BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Purple Eagles led throughout most of the first half and were within striking distance for most of the second but were eventually edged by the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 72-49 on Saturday night at the Stabler Arena.

The game began as a defensive struggle but Niagara (3-4) was able to take the lead right out of the gate and kept it for most of the half.  Each time Lehigh (4-5) cut the lead to one point, Niagara would respond with a basket of its own.

As the half entered the final stretch, the Mountain Hawks were able to twice take the lead but Shy Britton and Lauren Gatto hit baskets that gave the lead right back to the Purple Eagles.  It wasn’t until the two minute mark that Lehigh would take a lead they would keep for the rest of the half and they would take a 25-22 lead into break. 

The Purple Eagles kept their opponents below 30 percent from the field throughout the first period, as Lehigh was kept to a field goal percentage of 24.2 percent.  The Purple Eagles, who had four looks from the foul line as opposed to Lehigh’s 10, hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe in the period. 

Coming out of the break Niagara was able to stay right on Lehigh’s heels, cutting the lead to two points, 29-27, with a Meghan McGuinness three-pointer.  Four minutes later a three-pointer from Kayla Stroman cut the deficit to three, 35-32.  That was as close as they would get but Niagara stayed within single-digits until just under 10 minutes left in regulation when Lehigh started to pull away and eventually came away with the 72-49 victory. 

Gatto and Val McQuade both had a team-high nine points and McQuade led the team with five rebounds.

The Purple Eagles wrap up their road trip on Monday when they take on the Binghamton Bearcats in Vestal, N.Y. at 7 p.m.