Box Score | ESPN3 Highlights
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Niagara women’s basketball team stormed back into the win column with a 62-49 win over cross-town rival Canisius on Sunday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The Purple Eagles (9-10, 4-4 MAAC) took a 9-8 lead over the Golden Griffins (9-11, 5-3 MAAC) four minutes into the opening half and never gave it back.  Meghan McGuinness knocked down a jumper and a three-pointer to send Niagara on a 14-2 run that put it ahead 23-10 with six minutes left.  Lauren Gatto hit six of her game-high 17 points during the run.
 
Niagara’s lead got cut to single-digits but it went into the break leading 27-20.
 
“We talked about that our guards were going to have to contribute offensively, in particular after our last conference game,” head coach Kendra Faustin said.  “Our post players had 85 percent of our scoring so we talked about having to score at the rim, that we were going to have to make sure we got inside-out, open-look threes, and I thought we did that.”
 
The guards combined for 36 points and shot 5-for-7 from three-point range while the Purple Eagles finished with a 77.8 percent (7-for-9) clip as a team.  Three players were perfect as McGuinness and Val McQuade both went 2-for-2 and Sylvia Maxwell hit her one attempt.  The freshman finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds. 
 
Niagara also defended the three-pointer as it held Canisius to a 1-for-20 (5.0 percent) showing, including the first half where it forced the Griffs to go 0-for-10.
 
Early in the second half, three pointers started and ended an 11-0 run that put Niagara up 47-30.  Kelly Van Leeuwen and McGuinness hit back-to-back threes before Kayla Stroman made a layup and McQuade capped things with a three of her own.
 
The Purple Eagles were able to maintain their double-digit lead throughout the rest of the half behind playing strong on the boards and hitting free throws to come away with a 62-48 victory.  The Purple Eagles won the battle on the boards as they out-rebounded the Golden Griffs 35-30. 
 
“Finishing this game was really important to us,” Faustin said.  “It was something we’ve been working on all year.  We also talked about winning the rebounding war and those are the two things that really stick out to me.”
 
This is the second time this season that Niagara has held an opponent to under 50 points, both games were wins.  Sunday was also the first time NU beat Canisius by more than 10 points in a decade.  The last time it won by double-digits was on February 12, 2003 when NU took down the Griffs 80-51.
 
Women's hoops is back on the court when it travels to Baltimore to face the Loyola Greyhounds in a 7 p.m. matchup.