Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara women's basketball team hosted Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at the Gallagher Center. Niagara used 54 points in the second half to win 72-61 over The Mount.
First Quarter
The Mount opened the game by taking a 18-8 lead in the opening quarter. Aaliyah Parker accounted for four Niagara points as she hit a pair of free throws. Chardonnay Hartley hit a three in the first quarter while Angel Parker added a free throw. Niagara pulled down nine rebounds with eight coming on the defensive side. Hartley had three rebounds while Aaliyah and Ary Hicks both came down with two. Aaliyah had the lone Niagara steal in the quarter.
Second Quarter
Niagara was outscored 17-10 in the second quarter. Hicks had three points in the quarter while Amelia Strong, Aaliyah, and Kylie Buckley each had two points. Niagara forced five turnovers in the quarter while having four steals. Buckley was credited with two steals while Alyssa Rossignol and Aaliyah also had a steal. The Purple Eagles pulled down eight rebounds while Aaliyah had a team high two.
At the half
Aaliyah was Niagara's leading scorer with five points as Niagara trailed by 17. She also led the team with four rebounds and was tied for the team lead in steals with two. Niagara forced just six turnovers in the first half with five steals. Hicks had a team high three assists in the first half while Lore Porter, Angel, and Hartley all had one.
Third Quarter
Niagara came out of the locker room in the third quarter and shot 42.9% from the field while also hitting eight free throws as the Purple Eagles outscored The Mount 22-11 in the quarter. Aaliyah had eight of Niagara's 22 points in the quarter. Both Destiny Strother and Porter had a three in the quarter while Strong, Angel, Saige Glover, and Hicks all had two points. Niagara also forced eight Mount turnovers with six coming from steals. Hartley and Aaliyah both had two steals while Glover and Strong had one each. Despite Angel having just two points in the quarter she was +14 when on the court in the third quarter. The Purple Eagles had 16 points off turnovers in the quarter while also collecting 14 rebounds.
Fourth Quarter
Niagara nearly tied the program record for points scored in a quarter of 33 which was set on Jan. 19, 2023 in the fourth quarter against Manhattan. The Purple Eagles scored 32 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday to complete a comeback win. Niagara outscored The Mount 32-15 in the fourth quarter. Hartley had 16 points in the quarter as she went 5-6 from the field, 3-3 from three, and 3-3 from the free throw line. Amelia Strong and Aaliyah each had four points in the quarter while Porter and Hicks each had three. The Purple Eagles forced seven turnovers in the quarter and had four steals. Niagara attacked the tank in the fourth quarter as they had 14 of their 24 points in the paint. As a team, Niagara shot 75% from the field while hitting four threes.
Niagara Notes
· The Purple Eagles earned their third MAAC win of the season and first win of calendar year 2024.
· Niagara is 3-0 against Mount since they joined the MAAC ahead of the 2022-23 season. They are 5-1 all-time against Mount St. Mary's.
· Niagara's 54 second half points is the most points scoring by the Purple Eagles in a half since they scored 58 points in a half against Monmouth on Feb. 22, 2019.
· The Purple Eagles forced 21 turnovers, they have forced 20 or more turnovers in 12 of 14 games this season. Niagara leads the MAAC in forced turnovers with 344 and are averaging 24.6 forced turnovers a game. The Purple Eagles entered the game fifth in the country in forced turnovers per game.
· Hartley had 19 points in the game to lead Niagara, she has five games this season in which she had 15 or more points. Hartley also set a career high with seven rebounds.
· Aaliyah pulled down a team high rebounds which is a new season high for the junior. She also had 17 points which is her most in a game this season.
· Nine Purple Eagles scored in the game with six scoring more than five points.
· The Purple Eagles scored 26 points off turnovers, it is their sixth game this season with 20 or more points off turnovers. Niagara is averaging 20.9 points off turnovers per game this season.
· Niagara scored 24 points in the paint, they have scored 20 or more points in the pain in 13 of 14 games this season.
· The Purple Eagles drained eight three pointers which is the third most in a game this season.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles head to Albany on Thursday to face Siena before taking on the Marist Red Foxes on Saturday in Poughkeepsie.
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