Box Score
NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – For the second time in three seasons, the Niagara women’s basketball team earned its first win of the season with a hard fought victory over the Bucknell Bison, 61-55, on Friday.
The second half started out with Niagara (1-4) hitting three of its first four attempts to force Bucknell (1-5) into an early time out with the score 40-33.
“We played consistent basketball for forty minutes,” interim head coach Corinne Jones said after the win. “We talked about it all week that we need to play possession for possession.”
The Bison would not fade away and continued to hang in tough through the second half. The visitors would close into within one with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation and would eventually take the lead with about eight minutes to go.
That lead was short-lived as Niagara would get back into the game with an Ali Morris layup that led to a 15-7 run, which included several clutch defensive plays and free throws, down the stretch to finish with a 61-55 victory.
“The nice part about the second half when we went down, we came back with a run, a shutout run,” Jones said, “and that is something new for us and that really speaks to us getting better.”
The Purple Eagles controlled play in the first half. Without going on any big runs, they were able to make shots from all over the floor and outshoot the Bison. Kayla Stroman went 3-for-4 from the floor and hit both attempts from three-point range while Morris and Meghan McGuinness both went 2-for-3 from the floor.
Defensively, Niagara was able to limit Bucknell’s chances, including keeping them to a single shot from beyond the arc, leading to the Purple Eagles taking a 32-28 lead into half.
On the game, three players finished with double-digit points (Stroman, Morris, andLauren Gatto each had 10). In her first game of the season, Shy Britton logged nine points, four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. As a team Niagara shot 50% from three-point range and went 13-for-14 from the free throw line.
“We do things in practice that put them in situations where they have to respond under pressure,” said Jones. “Our free throw percentage I can’t get over right now and again, that’s pressure stuff right there.”
“They shot some free throws down the line that were great, they listened during time outs, they executed what we said, and that right there shows a lot of maturity and I think we’re going to keep going.”
Niagara is back in action this Sunday when it hosts Penn at 2 pm.
(Check out interviews with Shy Britton, Kayla Stroman, and interim head coach Corine Jones after the Purple Eagles' first win of the year.)
