NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Niagara women's lacrosse team (1-11, 0-6 MAAC) played the host Iona Gaels (5-11, 2-4 MAAC) tight, but the Purple Eagles fell by a final score of 15-8 on Sunday afternoon.

The Purple Eagles jumped out to an early 2-1 lead via goals from sophomores Lauren Bowen and Nicole Karek, before Iona tied the game at two, five minutes in. Karek's second goal of the game would give Niagara a 3-2 lead, before two quick Iona goals gave the lead back to the Gaels. Sophomore Emily French's free-position goal would tie the game again at four, but the Gaels would edge Niagara by a 4-3 margin throughout the rest of the opening 30 minutes for a slim 8-7 halftime lead.

Iona scored just 1:03 into the second half for a 9-7 lead, but senior Courtney Formato would score a little over four minutes later to cut the deficit to one. Iona would finish the game on a 6-0 run for the victory.

Karek finished with a career-high three goals, while Formato finished with three points (2-1-3). Sophomore goalie Alma Aponte finished with a career-high 17 saves.