SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The fifth-seeded Niagara women’s basketball team defeated the No. 4 seed Rider Broncs, 59-54, in the 2013 MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday.

Niagara (15-15) advances to the MAAC Tournament Semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons. The Purple Eagles will play the seven-time defending champion Marist Red Foxes on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN3. 

“We really showed as a team that we were ready for this,” assistant coach Corinne Jones said. “We came out with a great run and were ready from the start. It was a great team effort and I give a lot of credit to Lauren (Gatto) and Meghan (McGuinness).”

The tone of the game was set early by the Purple Eagles. Niagara built an early 23-13 lead behind an 11-3 run in which Rider went scoreless for 4:24 and didn’t make a field goal for over eight minutes.

The Purple Eagles added to their 25-19 halftime lead by opening the second half on an 8-0 spurt which included consecutive triples by Meghan McGuinness. 

The Purple Eagles took control of the game due to Rider’s offensive struggles as their lead increased to 17 with 9:58 left in the game. Rider (15-15), which didn’t make a field goal until the 12:26 mark in the second half, went on a 10-0 surge in a 1:23 to cut NU’s lead to 43-38 with 7:44 left.

Niagara answered Rider’s rally with a run of its own. Kelly Van Leeuwen drained a 3-pointer from the corner to halt Rider’s run and later made a pair of free throws to give NU a 50-40 lead with 4:34 remaining.

The Broncs cut the lead to 53-48 with 2:25 remaining before NU turned to McGuinness to close out the game. McGuinness made four-straight free throws to give NU a 57-48 lead with 1:41 left. However, Rider trimmed NU’s lead to 57-54 with 51 seconds remaining.

On Rider’s final possession, McGuinness blocked Sironda Chambers’ 3-pointer in the corner with five seconds left. She later converted a pair of free throws to seal the game.

McGuinness’ 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line was a part of NU’s 17-for-19 day at the charity stripe.

“Rider did a nice job coming back,” Jones said. “I think our players responded. We did what we talked about every day in practice and (they) stayed committed to their defensive principles.”

McGuinness led NU with 15 points and with nine rebounds. Lauren Gatto was second on the team in scoring with 14 points. Kayla Stroman had a game-high seven assists.

Niagara won all three meetings with Rider this season, and four straight times dating back to last season, to beat a team three straight times in the same season for the first time since the 2004-05 season. 

Niagara’s 15 wins are its most since the 2004-05 season (17).