Curtain Raiser

The Niagara Purple Eagles will tip-off the 2011 Spark Energy MAAC Championships with a first round matchup with archrival Canisius on Thursday, March 3 at noon from the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

Niagara and Canisius will meet in the MAAC Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons and the second time in a week. Canisius won the 2008 and 2009 meetings and is 3-0 versus Niagara in the tournament.

Ready for Action

s Niagara dropped its 23rd straight game of the season in its regular-season finale at Rider in a game televised on MSG Plus as a part of the MAAC TV package. NU is one loss away from tying a school record of 24 straight defeats (2008-09 season).

s Liz Flooks earned All-MAAC Third team honors to earn all-conference honors all four years at Niagara.

s Flooks is 24 points shy of tying Cyndie Williams ('81) and Jen Nelson ('95) for 11th all-time in scoring

s NU is 8-22 all-time in the MAAC Tournament is 2-3 under Kendra Faustin.

s The Purple Eagles advanced to the MAAC Tournament Semifinals last season where they lost to eventual champion Marist.

s Grace Cunningham set a program record in minutes played in the triple-overtime game. Cunningham played the entire game totaling 55 minutes. She also had career-highs in points, rebounds and assists.

s Meghan Waterman is fourth in the MAAC in steals per game and 13th in assists per game. Waterman, who has started in 55 straight games, scored a career-high 14 points at Rider in the regular-season finale.

s The starting backcourt of Kayla Stroman and Ali Morris have been ruled out for the season due to injury since December and January, respectively.

How To Tune In        

NU fans can listen live to all the action for free on the internet through Yahoo! Sports live web-streaming. Todd Callen ,"the Voice of the Purple Eagles", will have the call. The game will be live streamed online via MAACsports.com. 

Another All-MAAC Award For Flooks

Senior Liz Flooks was named to the All-MAAC Third Team to earn all-conference honors all four years at Niagara. Flooks was selected to the second team as a junior, third team as a sophomore and to the rookie team during her freshman campaign.

This season, Flooks is 13th in the conference with 10.5 ppg and is sixth in 3-point percentage and leads the team with an 84.3 free throw percentage. Flooks became the 21st player in program history to score 1,000 points in a career. She is currently 13th all-time in scoring and fifth in 3-pointers.

On The Court

Canisius Golden Griffins (10-19, 6-12 MAAC)  

Canisius concluded its regular season with a 40-32 defeat at Siena on Sunday. Senior Micayla Drysdale is the lone senior starter and is averaging 8.8 ppg. Freshman forward Jamie Ruttle leads the team with 9.0 ppg.

Against the Golden Griffins (Canisius leads 46-31)

The Golden Griffins are Niagara's chief rival; the 77 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. MAAC Tournament

Last Meeting - February 24, 2011

Niagara 27, Canisius 55

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Niagara women's basketball team fell to archrival Canisius on its senior day, 55-27, on Thursday night at the Koessler Athletic Center.

Niagara at the MAACs

Niagara is 8-22 playing in the MAAC Tournament since playing LaSalle in its first-ever MAAC Tournament game on March 7, 1990.

The Purple Eagles have advanced to the next round in the last two tournaments. In 2010, the fifth-seeded Purple Eagles defeated Manhattan in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champions Marist in the semifinals. In the 2009 edition, Niagara picked up its first win in the tournament since 2006 after dispatching Rider, 71-67, in the 7-v-10 game.