Game Notes | Live Video | Live Stats

The Purple Eagles take on the Rider Broncs in the sixth ever Kids Day Game, which enters its fifth season as a Niagara tradition.  Students from grammar schools all around the Niagara Falls area pack the Gallagher Center for the highest attended game of the year. 

The kids will watch as Niagara will try for its second consecutive win at home after defeating Saint Peter’s 61-52 on Jan. 9. 

The Purple Eagles will also try to capitalize on Lauren Gatto’s recent play.  The sophomore averaged 17.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game last week while hitting 72.7 percent of her shots from the floor.
 
How To Tune In
Fans can watch the game on LCTV (ch. 20) or enjoy live video and audio streaming on Purple Eagles All-Access as well as live stats on PurpleEagles.com.
 
Last Time Out...
The Niagara women’s basketball team was able to control play for parts of the game against the Fairfield Stags but came up short on Sunday afternoon, dropping the game 57-46 in Fairfield, Conn.
   
A Jazmyne Frost free-throw tied the game and a jumper by Gatto put Niagara in the lead 25-23 with less than a minute left.  Fairfield’s Alexys Vazquez hit a three-pointer with less than 30 seconds left to give the Stags their one-point halftime lead, 26-25.
   
The Purple Eagles came out flying to begin the second half as Shy Britton, Gatto, and a three-pointer by Meghan McGuinness put Niagara back on top 34-30 with 15 minutes left.  The lead would be short-lived as Fairfield put together a 19-2 run down the stretch and the Stags took away a 57-46 win
 
On The Court: Rider Broncs (10-9, 2-6 MAAC)  
Rider currently finds itself on a four-game losing streak, dropping contests to Iona, Saint Peter’s, Marist, and Siena.  Their current skid comes on the heels of a stretch where it won eight-of-11 games, which included a 60-53 win over Niagara on Jan. 4.  Rider is 4-5 on the road so far this season.
   
The Broncs are led by MyNeshia McKenzie in both points per game and rebounds per game.  The sophomore is currently putting up 11.2 points per game and pulling down 9.8 rebounds per game (which is good for 30th in the NCAA in rpg). 
   
Senior Ali Heller is third on the team in ppg but first in three-point shooting.  Her 39.5 percent clip from beyond the arc has her ranked 30th nationally and her 32 three-pointers account for over 60 percent of her total points.
 
Kids Day
Niagara is 1-1 in the previous two Kids Day Games.  Niagara defeated cross-town rival Canisius 52-49 on Kids Day in 2010 before dropping a 77-37 decision to Siena last season.
 
Since The Last Time
Since the Purple Eagles and Broncs opened MAAC play on Jan. 4, Niagara has gone 3-4 while Rider has gone 1-6.  Niagara has beaten Loyola, Saint Peter’s, and Canisius while Rider has also topped Loyola. 
 
Welcome to Gally
The Purple Eagles are 6-5 all-time at home against the Broncs, with two of those losses coming in OT (the Feb 18, 2011 loss went to triple OT).  They are 1-1 in their last two home games against Rider and had the most success between 2002-04 when Niagara won five consecutive home contests.
 
It’s Good To Be Home
Niagara just wrapped up its second extended road trip of the season when it traveled to Fairfield on Jan. 22.  The Purple Eagles played a five-game and four-game road trips that equaled nine-of-11 games on the road.  They will wrap up the season playing 7-of-10 games at home.