Atlantic City, NJ—The Niagara women’s basketball team feel in the MAAC Semifinals on Friday to Manhattan by a score of 81-68.
Game Recap
First Quarter
- In the opening quarter the Jaspers jumped out to a 17-13 lead, they hit a pair of threes in the first quarter.
- The first quarter saw four lead changes as the teams traded baskets. Angel Parker led the Purple Eagles with four points. Sydney Faulcon had three points while Jade Rutledge, Aaliyah Parker, and Ary Hicks all had two points.
- The Purple Eagles had 12 rebounds in the opening 10 minutes which included six offensive rebounds.
- 10 of the 13 Niagara points came in the paint while five were second chance points.
Second Quarter
- The Purple Eagles took the lead into the half as they outscored Manhattan 26-20 in the second quarter.
- Aaliyah scored a team high nine points in the quarter as she went 4-6 from the field. Both Lore Porter and Ary Hicks had six points in the quarter, Porter had a pair of threes while Hicks was 2-3 from the field with a three and a free throw.
- The Purple Eagles forced eight turnovers in the second stanza with four steals. Hicks had two steals while Jade Rutledge and Aaliyah both also had steals. Rutledge also had a block in the second.
- Niagara had an 8-0 scoring run at the end of the quarter to build the lead.
Third Quarter
- Manhattan took the lead back in the third quarter as they outscored the Purple Eagles 20-10 in the third quarter. Aaliyah had a team high five points while Angel had four and Rutledge one.
- Angel had three steals while Niagara forced six turnovers in the third quarter.
- The Purple Eagles pulled down four boards on the offensive side along with eight in defensive zone in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
- The Jaspers built on their lead in the fourth quarter and closed out the game as they outscored Niagara 24-19 in the final quarter.
- Both Angel and Aaliyah had seven points in the frame while Nickelle O’Neil chipped in three points.
- The fourth quarter was back and forth as the two teams were tied at four different points.
Niagara Notes
- This was the second straight appearance in the MAAC Semifinals for Niagara.
- Aaliyah had 23 points to lead Niagara while also pulling down a team high seven rebounds.
- Niagara forced 21 turnovers in the game while having 21 steals. Both Angel and Aaliyah had three steals.
- The Purple Eagles have a 9.7 turnover margin which is the best in the MAAC in the country, they also lead the country in steals per game at 15.3 steals per game.
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles now await to see if they receive an invite to a postseason tournament.
