Three Is The Constant

The Niagara Purple Eagles will host the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in a Thanksgiving Eve Little 3 clash on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The Purple Eagles will look to stop a pair of three-game skids. Niagara dropped its first three games to start the season, including two roads defeat at Cleveland State and Akron over the weekend. Niagara has also lost the last three meetings with St. Bonaventure.

The Purple Eagles’ last win came on Nov. 14, 2006 (71-64) at the Gallagher Center. Current director of basketball operations Michelle Manfredi had 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the game.

Ready for Action

s Senior Liz Flooks needs 71 points to become the 21st member of NU’s 1,000-point club.

s In the season opener, sophomore guard Kayla Stroman led the team with 18 points, tied a career-high with nine rebounds and had six assists.

s Stroman and Flooks rank third and fourth, respectively, in the conference in ppg.

s Stroman leads the conference in minutes played (37.3) and is second in steals (3.3).

 s Freshman forward Katie Gattuso leads Niagara with 8.3 rebounds per game and is third in the conference.

s Junior guard Ali Morris leads the conference in free throw percentage 1.000 (8-for-8).  

s St. Bonaventure holds a 31-23 advantage in the all-time series. The teams had alternated wins from 2001-07, with the home team winning each game. The Bonnies have won the last three meetings.

s Niagara has a 28-54 record against teams in the A-10 conference.

Welcome To The Club?

Forward Liz Flooks entered the season on the verge on joining the 1,000-point club. The White Plains, N.Y. native is 71 points away from scoring 1,000 points in her career.

Moving Up The Charts

Flooks is ranked in the top nine of four offensive categories. Flooks is shooting 79.2 percent from the free-throw line, which puts her seventh on the all-time list. Her 131 3-pointers place her eighth all-time and her 377 attempts are ninth on the list. Flooks’ .347 3-point percentage is ninth.

Iron Woman

Kayla Stroman has proven to be one of the most durable players at arguably the most difficult position. Stroman has missed only eight minutes this season and leads the MAAC in minute played. Stroman played in the third most minutes in the conference last season.

Gattuso’s Grand Entry

Freshman Katie Gattuso made a grand entry to her Purple Eagle career. In the season opener, Gattuso was the only freshman to start and played 31 minutes. Gattuso finished with seven points, nine rebounds and one assist. Gattuso’s play earned her MAAC Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 15. In her third career game, Gattuso led Niagara with a career-high 17 points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds at Akron. Gattuso leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game and is third in the MAAC.

On The Court

St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2-2)  

The Bonnies return eight letterwinners from last season’s team that advanced to the WNIT Second Round. SBU is 2-2 after defeating Quinnipiac on Sunday. Junior guard Jessica Jenkins leads the team with 15.8 ppg. Junior forward Megan Van Tatenhove averages 15.3 ppg and leads the team with 6.8 rpg. 

Against the Bonnies (SBU Leads 31-23)

The 54 meetings between the Purple Eagles and Bonnies are the second most games between Big Four rivals for Niagara (Canisius, 73). The series has alternated wins in the last seven meetings, with the home team being victorious in each game, but NU has dropped the last three meetings. The schools used to play each other twice a season, but that trend ended in the 1994-95 season, and they have played each other at least once since the inception of Niagara’s program in 1974. 

Last Meeting – November 19, 2009

Niagara 49, St. Bonaventure 66

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The Niagara women’s basketball team fell at Big Four rival St. Bonaventure, 66-49, on Thursday from the Reilly Center.

Against the A-10

Niagara has a 28-54 record against teams in the A-10 conference. The most opponents the Purple Eagles have played against are Big Four rival St. Bonaventure; the Bonnies hold a 31-23 advantage. Niagara’s best record versus a A-10 team is 2-1 against Saint Joseph.