JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Niagara women's basketball team held off a late second half rally by Saint Peter's to defeat the Peahens, 64-58, on Monday night from the Yanitelli Center. The Purple Eagles have now won eight of their last 10 games.

Niagara (11-14, 8-6 MAAC) had a 15-point second half lead, but a late rally by Saint Peter's (10-15, 6-8 MAAC) made it an intense conclusion in a game that was televised live on the MSG network.

"I am proud that we were able to weather the storm and pull out the victory," head coach Kendra Faustin said.

Niagara used a 16-1 run to take a 24-17 lead with eight minutes remaining the first half and ended the half on a 31-10 run to take a commanding 39-26 halftime lead. Freshman forward Jessica Flamm, who finished the game with a career-high 13 points, was the halftime leading scorer with nine points.

The Purple Eagles had their largest lead at 48-33 with 15 minutes left with the game, but had to hold off a late surge by the Peahens. Saint Peter's cut the lead to 54-50 with eight minutes remaining as the pace of the game slowed.  Rachele Folino drained a key 3-pointer to give NU a 59-52 lead with 1:25 left.

Niagara was clutch at the free throw line as the Purple Eagles' lead was cut to three with 20 seconds left. Ali Morris, Meghan Waterman and Kayla Stroman all made a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the game to seal the win.  

Folino finished with a team-high 14 points, tying a game-high with SPC's Charlene Riddick, and had six rebounds and five assists. Stroman had 11 points and nine rebounds and Morris finished with 10 points. The Purple Eagles forced 21 Peahen turnovers to force at least 20 turnovers in six of their last seven games.

"We had a couple of people step up, like Jessica (Flamm) and Rachele making big shots late," Faustin said. "We did a great job on the defensive end for majority of the game and forced 21 turnovers."

Niagara continues its road trip when it travels across the Grand Island bridges to play archrival Canisius on Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.