Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara women's basketball team opened the regular season against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night. The Purple Eagles defeated their Little Three rival 75-51.
First Quarter
The first quarter saw Niagara take a two-point lead by a score of 17-15. Lore Porter notched a quarter high eight points for the Purple Eagles. Porter went 3-3 from the field while going 2-2 from behind the three-point line. Shelby Fiddler also hit a three in the quarter, Aaliyah Parker, Destiny Strother, and Saige Glover each had two points for the Purple Eagles. Niagara forced nine turnovers in the opening quarter while recording five steals. Chardonnay Hartley had a team high three steals in the opening 10 minutes. From the nine Bona turnovers, Niagara had eight points off the turnovers. Niagara held the lead for 7:08 of the quarter.
Second Quarter
Niagara and St. Bonaventure played another back-and-forth quarter in the second as St. Bonaventure outscored the Purple Eagles 13-11. Porter and Hartley led the Purple Eagles with three points while Alyssa Rossignol and Marlie Dickerson each had two points for the Purple Eagles. The Purple Eagles forced five turnovers while four Purple Eagles had steals. Amelia Strong, Hartley, Parker, and Rossignol all had a steal in the quarter. Strong led the way down low as she pulled down four of the team's 14 rebounds.
At The Half
The two teams were tied at 28 after 20 minutes, Porter led all scorers with 11 points as she was 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from three.
Niagara pulled down 19 rebounds in the first half, they had 10 offensive boards along with nine defensive rebounds. Strong had a team high five rebounds while seven different Purple Eagles came down with a rebound.
Nine of the 10 Purple Eagles that appeared in the first half scored for Niagara.
Third Quarter
The Purple Eagles dominated the Bonnies in the third quarter as they outscored the Bonnies 26-6. Niagara shot 45.5% from the field in the quarter. Parker had a team high 10 points while shooting 4-6 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. Hartley, Fiddler, Strong, Rossignol, and Strong all had multiple points. Niagara forced seven turnovers while having six steals. Hartley and Strother had two steals, while Rossignol and Saige Glover had a steal. The Purple Eagles pulled down 15 rebounds while allowing Bonaventure just eight. Parker and Strother led the team with three rebounds while Strong, Hartley, and Dickerson all had two rebounds. Niagara held the lead for 9:42 of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Niagara secured the win in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Bonnies 21-17. Strother and Kylie Buckley had a team high six points in the quarter while Strong had four points. Niagara had 10 points in the pain along with eight second chance points. The Purple Eagles had 13 rebounds while Buckley led the team with four rebounds. Strong had three rebounds while Rossignol also tallied two rebounds.
Niagara Notes
· Four Purple Eagles finished the game with double digits (Parker, Porter, Glover, and Strother).
· Niagara forced 24 turnovers in the game while having 16 steals. Hartley set a new career high in steals with six.
· Strong had a career game for the Purple Eagles as she pulled down 10 rebounds while scoring a career high seven points.
· Niagara held the lead for 27:08 of the game.
· The Purple Eagles scored 17 points off turnovers while scoring 32 points in the paint.
· Niagara's bench scored 27 points for Niagara.
· It was the 23rd Niagara win over St. Bonaventure. It is the first time Niagara defeated St. Bonaventure since 11/11/2016.
· The 24-point differential is the most since the 1979-80 season opener when Niagara defeated the Bonnie 75-48.
· Prior to the game, the Purple Eagles unveiled their WNIT banner from the 2022-23 season.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles host Duquesne on Saturday at 1 PM.
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