NIAGARA UNIV. N.Y. – With their 69-60 victory on Wednesday night the Purple Eagles earned their first home win over the Canisius Golden Griffins since the 2009-10 season.
 
Meghan McGuinness had a huge night for Niagara (7-13; 5-6 MAAC) with a game-high 22 points and a share of the team-lead with six rebounds. The junior guard finished the night shooting 5-for-10 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. Three of the four free throws came in the final 41 seconds to keep Niagara comfortably in the lead.
 
"In particular I think Meghan is getting very intelligent in our spacing and using screens," head coach Kendra Faustin said about her leading scorer. "She's not just scoring from the three-point line; she can now really put it on the bounce. She had a little post-up tonight that I thought was really positive, some slips...that I think is the biggest difference in being a three-point shooter to being an all-around player."
 
The game was all Purple and White from the jump as the hosts opened the game on an 11-4 run with three of the first four field goals coming from three-point territory. Val McQuade, Kelly Van Leeuwen, and McGuinness were all able to connect early from downtown. Canisius (8-13; 4-8 MAAC) did not fade away and cut the deficit to two points several times, but each time it did Niagara was able to string together a couple baskets to open up the lead again. The Purple Eagles finished the half shooting 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and were able to take a two-point lead, 27-25, into the break.
 
The Golden Griffins were able to take a few single-point leads early in the second half, but a jumper and a three-pointer from McGuinness gave NU a 34-30 lead and it never looked back. Sylvia Maxwell provided a spark with five-consecutive points and a steal over a two-minute stretch beginning at just under the 13-minute mark. Maxwell finished the game with nine points and three rebounds.
 
"It's a tough spot, at halftime we said, 'we have to find a way to get Sylvia into the game,'" Faustin said. "She made it hard to keep her off the floor tonight. She didn't go out there and take threes…she played to her strengths.  She moved the ball, she moved without the ball, she made passes, and she certainly got into the paint."
 
Chanel Johnson collected eight points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe, in the final three minutes to keep NU in front and on the way to a 69-60 victory.  The senior finished the game second on the team with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.  McQuade's 3-for-4 outing from beyond the arc got her into the double-digit club with 12 points.
 
"I didn't think we played great on the offensive end consistently, and that's certainly a testament to Canisius' defense, but I was really proud that we dug in, we made adjustments on the defensive end, and when push came to shove our players championed their roles tonight," said Faustin. "Chanel Johnson had a poor first half. She came in the second half and was really solid, 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, and had the maturity and confidence to finish a game and help us win."
 
As a team NU shot nearly 60 percent (10-for-17) from three-point range while keeping Canisius to a 30.0 percent (6-for-20) clip. The 41-27 rebounding advantage moves Niagara's streak of outrebounding opponents to five-straight games. 
 
The last time the Purple Eagles topped their Battle of the Bridge rival was on Feb. 3, 2010 in a 52-49 decision.  Niagara went on to sweep that season series. 
 
Niagara is back on the court on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. matchup in the Gallagher Center against the Quinnipiac Bobcats.