NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – Meghan McGuinness set a career-high with 25 points and the Purple Eagles broke the 70-point barrier but ultimately fell to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 93-73 on Friday night in the Gallagher Center.
 
McGuinness was one of three players to score double-digit points.  The Lincroft, N.J native finished 7-for-12 from beyond the arc, fell just short of a double-double with seven rebounds, and added five assists on the night.  Her 25 points were a game-high.
 
"I thought we did a nice job in transition getting [McGuinness] good looks," head coach Kendra Faustin said.  "When they started to press we did a good job getting the ball to the middle and making the next pass.  Meghan is really capable of scoring in a number of ways and if you don't guard her at the three-point line, she's going to put up 25-points."
 
Victoria Rampado turned in 15 points, with a 5-for-5 effort from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds in her first collegiate game.  Taylor McKay rounded out the double-digit club with 10 points.
 
"Victoria is phenomenal," Faustin said about the Niagara Falls, Ont. native.  "She got into foul trouble and that really hurt us.  She can really score and she'd been our leading scorer in the past two scrimmages.  Her being in foul trouble and not being able to start her in the second half really hurt us."
 
The Purple Eagles (0-1) took the first lead of the game on a jumper from McKay.  From there it was a back-and-forth affair with Lehigh (0-1) and NU trading baskets throughout the early going.  There were four ties and three lead changes throughout the first 10 minutes but he visiting Mountain Hawks took the lead halfway through the opening period.  The Purple Eagles were able to cut the lead to four-points twice, first with a layup from newcomer Donisha Watson to make it 29-25 with nine minutes left before a pair of free throws form McGuinness made it 37-33 with less than three and a half minutes remaining, but Lehigh was able to take a 12-point lead, 47-35, into the break.
 
"I thought our press looked good at times, so that's a positive," said Faustin. "Our pace was good too, so that's another positive."
 
While Niagara was able to convert some of its chances after the break, Lehigh was able to pull away to its eventual 93-73 win. 
 
Watson led Niagara's rebounding effort and tied for the game-high with nine boards through her 17 minutes on the court.  McGuinness and Sylvia Maxwell tied with two rebounds apiece.  Niagara's 73 points is the most the team has scored in a game since its 82-point outing against Oakland last season.
 
"I thought we did a really poor job containing dribble penetration and it killed us," said Faustin.  "Offensively we didn't have a particularly good night and we still scored 73 points, so that's promising but I'm really disappointed with our defensive effort."
 
The Purple Eagles have a week off before heading to Ohio to face the Bowling Green Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15.