LEWISTON, N.Y. – Niagara's Jai Moore scored a career-high 31 points and the Purple Eagles held off a furious Colgate rally in the second half to post a 74-69 nonconference decision.
 
Moore's 31 points and five 3-point field goals were both career highs. She scored 20 of her points in the first half, when she was 4-of-6 from downtown.
 
Colgate trailed 40-24 at halftime but outscored the hosts 27-12 in the third quarter and then tallied the first five points of the fourth to take a 56-52 lead. That capped a 32-12 Colgate run in the second half.
 
Niagara answered with nine straight points to go back in front 61-56 with 5:22 remaining. The Raiders pulled within one on two different occasions in the final two minutes but never again could flip the lead.
 
The first time was when Keelah Dixon rebounded her own miss and found Nia Ahart for a layup that made it 66-65 Niagara with 1:56 left. Dixon's layup with 47 seconds showing after a couple of big offensive rebounds by Chelsey Koren and Mylah Chandler again made it 68-67.
 
The Purple Eagles sank one free throw on the other end and Colgate had possession trailing by just two with plenty of time remaining. That's when Dixon was whistled for traveling on a 50-50 call (could have been a foul?).
 
With the clock now under 30 seconds, the Raiders were forced to foul and Niagara made 5-of-6 at the line down the stretch.
 
Rachel Thompson led Colgate in scoring with 20 points to go with 11 rebounds. Thompson tallied Colgate's first 14 points of the third quarter after scoring just two points in the first half.
 
Summer King added 13 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. The Raiders nearly had three players post double-doubles as Chandler finished with nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
 
Bottom Line
• Niagara 74, Colgate 69
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate finishes the nonconference schedule at 4-6
• Niagara is now 4-8.
 
Stats of the Game
• Dixon made her first start of the season and finished with a career-high 14 points. She was battling an injury and missed this year's first eight games before playing briefly against NJIT.
• Dixon was held scoreless in the first half before sparking the Raiders with seven points in both the third and fourth quarters.
• Dixon and Thompson combined to score 32 of Colgate's 45 second-half points.
• Dixon also handed out a career-high five assists against just two turnovers.
• Thompson tied her career high with six steals.
• Chandler and King scored seven points apiece in the first quarter. The Raiders trailed 17-15.
• Colgate's 27-point third quarter was its second-best scoring quarter this season.
• Colgate committed a season-high 22 turnovers; 17 of those came in the first half.
• This was Colgate's third straight defeat where the opposing team's leading scorer put up a career high. Siena's Sabrina Piper scored 30 points on Nov. 29 and NJIT's Kelly Guarino 28 on Dec. 14.
• Piper in her game against Colgate was 4-of-6 from 3-point distance, Guarino was 7-of-12 and Moore today was 5-of-9.
• Niagara's 31 points from Moore and 16 rebounds from Emerald Ekpiteta were both opponent season highs against the Raiders.
• The Purple Eagles began the second quarter 5-of-5 from 3-point distance (Moore 3, McIntyre 2) en route to their 23-9 scoring edge and 40-24 halftime lead.
 
From the Source
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the rally) "We did a better job of knowing where Moore was; she did a great job in that game. We lost her a lot in that second quarter but then we dictated the pace a little bit more in the third quarter. We were able to get some stops and that generated baskets for us.
 
That's the name of the game. You've got to get stops. If we can take the energy we had in the third and fourth quarters and apply it for four quarters, it will be a lot of fun. I like what I saw in that second half; there's a lot to build from."
 
(On Dixon) "She was great. You have to remember that she's been out for two months and is still getting her legs back. But she had a terrific second half."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at the Gallagher Center was 303.
 
Up Next
• Colgate opens Patriot League play Thursday at Holy Cross.
• The Crusaders are 8-3 after Sunday's 81-62 victory at Bryant.
• Start time is 6 p.m. from Worcester, with the Patriot League Network carrying the free livestream.