Box Score The Niagara University Purple Eagles defeated the Saint Peter's Peacocks 51-46 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action on Sunday. This is the Peacocks second loss to Niagara this season.
Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, Pa. / Pennsbury) tallied a career-high 24 points. Marcia Senatus (Roselle, N.J. / Trenton Catholic) followed with seven points.
Kaylee Stroemple paced the Purple Eagles with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Lapszynski followed with 10 points and nine rebounds while Kharysma Bryant tallied nine points and six rebounds.
1st period
The Peacocks led in the first quarter. Bethea posted six points while Marcia Senatus posted three points to bring the score to 14-11.
2nd period
A jumper by Kaylee Stroemple of Niagara put the Purple Eagles in the lead. Alyssa Velles (Franklin, Conn. / Norwich Free Academy) drained a three-pointer, putting the Peacocks back in the lead. In the final two seconds of the quarter, a field goal by Stroemple tied the game at 19-19.
3rd period
The teams rallied back and forth in the third quarter, ending with the Peacocks in the lead 34-32.
4th period
A 9-0 run by Niagara late in the fourth quarter put the Purple Eagles in the lead, bringing the score to 45-38. Sajanna Bethea posted a field goal and four free throws toward the end of the quarter. A layup by Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt / Modern Narmer Language School) reduced the deficit to three, but two free throws by Stroemple and a field goal by Taylor McKay solidified the win for Niagara.
The Saint Peter's women's basketball team will be the first squad featured on ESPN3 when the squad travels to Manhattan on Thursday for a 5pm contest.
