Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara women's basketball team faced their second A10 team in as many games as they hosted the Duquesne Dukes at the Gallagher Center. The Purple Eagles fell in the non-conference action 82-79.
First Quarter
The two teams came out of the gates flying as the teams traded three and combined for 10 threes in the first 10 minutes. Niagara led 22-21 after the opening quarter. Destiny Strother led the quarter with nine points as she hit three threes. Aaliyah Parker also had seven points in the opening quarter as she was 3-7 from the field while hitting a three. The Purple Eagles had three blocks in the opening quarter while Amelia Strong had two of them, Parker accounted for the third block. The Purple Eagles had three steals to open the game with Parker having two and Strother notching the other. Chardonnay Hartley notched six points in the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
Duquense took the lead in the second quarter as they outscored the Purple Eagles 24-18 in the quarter. Niagara was led by Strother who had five points. Five different Purple Eagles had points while Strong had four, and Hartley, Parker, and Shelby Fiddler all had three points. Niagara forced seven turnovers in the quarter while having three steals. Niagara had another block in the quarter as Strong picked up her third block of the game which set a new career high.
At the Half
Niagara trailed 45-40 at the half as Strother had a game high 14 at the break. Niagara shot 43.8% from the field in the first half while five Purple Eagles had points. The Purple Eagles made seven threes in the first half and shot 58.3% from behind the three-point line.
Third Quarter
Niagara chipped into the Dukes lead in the third quarter as they outscored Duquesne 16-15 in the quarter. Hartley had a team high six points as she shot 2-3 from the field, and 2-2 from the line. Both Strong and Parker had three points in the quarter. Niagara forced eight turnovers in the third quarter while having two steals. Strong added to her block total as she had the lone Niagara block in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
In the fourth quarter the Purple Eagles looked for a comeback and outscored the Dukes 23-22 in the final quarter. Niagara trailed by just three with less than 20 seconds left, Strother took two final threes but could drain one to tie the game and force overtime.
Both Hartley and Strother both had six points in the fourth quarter as Niagara looked to force overtime. The Purple Eagles made three threes in the final quarter while Niagara shot 47.4% from the field.
Niagara Notes
· Strother had a career high 23 points while going 7-11 from three. Her seven threes is also a new career high.
· Hartley doubled her career high as she had 21 points against the Dukes. She also made a new career seven field goals while playing just over 30 minutes.
· Four Purple Eagles were double figures for scoring, Strother had 23, Hartley 21, Parker had 14 while Strong had 11.
· The Purple Eagles had five blocks in the game with four coming from Strong.
· Niagara forced 23 turnovers while they scored 18 points off turnovers. Hartley had a team high three steals, while Parker and Strother had two. Fiddler, Alyssa Rossignol, and Kylie Buckley had one steal.
· The Purple Eagles shot 44.4% from the field along with 55% from the three point line.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles are back in action Tuesday as they head to Buffalo to review its Big Four rivalry with the Bulls.
