Loudonville, NY—The Niagara women’s basketball team fell to Siena 66-64 on Thursday in Albany. Niagara moves to 3-2 in MAAC play and 6-9 overall.
First Quarter
The first quarter saw four lead changes and two tied games as Siena ended the quarter with a 17-14 lead. Angel Parker was the leading scorer for the Purple Eagles as she had five points along with two rebounds. Aaliyah Parker had three points in the quarter as she hit one three pointer. Amelia Strong, Ary Hicks, and Alyssa Rossignol all had two points. Strong, Chardonnay Hartley, Angel, and Aaliyah all had two rebounds in the first quarter. Niagara forced four turnovers in the quarter with Destiny Strother recording the lone steal. Angel also tallied her first block of the season in the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Both teams scored 17 points in the second quarter as the Purple Eagles went into the halftime break trailing by three. Hicks was the leading scoring for Niagara in the second quarter as she had six points on 3-3 shooting. Marlie Dickerson had four points in the quarter as she hit a pair of free throws along with a field goal. Strother got on the board in the quarter as she had three points. Rossignol had two points while Hartley and Saige Glover each hit a free throw. Niagara forced five turnovers with three steals, Strong, Aaliyah, and Rossignol were all credited with a steal. The Purple Eagles had nine rebounds in the quarter with four coming on the offensive side.
At the half
Hicks was the leading scorer for the Purple Eagles in the first half while Angel had five points. Both Strong and Aaliyah had a team high four rebounds while Niagara pulled down 18 rebounds as a team. Niagara hit three three-pointers in the first half as Strother, Angel, and Aaliyah each had one.
Third Quarter
Niagara made it a one-point game as they headed to the fourth quarter after outscoring Siena 19-17 in the third quarter. Aaliyah was the team’s leading scorer with six points while Strong, Angel, and Strother each had three points in the quarter. Niagara went to work on the boards in the quarter as they pulled down 15 boards with 10 coming on the offensive side. Niagara forced nine turnovers with six steals. Strong had a quarter high three steals while Hicks had two and Angel notched one. Niagara scored 12 of their 19 points in the paint in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Niagara failed to complete the comeback in the fourth quarter as Siena escaped with a two-point win. Angel had a quarter high seven points in the fourth quarter while Strong and Lore Porter each had three points, Aaliyah added a free throw in the quarter. Niagara forced seven Siena turnovers in the quarter while recording five steals. Angel had two steals while Hartley, Dickerson, and Porter each had a steal. The Purple Eagles scored nine points off turnovers. Niagara pulled down eight rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Niagara Notes
· Angel set a new season high with 15 points to lead the Purple Eagles. Hicks and Aaliyah both had 10 points.
· Niagara forced 25 turnovers with 15 steals. Strong set a new career high with four steals. Angel also had three steals while nine Purple Eagles had at least one steal. Niagara is forcing 24.6 turnovers per game which leads the MAAC. In MAAC play they are leading the MAAC with 29.2 forced turnovers per game and a 11.4 turnover margin.
· The Purple Eagles had 30 points in the paint. It is their seventh game this season with 30 or more points in the paint. They are averaging 29.2 points per game in the paint.
· Niagara had 16 second chance points which is tied for the second most this season, they average 12.2 second chance points per game.
· Strong had 10 rebounds, it is her third game this season with 10 or more rebounds. She is averaging 4.5 boards per game and 5.8 rebounds per game in MAAC play.
· Niagara had 21 offensive rebounds which is the second most they have had this season. Their 41 total rebounds is the second most they have had this season.
Up Next
Niagara continues their Upstate New York road trip on Saturday as they take on Marist at 4 PM.
Stay connected with Niagara Women’s Basketball on X (formally Twitter) and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and purpleeagles.com
