Emmitsburg, MD—The Niagara women's basketball traveled to Mount St. Mary's for their first ever MAAC matchup with The Mount on Saturday. The Purple Eagles used a 21-0 run in the third quarter to secure a 73-54 win.
Game Recap
First Quarter

• The opening quarter of the game was a back forth frame in which neither team built a huge lead. Niagara opened the game on a 6-0 run thanks to threes from Nickelle O'Neil and Aaliyah Parker. After three lead changes, Mount St. Mary's held a 14-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
• Five Purple Eagles scored in the first quarter as Aaliyah, Angel Parker, and O'Neil all had three points while Jade Rutledge and Sydney Faulcon had two points each.
• Niagara pulled down 10 boards in the first quarter, four of which were on the offensive side. Niagara generated seven more shots in the first and had five second chance points.
• The Purple Eagles forced eight turnovers in the frame but scored just two points off turnovers.

Second Quarter

• In the second quarter of the game, the two teams were dead even as they traded the lead four times. The teams tied at 14 in the frame but The Mount held a 28-27 lead at halftime.
• Rutledge took over in the second quarter as she had a quarter high eight points. Aaliyah, Ary Hicks, and Faulcon all had two points in the frame.
• The Purple Eagles out rebounded Mount 15 to four in the frame with Niagara pulling 11 defensive rebounds compared to just four from Mount.
• Niagara tallied three steals with Angel, Saige Glover, and Brooklyn Jones all had steals in the quarter.
• At halftime, the two teams had traded the lead seven different times, Niagara had a lead as big as six while Mount was up three at one point.

Third Quarter

• Niagara came out of the locker room for the second half and took control of the game as they outscored The Mount 24-15 which included a 14 point run.
• Multiple Purple Eagles put up multiple points as Aaliyah led the way with eight points. Faulcon had six points in the frame, while Hicks had four.
• Niagara doubled up The Mount in rebounding in the third quarter as they pulled down 16 boards which included 10 on the offensive side.
• The Purple Eagles forced nine turnovers in the quarter and converted it to nine points. Niagara also had eight points in the paint and 13 points from their bench.

Fourth Quarter

• In the fourth quarter Niagara doubled Mount up on the score board to secure the win. They scored 22 points and limited The Mount to 11 points in the quarter.
• Angel had a team high five points in the fourth quarter, both Aaliyah and Rutledge had four points as the Purple Eagles pulled away from The Mount.
• The Purple Eagles pulled down 15 rebounds while allowing just five rebounds to Mount.
• Niagara had a 22 point lead awhile the lead did not change hands once. The Purple Eagles had nine points off turnovers and 14 points in the paint.

Niagara Notes

• Aaliyah pulled down 18 rebounds which is a new career high for her, it is also the first time Niagara has had a player pull down 15 or more boards since Emerald Ekpitea pulled down 15 against Siena on Jan. 9, 2020.
• Niagara had 21 more rebounds then Mount, it is the first time Niagara had a +20 rebound margin since Jan. 10, 2019 against Saint Peter's.
• The Purple Eagles had 56 rebounds which the first time they pulled down 50 since Jan. 9, 2022 against Canisius.
• Rutledge, Angel, and Aaliyah all had double digit points as Aaliyah had a team high 17 points. It is her fourth double double of the season.
• Niagara is the lone MAAC team nine MAAC wins, Iona is one game up on the Purple Eagles as they are 10-1 in MAAC play.
• Angel currently sits in second in MAAC scoring after her 10 point outing. Aaliyah is third with 16.5 points per game.
• Niagara is now 10-2 this season when they score more than 60 points in a game.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles are in action just once this weekend as they host Iona in a battle for first place at the Gallagher Center at 6 PM.

 
Stay connected with Niagara Women's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and purpleeagles.com