NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. -  The Niagara women’s basketball team eased to a 67-55 win over Saint Peter’s on Saturday to complete the season sweep for the second consecutive season. 

“Anything can happen on any night, so tonight was such a big game for us to play our basketball,” head coach Kendra Faustin said.

The duo of Lauren Gatto and Meghan McGuinness led Niagara (12-11, 7-5) in scoring for the second straight game. Gatto finished with a team-high 16 points to score in double figures for the 19th time this season. McGuinness added 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers.

10 Purple Eagles scored in the game, but it was a player who didn’t score that made a huge impact. Kayla Stroman tied a career-best with a game-high eight assists, while committing only one turnover, and had a team-high two steals. Stroman moved ahead of Stacie Kane (’92) for sixth all-time in assists and is three short of fifth.

“(Kayla) just wants to do what is best for the team all of the time,” Faustin said. “She is like an extension of our coaching staff; she is smart, crafty and really controls the game.”

Niagara stormed out of the gate, opening the game on a 19-3 run. The Purple Eagles held SPU (2-21, 2-10) to one field goal for nearly nine minutes while keeping the Peacocks scoreless for almost seven minutes.  The Purple Eagles, who led as much as 17 points in the opening stanza, held a comfortable lead throughout the half and went into the break up 33-19.

“We carried over our defensive effort from the game on Thursday into today,” Faustin said. “We talked about our defensive pressure all week in practice, so I’m proud of that effort.”

NU lead ballooned to its largest of the game, 58-34, on a layup by Gabby Baldasare with 8:09 left in the second half. Niagara finished the game shooting 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the field, which is its second highest percentage of the season, and went 12-for-14 at the charity stripe.

At halftime, NU honored the 1978-79 team which finished third place in the AIAW National Tournament.

Niagara will take its season-long three-game winning streak to MAAC leaders Marist for a nationally-televised game on ESPNU on Friday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m.