NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara women's basketball dropped a 59-51 heartbreaker to MAAC opponent Siena on Saturday. 

The Purple Eagles led for most of the game, but with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Saints made a comeback to come away with the win.

"Today was tough because we had control of the game for a while and then the tides started to shift," said Purple Eagles head coach Jada Pierce. "Little things that we were doing early on, we stopped doing them. With a team like ours that's not used to being in those positions, it does make it tough but we will learn from it and we will bounce back."

Taylor McKay led the Purple Eagles (2-10) in scoring with 14 points and also had a career-high five steals. Sam Lapszynski led the team in rebounds with 12. Lapszynski and Kaylee Stroemple both added nine points. Stroemple and McKay also recorded six rebounds each.

Niagara got off to a quick lead in the beginning of the game and with a little less than five minutes in the first quarter, the Purple Eagles led the Saints, 10-6. Jamie Sherburne hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left in the quarter, giving Niagara a 15-8 lead going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Niagara's tough defense and fiery offense helped the team to maintain its lead. Sherburne sank another 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the first half, putting Niagara up 25-15. Lapszynski scored a basket to close out the first half and the Purple Eagles went into halftime with a 31-22 lead over the Saints (6-7).

The Purple Eagles led through the entire third quarter, and went into the fourth up 45-37. However in the fourth quarter, the Saints took advantage of fouls and turnovers to tie the game at 50-50 with three minutes remaining. With a little over a minute left in the game, Siena took its first lead, 53-50. The Purple Eagles were persistent in trying to regain the lead, but unfortunately fell short as Siena took the game, 59-51.

The Purple Eagles play next against Fairfield on Monday, Jan. 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.

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