LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Niagara (6-8, 3-3 MAAC), who trailed for more than 35-minutes of game time earned its fourth come-from-behind win of the season, 75-74, over Rider (5-11, 3-4 MAAC) Tuesday night in MAAC women's basketball action from Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Aaliyah Parker scored a team-high and career-best 22 points, followed by Maddy Yelle and Kyra Grimshaw with 16 and 13, respectively.
Game Recap
First Quarter
• Niagara found themselves down six, 20-16, at the end of the first quarter of play.
• Kyra Grimshaw came off the bench and scored seven points on 3-for-5 shooting. The senior connected on her first triple of the contest to tie the game at five.
• Niagara would tie the game at 12 with a 3-pointer from Ally Haar, but the Broncs would end the quarter on an 8-2 run.
• The Purple Eagles went 6-for-20 from the field in the opening frame, while the Broncs went 7-for-17.
Second Quarter
• After the Broncs jumped out to a 23-14 lead with a 3-pointer to start the second, Niagara made four-straight at the line to make it a five-point game, 23-18, with 8:08 on the clock.
• A 11-0 sprint by the Broncs made the score 34-18 in favor of the home team before Grimshaw would sink a jumper to end a scoreless drought for Niagara.
• Niagara would end the frame on an 8-3 run, putting the Purple Eagles down seven at the break, 39-32.
• Grimshaw had 11 points at the break, followed by Aaliyah with nine points.
Third Quarter
• With just over seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Angel found her sister Aaliyah again for the fast-break layup; this one put Niagara down four, 45-41.
• Niagara would pull within two, 49-47, with Aaliyah's fourth field goal of the contest, however, the Broncs would connect on back-to-back 3-pointers to make it an eight-point game, 55-47.
• With two minutes left and Niagara down five, Maddy Yelle would score on a reverse layup to put the Purple Eagles down, 58-55.
• Six-straight points by Rider would give the Broncs a 64-55 lead at the end of the third.
• Niagara scored 23 points in the third quarter, shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 9-for-10 at the line.
Fourth Quarter
• Aaliyah would put the Purple Eagles down two, 64-62, with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
• With five minutes remaining in the contest, Brooklyn Jones would connect on a three-ball from the corner to once again put NU down by two, 69-67.
• With 1:08 on the clock, Haar would make a running floater to make the score 73-69 in favor of the Broncs.
• Niagara would again pull within two points with 16.7 seconds remaining on a fast break layup by Haar following a Rider turnover.
• Yelle would get the inbound pass from Angel Parker and score the game-tying bucket in the lane. The senior would go to the line for the and-1 opportunity and give NU its first lead since the 8:34 mark of the first.
• Rider would miss its game-winning shot, and Niagara would earn the 16-point comeback win to split the season series with the Broncs.
Niagara Notes
• Niagara improves to 28-27 following the 55th meeting all-time with the Broncs.
• Grimshaw reached double-digits in the scoring column for the fourth time in the last six games.
• Aaliyah Parker finished with a career-high 22 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 at the line.
• Yelle went 4-for-9 from the field and 8-for-9 at the charity stripe for her ninth game with 10 or more points.
• Niagara grabbed 25 offensive rebounds, resulting in 14 second-chance points.
• Olivia Mason finished with a season-high five steals. The senior also added a team-high six rebounds.
• Tuesday marked the fourth time Niagara has erased a double-digit deficit this season.
Up Next
• The Purple and White will continue its three-game road swing at Monmouth on Thursday, Jan. 20. Niagara and the Hawks will tip off at 7 p.m. in West Long Branch, NJ.
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