LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - A strong first half effort paced the Niagara women's lacrosse team (4-6; 1-0 MAAC) to its first MAAC win in 15 attempts, defeating the host Siena Saints (6-4; 0-3 MAAC) 16-12 on Sunday morning.

Niagara's last MAAC victory came at the expense of the Saints on April 22, 2006, when the Purple and White utilized timely goals in a 12-11 double overtime thriller. Niagara's 16 goals is the most they have scored in a MAAC contest since its meeting with the Saints in 2006. 

The Purple Eagles jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals from junior Courtney Formato (Lancaster, N.Y.) and freshman Caitlin Sacco (Syracuse, N.Y.). Juniors Leigh Downing (Auburn, N.Y.) and Alison Valerio (Geneva, N.Y.) helped give Niagara a 4-1 lead just 10 minutes into the game. Formato finished her hat-trick to give Niagara a decisive 9-4 advantage heading into the second half.

Niagara started the second half much like the first, going on a 4-0 run to take a 12-4 lead, highlighted by Sacco completing her first collegiate hat-trick. The Purple Eagles kept driving to the net, with Downing finishing her hat-trick and Valerio notching her second marker of the game for a 15-7 lead with 12 minutes left. A late Siena surge was silenced when sophomore Emily Chayka (East Syracuse, N.Y.) added her eighth goal of the season to give Niagara a 16-10 cushion with five minutes left.

Formato finished with five goals, setting a career-high in goals (17) and points (22), while Valerio finished with four points. Downing's three-goal performance helped her set new career-highs in goals (12) and points (20).

Senior goalie Whitney Gill (Canandaigua, N.Y.) made 24 saves in the victory, placing her in second on Niagara's career saves list with 521. Gill is 277 saves behind Michelle Nucci, who was in net for the Purple Eagles from 2002-2004.  

Niagara next heads home to start a three-game homestand, first taking on MAAC rival Manhattan on Friday at 7 p.m.