FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Niagara Purple Eagles had four players score in the double digits but fell short in Tuesday's 81-77 loss to the Fairfield Stags in Alumni Hall.
 
Chanel Johnson, who hit 7-of-8 free throws, led the way for the second consecutive game with 19 points.  Val McQuade was not far behind with 17 and, with her 10 rebounds, earned her first double-double of the season. Meghan McGuinness shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc on her way to a 15-point afternoon and Taylor McKay set a new career-high with 11 points. 
 
"Tonight we did a great job on the offensive end and I thought we did a clearly much better job on the boards," head coach Kendra Faustin said of her team that took the edge in rebounding 37-29.  "We are just really struggling to get stops.  Fairfield is a really talented team and their post play really hurt us in the second half."
 
The 77-point showing is a season high for the Purple Eagles (2-9, 0-2 MAAC) in a road game.  The first two of those points came right away as McQuade forced a steal on the opening possession and took it the length of the floor for an easy layup to give NU the initial lead.  The Stags (7-4, 2-0 MAAC) were able to build a lead with three-consecutive three pointers but each time they started to pull away Niagara would answer with a run to get within a possession.
 
When trailing 8-2 early, a six-minute 10-5 run got NU within a point, 13-12.  Later in the half, the Purple Eagles found themselves trailing 21-14 with just over 8 minutes left in the period but they responded with a 15-4 run that included two-consecutive three-pointers from McQuade before a Meghan McGuinness three from deep in the corner that gave her squad the lead again, 27-25.
 
The Stags were able to come back to take a slim 32-31 into the break. 
 
McQuade opened scoring in the second half with a three-pointer and gave her team the lead twice in the first three possessions.  After Fairfield was able to take a 47-38 lead with 14 minutes left in the game, a 10-1 run capped by a layup and the and-one from McKay tied the game at 48-48 three minutes later.
 
Down the stretch the Stags were able to build a 10 point lead with just three minutes left on the clock but Niagara, even as it was forced to foul, kept chipping away at the deficit.  Johnson scored 12 points in the final 2:49 and the lead shrunk to just three points before the Stags hit their final free throw to  come away with a 81-77 win.
 
"We're a step closer, certainly," said Faustin.  "I think we're finding our way offensively but we have to do better team-wise on the defensive end.  We should continue with ball pressure and we clearly have to work on our post defense."
 
With her 15 points, McGuinness surpassed the 600-point mark for her career.  She now has 610 points through 71 career games.  
 
Niagara is back on the court this Friday as the Saint Peter's Peacocks visit the Gallagher Center for a noon tip-off.