Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara women's basketball team returned to the Gallagher Center after 12 days away as they hosted the Manhattan Jaspers. The Purple Eagles used a 33-point fourth quarter to earn a 74-70 win over the Jaspers in comeback fashion.
Game Recap
First Quarter

• The Jaspers took an opening quarter lead of 19-12 as they were sent to the line nine times.
• Niagara was led by Aaliyah Parker who had seven in the oping quarter and led all scorers. She also had a block and pulled down three boards.
• Angel Parker had the lone Niagara steal in the first quarter while she pulled down a game high five rebounds all of which came on the defensive side. The Purple Eagles outrebounded the Jaspers 11-10.
• Maddy Yelle and Jade Rutledge both had two points in the quarter while Nickelle O'Neil had the first Niagara point on a free throw.

Second Quarter

• Manhattan once again controlled play in the second quarter as they outscored Niagara 20-13 in the frame. The Jaspers shot 7-13 from the field while Niagara was 4-11.
• Aaliyah had a team high six points which was tied for the most in the quarter. At the end of the first half Aaliyah was in foul trouble with four fouls. Aaliyah had a game high 13 points at halftime.
• Niagara forced five turnovers in the second stanza and had forced eight through 20 minutes.
• The Purple Eagles had three blocks in the first half with Rutledge having one and Aaliyah having two.

Third Quarter

• The third quarter was filled with free throws as the two teams combined for 30 free throws and 18 fouls. The Jaspers built on their lead as the outscored Niagara 22-16 in the frame.
• Angel led all scorers with nine points as seven of them came from the free throw line. Aaliyah fouled out early in the quarter and finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks.
• Manhattan turned the ball over eight times in the third and Niagara had 10 of their 16 points off turnovers.
• Ary Hicks had three points in the quarter while Brooklyn Jones and O'Neil both had two points.

Fourth Quarter

• The Purple Eagles entered the fourth quarter trailing by 20 with the score being 61-41 in favor of Manhattan.
• O'Neil started the frame with a three pointer and the comeback was on as Niagara had the Manhattan lead down to 10 with 6:22 left in regulation after a Sydney Faulcon layup.
• Just under three minutes later, the lead was down two five with 3:41 left after another Faulcon basket.
• At the 1:53 mark of the quarter, the comeback was completed as Niagara took a 68-67 lead following a layup from Angel.
• The Purple Eagles never gave the lead back and had a five point lead with less than 20 seconds left on the clock.
• With Aaliyah fouled out and multiple Purple Eagles in foul trouble, Niagara had just four players score in the fourth. Angel had 12 of her 27 in the fourth while Faulcon set a new season high with 11 points in the fourth. O'Neil had five in the quarter while Shelby Fiddler hit a three and Brooklyn Jones chipped in two.
• Niagara forced eight turnovers in the fourth with five steals.

Niagara Notes

• The Purple Eagles are one of two teams in the MAAC with seven MAAC wins joining Iona who also won on Thursday night.
• Niagara is riding a five game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine games, including their last four home games.
• Angel and Faulcon both set season highs with 27 and 11 points respectively. Angel notched her first double-double of the season by pulling down 10 rebounds as well.
• The 21 point comeback in the largest Niagara comeback since Nov. 9, 2021 when they came back to beat Loyola to open their season, Niagara trailed by as much as 19.
• The last time that Niagara scored 30 or more points in a fourth quarter was Dec. 19, 2021 against Manhattan at the Gallagher Center. Niagara erased a 19 point deficit in that game as they won 73-70 for their first MAAC win of the 2021-22 season.
• The Purple Eagles are now 4-1 in games decided by less than four points. It is just the second time this season that Niagara has won after trailing at the half.
• It is the first time this season the Purple Eagles had a better field goal percentage than their opponents this season, Niagara shot 42.6% while Manhattan was 40.7 from the field.
• Niagara held reigning MAAC Player of the Week Dee Dee Davis to just 11 points as she fouled out in the fourth, she was averaging 15.9 points per game and scored 37 in her last outing.
• The Purple Eagles scored 26 points off turnovers, which brings their average to 25.29 points per game.
• Angel is now second in the MAAC in scoring with 16.9 points per game while Aaliyah is at 16.7 points per game.
• Since women's basketball switched to playing four quarters in 2014-15, Niagara had never scored 33 points in a 10-minute quarter. It is also the first time in program history that Niagara had a 24-point margin any quarter.  

Up Next

• Canisius makes the trip to Monteagle Ridge on Wednesday at 6 PM. Niagara is hosting a pregame tailgate that the first 100 students will receive a free t-shirt, free pizza will also be provided starting at 5 PM.

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