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The Niagara Purple Eagles take on their first Big 10 opponent since the 2008-09 season when they take on the Michigan Wolverines in Crisler Center on Saturday Afternoon.

Niagara (5-5) enters the meeting winners of three of its last five and four of its last six games.  Saturday’s game will wrap up the 2012-13 non-conference schedule, one that could be the first above-.500 finish since the 2006-07 season, and a stretch that had the team playing 4-of-5 away from the Gallagher center. 

Michigan (10-2) is riding a five-game winning streak and have won seven-of-eight games at home this season.  Their only loss came to the fourth ranked Duke Blue Devils on Nov. 28.  The Wolverines will rely on their big three of Kate Thompson, Rachel Sheffer, and Jenny Ryan who all average double-digit points per game. 

How to Tune In
Fans follow the game on PurpleEagles.com via Live Stats.

Last Time Out...
The Purple Eagles women’s basketball team dropped its last game before a short holiday break 65-51 to the Buffalo Bulls Friday afternoon in Alumni Arena.

The Bulls (2-9) were able to build a 49-27 lead with 11:30 left in the game, but the Purple Eagles (5-5) were able to put together a 16-4 run fueled by free throws and three pointers to cut into the deficit starting with 11:30 left on the clock to pull the Purple Eagles back within 10, 53-43, with five minutes remaining.

That was as close as Niagara would get as Buffalo was able to come away with a 65-51 win.

On The Court: Michigan Wolverines (10-2, 0-0 Big 10)
The Wolverines come into Saturday’s game with a 7-1 record at the Crisler Center in the 2012-13 season.  Overall they are on a five-game winning streak after defeating Florida (59-53), Illinois State (56-45), Eastern Michigan (55-43), Westen Michigan (60-41), and Valparaiso (73-32).

Michigan is led by senior guard Kate Thompson who is scoring 16.0 ppg.  The rebounding effort is led by sophomore Nicole Elmblad and senior Rachel Sheffer.  Elmblad has a team-high 6.6 rpg but Sheffer is right behind her with 6.5 rpg on the year.

Against the Wolverines (First Meeting)
Niagara has yet to take on Michigan.  This will be the third and final time this year that Niagara takes on a team for the first time in the program’s history.  The other two were Bowling Green and Kent State.

Against the Big 10
Niagara has played only one of the 12 teams that make up the modern-day Big 10  conference.  Its only matchup came in a loss to Michigan State in 2008.

Coming Back Strong
In the two losses prior to the game against Buffalo, versus Lehigh and Bucknell, the Purple Eagles responded by winning the following game (defeating Oakland and Binghamton).

The Last Time
The last time the Purple Eagles played two-straight games on the road they took on Lehigh and Binghamton.  They dropped the first game before winning the second to split the trip.  This time around, they fell to Buffalo before heading to Michigan for a chance to split the pair of games.

Homecoming #2.
Purple Eagles bench-boss Kendra Fausitn is from Heartland, Michigan, which is about a half an hour away from Ann Arbor and the Crisler Center.  Freshmen Taylor McKay and Sylvia Maxwell are also from Michigan.  Both are from Lansing, Mich.

Niagara led off the season with a trip to Robert Morris and Pittsburgh, where Gabby Baldasare, Val McQuade, and assistant coach Mark Katarski are from.  They won that game 63-59.

Getting Ready For The New Year
Since the 2000-2001 season the Purple Eagles are 5-7 in their final games of a calendar year.