Third Place Spot Up For Grabs

Niagara returns to the ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center for its final weekend of regular season play. The Purple Eagles host the Fairfield Stags on Friday night as the race for third place continues.

Niagara and Fairfield are tied for third place with Manhattan in a tightly contested race for tournament seeding for next week’s MAAC Championship that might come down to the final day of action on Sunday. The Purple Eagles enter the tournament as high as the third seed or as low as the sixth seed. Either way, Niagara will play in a quarterfinals game on Friday, March 5 and will earn a bye for the first time since 2004-05 season (third seed).

A Niagara win would give NU the regular season sweep of Fairfield. The Purple Eagles held off a late second half run by the Stags for a 52-49 win back on Jan. 16 for their first MAAC win of the season.

Ready for Action

s Niagara is currently in a three-way tie for third place with Fairfield and Manhattan. A win would give NU the head-to-head tiebreaker over Fairfield.

s Niagara will earn a bye in next week’s MAAC Tournament for the first time in five seasons.

s The Purple Eagles have a chance to finish third in the regular season for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

s Niagara’s 12 wins are the most under Kendra Faustin and the most since the 2006-07 season.

s The Purple Eagles’ 9-7 conference record is their best record through 16 games since going 9-7 in the 2004-05 season.

s The Purple Eagles committed a season-low nine turnovers against Loyola (2/21).

s Freshman Kayla Stroman is third in the MAAC with 4.4 assists. 

Mad Dash For Third Place

Niagara is among three teams that have a shot at the third seed in the 2010 MAAC Championship. The Purple Eagles are tied with Manhattan and Fairfield with a 9-7 conference record. A Niagara win over Fairfield will give them the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Stags, but would need to finish with a better record than Manhattan to finish third; NU was swept by the Jaspers. Niagara has finished in third place on five different occasions, with the last coming during the 2004-05 season.

Last Time Out...

BALTIMORE - The Niagara women’s basketball team could not sustain its halftime lead over the Loyola Greyhounds as the Purple Eagles fell 71-63 in their final regular season road game on Sunday afternoon from the Reitz Arena.

On the Court

Fairfield Stags (15-12, 9-7 MAAC)

Fairfield brings a five-game winning streak, which is the longest current streak in the MAAC, into the Gallagher Center. Stephanie  Geehan leads the team in scoring with 14.5 ppg and ranks fifth in the MAAC. Geehan’s 11.6 rpg leads the MAAC and is fourth in the nation and 3.4 bpg are fourth in the nation.

Against the Stags (Fairfield leads 27-16)

The Purple Eagles broke their six-game skid against the Stags with a 52-49 victory on Jan. 16. The win was Niagara’s first at Fairfield since Feb. 21, 2003.

Last Meeting - January 16, 2010

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Niagara women’s basketball team earned its first MAAC win of the season with a 52-49 win over the Fairfield Stags on Saturday afternoon.

The Series................. Fairfield leads 27-17

Last Game...................... January 16, 2010

.............................. Niagara 52, Fairfield 49

Last Niagara win.......... January 16, 2010

.............................. Niagara 52, Fairfield 49

Last Fairfield win......... February 8, 2009

.............................. Niagara 65, Fairfield 66

Last Niagara win at home Jan. 22, 2006

.............................. Fairfield 59, Niagara 63

Last Fairfield win at NU... Jan. 18, 2009

.............................. Fairfield 76, Niagara 63

Current streak........ Niagara, one-straight

Coach Faustin vs. Fairfield.................. 1-4