Battle of the Bridge

The Niagara Purple Eagles will host archrival Canisius in the fourth annual WBCA Pink Zone game on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Saturday’s meeting between Niagara and Canisius will be the first encounter of the season between the teams and the latest edition of the 2010-11 Battle of the Bridge series.

Ready for Action

s Niagara swept last season series for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

s Niagara starts conference play 0-12 for the second time in three seasons. 

s The starting backcourt of Kayla Stroman and Ali Morris have missed a total of 22 games due to injury. Stroman, who played in 39 straight games to start her career, has not played since suffering a season-ending injury on Dec. 9 versus Hofstra.

s Flooks is seventh all-time in 3-pointers at NU. She needs one 3-pointer to tie Chantelle Wilson (‘06) and Eva Cunningham (‘05) for fifth place. Flooks is 33 points away from tying Anne Rudnicki (‘95) for 14th place in all-time scoring.

s Flooks has made 15 straight free throws. Her last miss was against Loyola (Ill.) on Dec. 5.

s The Purple Eagles are fourth in the MAAC in steals, averaging 8.4 per contest.

s Freshman Shy Britton is fifth in the conference with 1.1 blocks per game.

s Junior Meghan Waterman is fourth in the MAAC in steals per game and 11th in assists per game. Waterman leads the team in minutes played and has started in 49 straight games.

s Junior Grace Cunningham tied a career-high in minutes with 38 in Niagara’s last game. Cunningham has started the last five games.

s Niagara currently leads the Battle of the Bridge series, 7-4. The cup holders needs 9.5 points to retain the Canal Cup.

WBCA Pink Zone

The WBCA Pink Zone® initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. This season’s event will run from Feb. 11-20, 2011. The WBCA’s charity of choice is the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the WBCA encourages all donations from your WBCA Pink Zone event be directed to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

 To show their support of the Pink Zone, fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game. Fans who do wear pink can purchase a discounted ticket. Pink wearers can get a $7 general admission ticket for only $3.00.

Battle of the Bridge

The Battle of the Bridge, the all-sports competition between cross-town rivals Niagara University and Canisius College, enters its fifth season in 2010-11. After Niagara claimed the inaugural competition, Canisius has won the series the next two years, before Niagara claimed the Canal Cup at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Points are awarded to the winner of regular-season contests, except for cross country, golf and swimming and diving, which will be determined by MAAC Championship standings. The Canal Cup will be awarded to the victor each year.

The name of the series is in reference to the Grand Island Bridge, which each team crosses when traveling to the other’s campus. The name of the trophy is in reference to the Erie Canal, which intersects Niagara County, where Niagara is located, and Erie County, where Canisius is located.

Niagara is currently leading this season’s series, 7-6, and needs 9.5 points to retain the Canal Cup. The winner of the basketball game will receive two points.

On The Court

Canisius Golden Griffins (7-16, 3-9 MAAC)  

The Golden Griffins head into Saturday’s rivalry game having dropped five of their last six games. They rank ninth in the conference in scoring offense and sixth in scoring defense. Canisius is led by sophomore guard Ashley Durham who is averaging a team leading 9.9 ppg. Junior guard Steph MacDonald leads the team with 5.2 rpg and senior Micayla Drysdale with 2.2 apg.    

Against Canisius (Canisius leads 44-31)

The Golden Griffins are Niagara’s chief rival; the 75 meetings are the most against any team. The Purple Eagles swept last season’s series with a pair of three-point victories for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Niagara has won three of the last four meetings at the Gallagher Center.

Last Meeting - February 19, 2010

Niagara 49, Canisius 46

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Senior Jaclyn Konieczka’s 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left lifted the Niagara women’s basketball team to a 49-46 win over archrival Canisius on Friday night from the Koessler Athletic Center.

Depleted Purple Eagles

The mounting list of injuries has affected the Purple Eagles this season. Niagara has missed its starting backcourt duo of Kayla Stroman and Ali Morris in a combined 22 games. Stroman suffered an season-ending injury against Hofstra on Dec. 9, while Morris has been sidelined since Jan. 21 with an season-ending injury. Grace Cunningham, Noelle Zletni, Jazmyne Frost and Katie Gattuso have also missed time due to injury.