Box Score
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara women's basketball team pushed its winning streak to four with a convincing 64-36 victory over the Manhattan Jaspers on Sunday afternoon. The Purple Eagles, which trailed 20-19 at the half, outscored the Jaspers 45-16 in the second half.

"The awesome thing about this group is that we can make adjustments at halftime and they can execute them," said head coach Kendra Faustin. "I thought our veteran group did a phenomenal job accomplishing those changes."

Senior guard Meghan McGuinness totaled a team-high 13 points while also adding seven rebounds for the Purple Eagles. Sophomore forward Victoria Rampado narrowly missed finishing the game with a double-double as her final stat-line featured 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Senior Val McQuade and junior Taylor McKay combined for 16 points while McKay also chipped in five rebounds and a team-leading four steals. Sophomore guard Emily Granruth came off the bench going a perfect 2-for-2 from the field for NU to contribute five points in the win.

Niagara (4-3, 2-0 MAAC) actually started the competition trailing 8-2 with less than five minutes into the game but used an 11-0 run which highlighted a Kelly Van Leeuwen three pointer to take the lead. The teams traded baskets for the next nine minutes as the score was tied 18-18 before a foul shot by Rampado put Niagara up one. Manhattan (1-6, 0-2 MAAC) scored the final points of the half as the Purple Eagles went into intermission trailing 20-19 lead.

The two teams traded baskets over the first three minutes of the second half as Niagara would tie the match 27-27 with 17:01 remaining in the game. The Purple Eagle's defense held Manhattan scoreless over the next 14 minutes as Niagara went on a 30-0 run. From there, the Purple Eagles controlled the remainder of the contest as NU held onto the lead and led by double digits for the rest of the game after going 16-for-28 (57.1 percent) from the field.

"Our shots were going to fall eventually so we had to keep staying aggressive," said Niagara Falls, Ont. native Victoria Rampado. "We came out strong in the second half and picked it up defensively which generated our offense."

With under two minutes to play, NU took its largest lead of the game, 60-29, after a jumper by Granruth and pulled away to the 64-36 victory.

Manhattan shot just 28.3 percent from the field (15-for-53) while NU went 24-for-57 (42.1 percent). Once again, the Purple Eagles dominated the stat sheet finishing with a 45-30 edge in rebounding, 11-0 advantage in fast break points and a 36-4 upper hand in points off the bench.

"We had to do the little things because we weren't making shots," Faustin continued. "There's a lot more offensive rebounds to go get since they were in a zone so we took advantage of that."

The last time Niagara went on a four-game winning streak was in the 2009-10 season. The win also tied the Purple Eagles in the all-time series against the Jaspers (26-26).

Niagara is idle until Dec. 18 when it travels to Cleveland State to take on the Vikings at 11 a.m. at the Wolstein Center. NU's next home game is not until Dec. 20 when it hosts Little Three rival St. Bonaventure in a Big 4 matchup at 1 p.m.