Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara women's basketball team returned to the Gallagher Center on Thursday night as they closed out the season series with the Rider Broncs. Niagara came away with a dominant win against Broncs 75-56.
First Quarter
Niagara took the lead just eight seconds into the game and the trend continued throughout the opening quarter. Niagara jumped out to a 21-13 lead in the opening quarter. Niagara shot 53.3% from the field while hitting a pair of threes. Amelia Strong had six points in the opening quarter while pulling down two boards and having two steals. Angel Parker had five points along with two steals. Niagara forced 12 turnovers in the opening quarter while scoring 14 points off turnovers. Niagara outrebounded the Broncs 7-4 in the first quarter that saw both teams going on runs of nine (Niagara) and seven (Rider).
Second Quarter
The Purple Eagles added to their lead in the second quarter as they outscored the Broncs 18-7 while Niagara forced 17 turnovers and took 25 shots. Destiny Strother was the leading point getter for the Purple Eagles with seven points while An. Parker had three. Strong, Aaliyah Parker, Alyssa Rossignol, and Saige Glover had two. Niagara came away with eight steals in the quarter as Aa. Parker had three, Strother and Chardonnay Hartley each had two while Rossignol also notched a steal. The Purple Eagles limited Rider to just eight shots in the quarter while not allowing Rider to get to the free throw line.
At the half
Niagara led 39-20 after the opening 20 minutes of the game as Strother had a game high 10 points. Both Strong and An. Parker had eight points while in total seven Purple Eagles had points. Niagara forced 29 turnovers in the first half and 30 of their 39 points came off turnovers. Rebounds were even at 17 as Niagara pulled down nine on of the offensive glass, Rider did not come away with an offensive rebound in the first half.
Third Quarter
The third quarter saw Niagara build their lead by just two points as they outscored Rider 20-18. With just under two minutes left in the quarter, Niagara took their biggest lead of the game as they led by 23. Niagara was led by An. Parker in the third as she had eight points in just over five minutes of gameplay. Glover had four points to go along with six rebounds in the quarter. Hartley had a pair of points while also dishing out three assists. Niagara had three steals in the quarter with Strother, Marlie Dickerson, and Hartley all having one. Niagara took 21 shots in the quarter while limiting Rider to just 14. Niagara took just three fouls in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Niagara secured the win in the fourth quarter despite being outscored 18-16 in the frame. An. Parker had six points to lead Niagara in the fourth quarter while Glover and Hartley each had three points in the frame. Niagara forced six turnovers in the quarter while having two steals. Dickerson also came away with the lone block in the quarter.
Niagara Notes
· An. Parker set a new season high for points with 22 while playing just over 18 minutes. She shot 8-10 from the field which included four threes. It is the sixth time this season that a Purple Eagle has scored 20 or more points.
· Glover notched a double double as she scored 11 points and came down with 12 rebounds. It is her first career double double. This season she has two games with 10 or more rebounds and seven games with double digit scoring.
· Hartley dished out eight assists in the game while accounting for half of the team's 16.
· Niagara forced 38 turnovers in the game which is a new season best for Niagara. It ties their season high from last season that was set against Saint Peter's on Jan. 7, 2023.
· The Purple Eagles had 20 steals in the game. It is the third time this season that Niagara has notched 20 or more steals.
· Niagara is now 10-2 this season when leading at halftime.
· The Purple Eagles took 77 shots in the game, it is the 14th game this season that Niagara has taken 70 or more shots.
· Niagara closes out the month of February with a 5-1 record.
· It is the second time in program history that Niagara has played on a 'leap day'. The last time being in 2003-04, Niagara is now 1-1 on 'leap day'.
· The Purple Eagles took just nine fouls in the game, it is a season low, their previous low was 16 which was set against Fairfield on Feb. 24.
· Four Purple Eagles scored double digits. Niagara has four players averaging over eight points per game this season.
· In MAAC play this season, Niagara leads the MAAC in offense as they are averaging 72.7 points per game. Niagara's scoring margin of +8.8 is second in the MAAC.
· The Purple Eagles sit in second in the MAAC with a 13-5 MAAC record while holding a one game advantage over Siena who is third at 12-6.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles play their second to last regular season game as they host Iona on Saturday at 2 PM.
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