Niagara slips by Rider behind Aaliyah Parker's triple-double
Mar. 8—Niagara had to hit backspace on its record book on Wednesday.
Cardinal O'Hara alumna Aaliyah Parker recorded what Niagara believes was its first ever triple-double as the school advanced to the MAAC semifinals in back-to-back seasons for the first time in a decade.
The sophomore recorded 18 points, 14 rebounds and 11 steals — tying her sister Angel for the second-most steals in a MAAC game — as the second-seeded Purple Eagles held off No. 10 Rider 67-64 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Niagara is slated to face Thursday's Quinnipiac-Manhattan winner at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
"We showed a lot of guts and a lot of resilience," Niagara coach Jada Pierce said. "You work all year for these moments and no better than to have Angel and Aaliyah leading us down the stretch to keep us calm, keep us poised to do the things. ... Credit to a tough Rider team, but I felt like we were tougher and we wanted it."
Niagara (18-11) led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but the Broncs cut the lead to one on a pair of free throws by Victoria Toomey with 1 minute, 8 seconds to play and again on a layup by Toomey with 45 seconds remaining.
But after a free throw by Angel Parker, Aaliyah poked the ball free from Amanda Mobley and Angel stepped in to take a charge at the rim with 1.2 seconds left on the clock to avoid the upset.
"I just saw her and I saw the charge circle and just saw an opportunity to get the ball back," said Angel, who had 17 points and seven steals. "I had previously missed two free throws, so I was going to do whatever it took to get it back in our hands."
Niagara had seven offensive rebounds, seven steals and six assists on 10 field goals in the first quarter, while Aaliyah scored 10 points. But the lead was just 22-19 because Rider made 7 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range in the opening frame.
The Purple Eagles pulled ahead with a 16-4 run before Rider (9-21) tallied six consecutive points, but Ary Hicks sprinted the length of the floor for a layup as time expired to take a 38-31 halftime advantage.
The Broncs never let Niagara pull away in the second half, shooting 57.1%, including 7 of 9 in the fourth quarter. But the Purple Eagles maintained their lead by punishing Rider with 29 offensive rebounds — 12 of Aaliyah's 14 rebounds were offensive — and scored 19 second-chance points, while also scoring 25 points off 28 turnovers.
"Our main thing that we say in our huddle is box-out and tag-up," Aaliyah said. "With those, we get second-chance opportunities and we get to score."
Maka Firebaugh scored a game-high 27 points for Rider, while Mobley had seven points and 11 assists and Toomey had 13 points and seven rebounds.
