left in double overtime, Rachele Folino (Novi, Mich.) missed the second of two free throws.
Fairfield (16-8, 11-2 MAAC) took a 66-65 lead with 11 seconds left on a banked-jump shot by Stephanie Geehan over two NU defenders. The Stags stingy defense forced the Purple Eagles to take a time out with 1.6 seconds left in double overtime. On NU’s last play, Liz Flooks (White Plains, N.Y.) had her 3-pointer deflected as time expired.
The gutsy performance by the Purple Eagles was impressive due to their current status. Niagara entered the game missing three players due to injuries, including leading scorer Jennifer McNamee (Oxford, Ohio) for the fourth-straight game. The Stags came into the game with a seven-game winning streak and sat in second place behind Marist, who they beat earlier this season.
Early in the game, Niagara defense forced Fairfield out of its comfort zone by making them take long range shots to no avail. The Purple Eagles started an 8-0 run with eight minutes left in the first half to take a 21-17 lead. Niagara scored the last five points, capped by an Erika Harris’ (Gahanna, Ohio) 3-pointer, to head into the locker room with a 26-24 lead. The lead was Niagara’s second halftime lead this season.
The Purple Eagles did not falter in the second half and increased their lead to 41-36 from a Flooks’ 3-pointer with nine minutes remaining in the second.
Fairfield jumped back to take a 47-43 lead from a 9-0 run with four minutes left in the half. Jaclyn Konieczka (Parma, Ohio) made two huge free throws to bring Niagara within one at 51-50 with 1:23 left. Fairfield’s Beandu Lowenthal made one of two free throws to give the Stags a 52-50 lead in the final minute.
On Niagara’s final possession, freshman guard Ali Morris (Parkersburg, W.Va.) made a running layup to tie the game at 52-52 with four seconds on the clock to send the game into the first overtime.
NU was down as much as three points in the first overtime, but the Stags poor free throw shooting (9-for-19) kept the Purple Eagles close. With 25 seconds remaining, Flooks hit a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 60-60. Fairfield had one more chance to win the game, but Niagara lockdown defense forced another turnover as time expired in the first overtime.
“We have a lot of players step up today,” Faustin said. “Jaclyn (Konieczka) played unbelievable and Erika (Harris), Liz (Flooks), Rachele (Folino) Jaclyn were all excellent from the free throw line.”
Niagara will continue its MAAC weekend road trip next week with a game at the Loyola Greyhounds on Friday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.
