Regan scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half and also grabbed nine rebounds as the Jaspers overcame the Purple Eagles, 57-53, in a MAAC Tournament prequarterfinal before about 200 in the Arena at Harbor Yard. Regan, who is from Williamsville, had a career-high 22 points in Manhattan's Feb. 22 win at NU and hurt the Purple Eagles again Thursday.

"It's a big thing to go against them," said the 6-foot-3 Regan, the Buffalo News Player of the Year in 2005. "I play with a lot of their players over the summer at Empires and other tournaments. I know a lot of them and it's fun to play them."

Regan averaged nine points and 4.4 rebounds last year in getting named to the conference's all-rookie team. She's averaging 9.7 points and 4.2 boards this year - but has exploded the last five games to average 16.5 points and hit 65.9 percent from the field.

"I just think it's confidence and consistency," said Manhattan coach Myndi Hill. "As a freshman, she might have one of those nights now and then. Now, she's fighting for points and getting them different ways."

"Making shots really boosts your confidence," Regan said. "If I were to miss a shot every time on offense, it would be a damper on the defensive end of things."

Manhattan (11-19) won the game by outscoring Niagara, 14-7, over the final six minutes to wipe out a 46-43 deficit. Niagara (14-16) battled back from a 12-point deficit even though senior Shaunna Ambrose, the MAAC's leading scorer, sat out more than 11 minutes of the second half after picking up her fourth foul. Ambrose had a game-high 20 points but 10 came in the first five minutes.

"She had 20 points in 24 minutes," said NU coach Bill Agronin. "You've got to figure she'd have a few more buckets if she was out there. To have her on the bench as long as we did certainly doesn't help us."

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