The Purple Eagles kicked off their Round of 16 match against Gannon University. In the 8th minute, Nasia Priftis '28 was able to crash over for the first try of the match (Faith Burtnick '28 converted). Gannon would answer the call with an unconverted try of their own in 14th minute. The first half would see Priftis scoring her second with Burtnick dotting down a try of her own (both converted by Elizabeth Whipple '28). Gannon would respond each time with tries in the 27th, 33rd, and 38th minutes bringing the first half score to NU 21 Gannon 24.

At the half, the Purple Eagles were frustrated as they understood they were the architects of their on downfall and talked about how to reduce penalties and continue moving forward. The second half started with Gannon moving the ball well and scoring another try in the 50th minute. This would wake up the Purple Eagles as Mackenzie Addley '25 and Emma McNab '27 would answer the call with tries of their own in the 55th and 58th minutes (both unconverted). Gannon was able to take advantage of loss possession and score a try in the 61st minute (unconverted). However, the Purple Eagles would not be denied as Lauren Hrusa '25 and Jessica Yu '26 would capitalize on excellent control and score tries to take the Purple Eagles out of reach (Burtnick converted Yu's try). Final whistle would see the women move forward to the NCR Elite 8 the next day with a score of Niagara University 43 Gannon University 34.

Reflecting on the key moments of the match, the team's coordinated offensive runs and overall team play were highlighted as decisive factors in their victory. Looking ahead, Niagara University Rugby would start the recovery process to get ready for the next match against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in Columbus, Ohio, the next day.