Niagara women’s basketball welcomes St. Bonaventure for season opener

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

• Niagara returns eight letterwinners from last year’s squad which went 13-18 overall and 9-9 in the MAAC, the team’s best record since the 2014-15 season.
• The Purple Eagles were the No. 6 seed in the MAAC Championships. NU defeated No. 11 Saint Peter’s, 60-48, in the first round before falling to No. 3 Siena, 71-60, in the quarterfinals.
• Returning for the Purple Eagles this season are seniors Kharysma Bryant and Adila Gathers, juniors Jai Moore, Maggie McIntytre, Morgan Baughman and Dagny Davidsdottir and sophomores Emerald Ekpiteta and Claire Wanzer.
• Moore had a breakout 2017-18, averaging 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Moore scored in double figures in 17 games. She was named to the 2018-19 Preseason All-Big 4 First Team and the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.
• McIntyre, Niagara’s starting point guard, averaged 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds last season. She was named to the 2018-19 Preseason All-Big 4 Second Team.
• Bryant, who was also named to the 2018-19 Preseason All-Big 4 Second Team, averaged 6.2 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game.

• Niagara welcomes six newcomers to the squad; guards Jordan Edwards, Maddy Yelle, Ally Haar and Kyra Grimshaw and forwards Valentina Pepic and Olivia Mason.
• Edwards averaged 12.3 points per game, 1.8 rebounds per game and 2.7 steals per game during her junior season. She was a three-time All-Conference First Team honoree.
• Yelle is a two-time Illinois state champion, including winning a championship with her club team, the Illinois Evolution. In her junior season, she averaged 4.5 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game.
• Haar averaged 5.0 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game. Haar comes from a decorated program; her high school team set a record for consecutive conference wins with 39 and won both a state and regional championship in 2015.
• Grimshaw was a four-year member of her high school’s varsity squad, averaging 14.9 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game in the 2016-17 season.
• In her career at Revere High School, Pepic averaged 20.0 points per game and 12.0 rebounds per game and was named the Northeastern Conference Player of the Year twice.
• Mason was part of two state-championship winning teams at Ursuline Academy. She averahed 8.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game.

• St. Bonaventure went 8-22 and 3-13 in the Atlantic 10 last season.
• The Bonnies return four letterwinners from last year’s squad, including senior McKenna Maycock, who averaged 11.6 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game last season.
• Junior Danielle Migliore also returns for the Bonnies. She averaged 10.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds last season.
• The Bonnies lead the all-time series with the Purple Eagles, 37-24. St. Bonaventure has won nine of the last 10 matchups with Niagara, but are only 11-19 against Niagara in true road games.

• The Purple Eagles will compete in the Preseason WNIT for the first time in program history, taking on Iowa State in the first round on Friday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

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