Tempe, Ariz. — Niagara women's lacrosse opened its west coast swing falling to Arizona State 17-7 Thursday night in non-conference action at Sun Devil Lacrosse Stadium.

The Purple Eagles dropped to 1-5 on the season, while the Sun Devils improved to 3-3.

Arizona State wasted no time establishing control, racing to a 5-0 lead before Niagara registered a single goal. Kendal Morris opened the scoring at 13:30, and Teagan Ng followed with her first goal less than a minute later. Ng then then added three more goals in the final four minutes of the quarter. Goalkeeper Haley Terry made three saves to keep the deficit from growing further.

Niagara broke through at 10:32 when Maive Partlow found the back of the net off an assist from Michaela Delles, but Arizona State answered with six consecutive goals to push the lead to 10-1. Alyssa Nichols and Jordyn Behar each converted free-position shots, and Addie Shevitz and Ng added even-strength goals to fuel the run. 

Kensington Keane provided a bright spot for the Purple Eagles with an unassisted tally at 1:07, cutting the deficit to 10-2, but Teagan Lowery scored with 10 seconds remaining to send the teams to halftime with Arizona State ahead 11-2.

Niagara came out with its best quarter of the game, outscoring Arizona State 3-2 in the third period. Lydia Oldknow scored on a man-up opportunity to extend the Sun Devils' lead to 12-2, but Maddy Gill answered with back-to-back unassisted goals at 6:37 and 5:28 to pull the Purple Eagles within seven. 

Ava Whitt responded for Arizona State at 4:57, but Keane closed the quarter with her second goal at 1:01. Niagara put up nine shots in the frame, its most in any quarter, and Terry made three saves to help her team stay competitive. The Purple Eagles trailed 13-5 heading to the fourth.

Niagara opened the final period with back-to-back scores. Keane completed her hat-trick at 9:24, and Gill converted a free-position shot at 8:36 to complete her hatr-trick and pull within six at 13-7. 

Arizona State then closed out the game with four unanswered goals, including a free-position conversion by Morris, a tally from Shevitz, and a pair of late goals from Lowery and Morgan Livingston in the final five minutes. Terry made six saves in the fourth quarter to finish with 16 on the day.

Game Notes
Niagara is now 0-2 all-time against Arizona State
Gill and Keane both recorded their second hat-tricks of the season
Delaney Banks and Joryan Adams made their season debuts
Terry tied a career-high with 16 saves

Up Next
Niagara wraps up their west coast swing taking on USC Sunday March 8 at 4 pm in Los Angeles, California.