LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Niagara women’s hoops team went on a 22-7 run in the second half but it wasn’t enough as the Purple Eagles fell to the Bucknell Bison 77-69 on Wednesday night. 

The Purple Eagles (1-3) entered the second half facing a 36-20 deficit.  Bucknell (2-2) extended their lead to 20 points, 55-35, with 11 minutes to play but that is when the Niagara made its move.  Sophomore Kelly Van Leeuwen scored eight points during the run, where six different players scored for the Purple Eagles, to bring Niagara within five, 60-55. 

From there a Kayla Stroman three-pointer would bring Niagara within four, 62-58, but that was as close as the Purple Eagles would get as the Bison pulled away with a 77-69 win.  The Purple Eagles outscored the Bison 49-41 in the second half. 

Van Leeuwen was one of three Purple Eagles to score in the double-digits.  The Brantford, ONT. native led the way on offense with 17 points after shooting 6-of-10 from the floor including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.  Chanel Johnson, in her first start of the season, scored 12 and Meghan McGuinness scored 10. Johnson led the Niagara on the boards, bringing down a team-high six rebounds.

Niagara had success as a team from the charity stripe, making 12-of-13 for a 92.3 percent success rate.  They also took advantage of 26 points from the bench, as opposed to 17 by Bucknell.

Bucknell was able to jump out to an early lead but Niagara was able to keep it close, with the lead never getting to be more than seven points until the Bison went on a 20-7 run to end the half to go into the break with a 36-20 lead.

The Purple Eagles are back on the court after a short Thanksgiving break with a matchup against Oakland at 2 p.m.  Tickets are still available and more information can be found by clicking here.