POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Strong defense gave the Purple Eagles the lead in the first and the junior duo of Val McQuade and Meghan McGuinness kept them in the game in the second, but NU fell to the Marist Red Foxes 61-52 on Saturday night.
 
Momentum swung back and forth throughout the opening half.  Marist (15-5; 9-1 MAAC) had it to start but the pendulum quickly swung to Niagara (6-13; 4-6 MAAC) thanks to a staunch defensive showing. Over a nine-minute stretch starting at the 17:19 mark, NU held Marist to 0-for-11 from the floor and forced five turnovers. That opened the door to a 17-2 run that featured five points from Gabby Baldasare and had NU up 19-10 with eight minutes to go.
 
"I thought we did a great job defensively which is something we really struggled with against Marist because they are so talented offensive," head coach Kendra Faustin said.  "They made big shots down the stretch and that was the difference."
 
Despite being held to a 29.2 percent (7-for24) from the field and being out rebounded 23-18, the Red Foxes responded with a run of their own to take a slim 23-22 lead into the break. 
 
The second half opened up compared to the first with both team shooting over 40 percent. McQuade scored the first of her 10 second-half points three minutes into the half to tie the game at 27-27.  She hit another three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining to cut the deficit to one point before hitting a jumper to give NU a 43-42 lead with seven minutes to go.
 
McGuinness, who also added 10-points in the second half, tied the game twice in the final five minutes. Down the stretch Marist took advantage of being sent to the line and pulled ahead to a 61-52 win. 
 
McGuinness' 15 points were a team-high and Baldasare led the way with eight rebounds. Niagara win the rebounding battle 39-31 which included 17 offensive boards to Marist's six.
 
"I think we did a great job moving," Faustin said.  "A lot of times as a shot goes up and we're moving in route, the other team is out of position defensively. That allowed us to get our hands on some offensive rebounds."
 
"Obviously Marist is an incredibly respected team in the conference and I thought we played pretty well tonight but, you know we didn't win and so I think it means that we're getting better," she continued.
 
Niagara has a quick turn-around with a mid-week matchup with Battle of the Bridge rival Canisius in the Gallagher Center at 7:00 p.m.