Big 4 Holiday Feast

The Niagara Purple Eagles will travel cross-town to face Big 4 rival Buffalo on Tuesday at 7 p.m. from Alumni Arena. The game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. 

The Purple Eagles enter the rivalry contest looking to snap a couple of skids. NU is currently on a three-game losing streak and has lost five straight to the Bulls which is the longest streak versus UB in the series history. NU’s last win in the series was a 68-65 overtime thriller on Dec. 11, 2004 at Alumni Arena.

Ready for Action

s On Dec. 9, senior Liz Flooks became the 21st member of NU’s 1,000-point club when she made a free throw to complete a three-point play. 

s Niagara is fourth in the MAAC in scoring (56.9 ppg). Flooks and Kayla Stroman rank sixth and 10th, respectively, in the conference in points per game

s The Purple Eagles are fourth in the MAAC in steals, averaging 9.0 per contest. Stroman and Meghan Waterman are third and eighth, respectively, in the MAAC.

s Flooks is tied with Shaunna Ambrose for seventh all-time in 3-pointers at NU. Flooks and Ambrose are the only two Purple Eagles to be named MAAC Player of the Week in the last five seasons.

s On Dec. 18, Stroman missed her first career game due an injury. Stroman ranks in the top three in minutes per game in the conference.

s Junior guard Ali Morris is third in the conference and 51st in the nation in free throw percentage. Morris is shooting 87.0 percent (20-for-23) from the line.

s Current Niagara assistant coach Corinne Jones spent the past two seasons as the primary recruiting coordinator for UB.

s The Purple Eagles will close out 2010 with two road games at MAC opponents. Their next home game will be on Jan. 2 when they open conference play versus SPC.

How To Tune In        

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on Time Warner SportsNet. Fans can listen live to all of the action, called by Dave Universal, free through Yahoo! Sports live web-streaming.

Last Time Out...

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara women’s basketball team was defeated by the Albany Great Danes, 63-47, on Saturday at the Gallagher Center in the first-ever meeting between the programs.

Welcome To The Club!

Forward Liz Flooks entered the season on the verge on joining the 1,000-point club. On Dec. 9,  the White Plains, N.Y. native etched her named in the club. Flooks became the 21st member of the 1,000-point club when she completed a three-point play with 18:09 left in the second half against Hofstra. Fittingly, Flooks scored her 1,000th point at the free-throw line; she is a career 80 percent free throw shooter and ranks seventh all-time at Niagara.

Generous Donations At The Charity Stripe

Junior guard Ali Morris has been in the holiday spirit all season long. The Parkersburg, W.Va. native has made the most of her trips at the free-throw line this season. Morris is leading the team to the line, shooting 87 percent. She ranks third in the conference and 51st in the nation.

On The Court

Buffalo Bulls (4-5)  

UB will conclude its non-conference portion of its schedule against NU. The Bulls have lost their last two games, including a Big 4 defeat to St. Bonaventure in their previous game. Senior Kourtney Brown leads the team with 21.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg and 2.4 bpg. Junior guard Brittany Hedderson also averages 13.2 ppg and fellow senior guard Ashley Zuber leads the team with 5.6 apg.

Against the Bulls (Niagara leads 18-11)

The Purple Eagles have fair well against the Bulls in a series that started in Niagara’s inaugural season of 1974-75. Niagara won 14-straight games from 1976 to 1993 in the rivalry, but Buffalo has won the last five meetings.

Against the MAC

Niagara has only played five schools from the present-day Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Purple Eagles are 26-27 versus Akron, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Toledo, but majority of those games have come against Buffalo (29 meetings)and Akron (16 games).

Instant Action

The freshman class has been providing spark starting or coming off of the bench. Recently, Shy Britton and Noelle Zletni have been relied on to provide instant offense. Britton   has averaged 9.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg in the last three games. Zletni has seen significant time in the last two games. She played in a career-high 28 minutes and scored a career-high 10 points versus Albany.