NIAGARA UNIV. N.Y. – The Niagara University women's basketball team lost a 66-55 overtime decision to Canisius at the Gallagher Center on Wednesday evening.

Niagara (8-10, 4-5 MAAC) was led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness who scored 14 points and brought down six rebounds. Donisha Watson pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, blocked two shots and went 2-for-4 from the field to add four points for NU. Senior Kelly Van Leeuwen led the team in assists for her sixth consecutive game and 14^th overall as she dished out five assists on the night. Junior guard Sylvia Maxwell added nine points and five rebounds while Taylor McKay also contributed nine points, four rebounds and two assists in the losing effort. 

After the teams traded missed shots over the first three minutes of the game, Canisius (7-11, 5-4 MAAC) scored the initial basket of the contest but McKay responded on the next possession. Niagara trailed by no more than four points over the next seven minutes and tied the game (14-14) for the third time after a bucket from Watson at the 8:26 mark. From there, Niagara took the lead and led the rest of the half as the Purple Eagles went into intermission with a 29-24 advantage.

Canisius opened the second half with the first bucket but McGuinness answered with five straight points to keep Niagara up, 34-28. The Purple Eagles then went on a 10-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 44-31, with 9:49 remaining in the contest. However, Canisius closed out the final 10 minutes with a 20-7 run to tie the game (51-51) and send the competition into overtime.

In overtime, Canisius scored the first five points to make it 56-51 with 2:47 left on the clock. Niagara, forced to foul down the stretch, was not able to overcome the deficit as the Griffs pulled away with the 66-55 victory. 

"We turned it over a lot more in the second half and let their guards get into the paint which led to the result," head Coach Kendra Faustin said. "They turned up the ball pressure and we did not handle it very well. I thought we did a really good job rebounding, especially Donisha who I think had a great night for us." 

Despite the loss, Niagara out rebounded the Griffs 46-39, including 13 offensive rebounds to the visting-team's 10. Second-chance points were also a difference for the Purple Eagles, as NU had 17 compared to Canisius' one.

This was the first time these two teams went into overtime since the 2007-08 season when Niagara came away with a 65-63 thriller. Niagara and Canisius will meet again at the end of February at the Koessler Athletic Center with game time set for 5 p.m.

Niagara is back on the court on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup in the Gallagher Center against the Iona Gaels.