AMHERST, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles women’s basketball team dropped its last game before a short holiday break 65-51 to the Buffalo Bulls Friday afternoon in Alumni Arena.

"That's not the team that we are," head coach Kendra Faustin said.  "UB did a phenomenal job, they played hard and physical...and we backed down. That's why I'm disappointed because we weren't ready to battle and we knew it was going to be a hard physical game."

The Bulls (2-9) were able to build a 49-27 lead with 11:30 left in the game, but the Purple Eagles (5-5) were able to put together a run fueled by free throws and three pointers to cut into the deficit starting with 11:30 left on the clock.  Lauren Gatto hit all four attempts from the free-throw line; Kayla Stroman and Kelly Van Leeuwen hit shots from beyond the arc; and freshman Taylor McKay added four points of her own to pull the Purple Eagles back within 10, 53-43 with five minutes remaining.

That was as close as Niagara would get, however, as Buffalo was able to come away with a 65-51 win.

Gatto scored a game-high 16 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with Chanel Johnson, both of whom had seven.  The Purple Eagles again had success from the foul line, converting 15-of-20 attempts from the charity stripe, and outrebounded their opponent for the fourth time this season, pulling down 48 boards to the Bulls’ 47.

The first half started off with a Meghan McGuinness jumper but Buffalo was able to take the lead early and hang onto it throughout the half.  Much like in the second half, Niagara was able to go on a run to cut into the lead.  Throughout the final four minutes of the half, Niagara went on a 10-3 run to go into the break trailing 31-21.

The Purple Eagles are back on the court on December 29 when they travel to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.  Game time at the Crisler Center is at 2 p.m.