NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara women’s basketball team had several second half runs halted by key baskets by the visiting Loyola Greyhounds as it fell 55-44 on Friday night at the Gallagher Center.

An aggressive start by Niagara (1-19, 0-9 MAAC) on the offensive and defensive end challenged the Greyhounds (10-10, 7-2 MAAC), who entered the weekend tied for second in the conference standings.

NU had four different Purple Eagles score with in the first ten minutes, while forcing nine Loyola turnovers. Tied at 14-14 with seven minutes left in the first half, Niagara struggled to generate offense for the remainder of the half. Loyola ended the half on a 17-4 run, including scoring eight points in the final two minutes, to take a 31-18 lead.

Niagara was forced to play catch-up for the rest of the game. The Purple Eagles continued to claw their way back into the game, only to be denied by the Greyhounds. The final spurt occurred late in the second half when Liz Flooks made a layup to cut the scored to 46-39 with 6:46 left, only for Loyola to answer with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes.

Katie Gattuso led Niagara in scoring with 11 points. Meghan Waterman finished with 10 points, one shy of tying her career-high. Waterman, who is known as a defensive specialist, had a team-high four steals and set a career-high with three blocks. Shy Britton added nine points, three rebounds and three steals, while Flooks finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

Niagara will host the Manhattan Lady Jaspers on Sunday at 2 p.m.