SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Niagara Purple Eagles saw their season come to a close with a 66-62 loss to the Monmouth Hawks on Thursday morning in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament.
 
The Purple Eagles (10-20; 8-12 MAAC) took the lead out of the gate, but Monmouth (8-24; 6-14 MAAC) wouldn't let NU get ahead by more than six points. The Hawks eventually took the lead with less than four minutes left in the half and took a 27-24 advantage into halftime.
 
The second half was back-and-forth with a total of 10 ties and 10 lead changes by the time it was over. Neither team was able to build a comfortable lead until Niagara went ahead 57-49 with 7:41 remaining. Momentum slowly started to swing back to Monmouth who chipped away at the lead and eventually took one of its own, 60-59, with 3:07 left. NU was able to hit a few free throws in the final minute, but it wasn't enough as it eventually fell 66-62.
 
"I thought we really struggled on the boards and that was the story of the night," head coach Kendra Faustin said. "We got a big stop down the stretch and couldn't secure the defensive rebound…that sums up the night along with some poor shooting."
 
Led by senior Chanel Johnson's 14 points, Niagara had four players score in the double digits. Johnson went 5-for-13 from the floor, 4-for-6 from the free-throw line, and was second on the team with six rebounds. Meghan McGuinness finished with 13 points and both Taylor McKay and Val McQuade added 11 points. McKay also pulled in a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Kelly Van Leeuwen dished out a career-high nine assists without committing a single turnover.
 
"[Van Leeuwen] probably should have had 15 assists and zero turnovers," Faustin said. "I thought she did a great job at the top, we set that flat ball-screen versus their 1-3-1. We were able to get some good looks and she did a great job making decisions out of that."
 
Before the game College Sports Madness announced its version of the All-MAAC honors and it named Niagara freshman Victoria Rampado Rookie of the Year. Rampado was also named to the Fourth Team All-MAAC. McGuinness was named to the CSM Third Team All-MAAC