Niagara Purple Eagles (3-27, 1-17 MAAC) vs. Canisius Golden Griffins (22-7, 14-4 MAAC)

Friday, March 6 at 9:30 A.M. ET

Time Union Center

Live Video, Stats: MAACsports.com

Live Audio: Todd Callen (Yahoo!Sports)

The Tip-Off

The Battle of the Bridge rivalry will take place in Albany, N.Y. for the second-straight season as the Niagara Purple Eagles and the Canisius Golden Griffins do battle in a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal on Friday morning.

Start The Clock

-  The Purple Eagles defeated Rider, 71-67, in the first round of the 2009 MAAC Tournament.

-  Niagara is 7-20 all-time in the MAAC Tournament; the Purple Eagles are 0-2 against Canisius.

-  Liz Flooks was named to the MAAC All-Third Team.

-  Niagara shot a season-best 56.1 percent from the field against Canisius on Jan. 4.

-  Liz Flooks is 29th in the nation in free throw percentage (84.9 percent).

-  Jennifer McNamee moved into sixth place all-time in 3-point field goals.

-  Rachele Folino and Flooks are 2nd and 3rd in free throw pct in MAAC games only.

-  Folino has made 14-straight free throws and 27 out of the last 28.

-  Niagara’s 95.2 (20-for-21) free throw pct. is the 19th best pct. in a game this season (Feb. 8).

Niagara and the MAAC

Niagara is 7-20 playing in the MAAC Tournament since playing LaSalle in its first-ever MAAC Tournament game on March 7, 1990. Niagara fell to this morning's opponent, Canisius, last season in the first round.

Niagara in the MAAC Tournament

Canisius............................................................................................................................... 0-2

Fairfield................................................................................................................................ 2-2

Iona....................................................................................................................................... 0-1

La Salle................................................................................................................................ 0-1

Manhattan........................................................................................................................... 0-1

Marist.................................................................................................................................... 1-0

Loyola.................................................................................................................................. 0-3

Rider..................................................................................................................................... 2-0

Saint Peter’s........................................................................................................................ 1-6

Siena.................................................................................................................................... 1-3

Total................................................................................................................................... 7-20

On the Court

Canisius (22-7, 14-4 MAAC)

Canisius is the number two seed in the 2009 MAAC Tournament. The Golden Griffins are second in the MAAC in scoring (65.1 ppg), scoring margin (+6.6), free throw percentage (73.9) and are first in 3-point field goal percentage (37.3) and 3-point field goals per game (7.5). Senior forward Marie Warner leads the team and is second in the MAAC with 16.5 points per game. Canisius has the top two 3-point percentage shooters in the conference Micayla Drysdale and Warner.

Last Meeting - February 28, 2009, Niagara 39 - Canisius 65

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Niagara women’s basketball team closed out the regular season with a 65-39 loss against archrival Canisius on Saturday afternoon from the Koessler Athletic Center.

Against the Golden Griffins (Golden Griffins lead 42-30)

The Golden Griffins are Niagara’s chief rival; the 72 meetings are the most against any team. Today’s meeting will be the third ever meeting in the MAAC Tournament, including last season’s first round.  Last season, Niagara won a dramatic overtime game, 65-63, on senior day. The game was only the second-ever overtime game in the series. 

Against Big Four Rivals

Niagara is 69-83 versus Big Four foes Buffalo, Canisius and St. Bonaventure. Niagara fell at the Buffalo Bulls, 87-62, on Nov. 25, lost to St. Bonaventure on Dec. 17 and lost an intense game to Canisius on Jan. 4, then on Canisius’ senior day on Feb. 28. NU is 22-30 against St. Bonaventure and 29-42 versus Canisius. The Purple Eagles entered the season having done well as of late against SBU and Canisius; Niagara has won three of the last five games against both teams.