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There’s A First Time For Everything
After splitting the first two games of the season, the Purple Eagles look for their first home win of the year in their first matchup against the Bowling Green Falcons in the program’s history.  
    
Niagara will rely on team defense to slow down a Bowling Green squad that had four players score double-digit points in the Falcons’ season opener.  The Purple Eagles have forced 33 turnovers and 10 steals over their first two games against Robert Morris and St. Bonaventure.  Junior Kayla Stroman leads the team with six steals early in 2012-13.

How to Tune In
Fans can watch all of the action on Purple Eagles All-Access, the game will be called  by  play-by-play announcer Dave Universal.

Last Time Out
The Purple Eagles took St. Bonaventure down to the wire but were edged out 51-49.  Niagara had the lead for the first 28 minutes of action, but a late surge by the Bonnies gave them the lead through the home stretch.  The Purple Eagles kept it close, and had a few chances to tie the game late, but ultimately couldn’t hit the final basket.  Lauren Gatto led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 12 and 11, respectively, for the second double-double of her Niagara career.

On The Court: Bowling Green Falcons (1-0, 0-0 MAC)   
Bowling Green led off the new season with a 68-57 victory over Madonna in head coach Jennifer Roos’ first game as head coach.  Four players, Allison Papenfuss, Bailey Cairnduff, Chrissy Steffen, and Danielle Havel, scored double-digit points.
   
This is the first game of a four-game road trip for Bowling Green.  After Thursday’s match-up it heads to Purdue, Villanova, and Montana.

Against the Falcons (First Meeting)
While the Purple Eagles have been a Division I program since the 1974-75 season, this will be the first time these two teams will compete.    

Against the MAC
Niagara has played six of the 12 teams that make up the modern day MAC with cross town rival Buffalo accounting for 31 of those matchups. Three teams (Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Akron and Buffalo) have  played NU since 2010 while this will be the first time NU faces-off with Bowling Green.

Experienced Squad
The Falcons returned nine letterwinners for this year’s squad.  Last year’s team went 27-4 overall and 14-2 in conference play.

Home is Where the Heart is
The Purple Eagles will play four of their first five games at home in the Gallagher Center.  They will face St. Bonaventure, Bowling Green, Oakland, and Kent State over that stretch.

Gatto Doubles-Up
Junior Lauren Gatto registered her first double-double of the year against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies when she scored 12 points and added 11 rebounds.  She is the only Purple Eagle that has recorded a double double since 2010.

The Future is Bright
Freshman Vanessa Neal took advantage of increased playing time against St. Bonaventure, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line for eight points.  She was the second-highest scoring guard for Niagara behind Kayla Stroman, who scored 11 points.

Put It on the Board
Two Niagara freshmen scored their first collegiate points in the first half against the Robert Morris Colonials on Nov. 9th.  Sam Lapszynski hit a pair of free throws while Vanessa Neal hit a long jumper.

Rebounding as a Team Effort
The Purple Eagles have a +2.5 rebounding margin so far in 2012-13, thanks to three players having double-digit rebounds.  Lauren Gatto leads the way with 18, while Meghan McGuinness has 11, and Kelly Van Leeuwen has 10.