The Purple Eagles will try for their third win in four games when they host the Rider Broncs on Friday night in the Gallagher Center. 

Niagara (7-8, 2-2 MAAC) is 4-3 overall at home this season and enters Friday with four wins in its last five home games.  Rider (7-8, 2-2 MAAC) has a 6-2 record on the road.

Point guard Kayla Stroman hopes to continue her recent success against the Broncs.  The redshirt-junior, who is coming off of a six-assist performance last Saturday, scored 17 points in each of the two Rider matchups last season.

Stroman was one of three players to put up double digits in the most recent game between these two conference foes.  Meghan McGuinness and Lauren Gatto both scored 13 points in the Kid’s Day game last year. 

How to Tune In
Fans can watch and listen to the action on Purple Eagles All-Access. Video will be provided by LCTV while Dave Universal will call the action on the radio.

Free Friday
Tomorrow will be the second Free Friday of the season.  All Friday home games are free and open to the public.
 
Last Time Out
Despite rallying three times in the second half the Niagara women’s basketball team was edged 61-54 by the Fairfield Stags on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
  
The second half featured a resilient Purple Eagles team (7-8, 2-2 MAAC) that cut the deficit to a single point on three separate occasions before finally taking a lead. 
  
Twice Fairfield was able to build its lead to seven points – and twice Niagara cut it back down to one.  The first time it faced a 35-28 deficit Lauren Gatto hit six-straight points to bring the score to 35-34.  Facing a 41-34 score, NU slowly chipped away and Kayla Stroman hit a jumper to bring her team within a point before Kelly Van Leeuwen converted a layup with 10 minutes left to give Niagara its first lead since the opening minutes, 42-41.
  
The Purple Eagles had the game tied 53-53 with four minutes left but Fairfield was able to go on a run to come away with a 61-54 victory.
 
On The Court: Rider Broncs (7-8, 2-2 MAAC)
The Broncs come into Friday as a team that has lost four of their last six games.  They dropped two-in-a-row to end non-conference play against Central Connecticut State (62-61) and St. Francis Brooklyn (58-55).  They lost their first conference matchup against Marist (62-47) and to Canisius (51-50)
  
They have found success on the road, going 6-2 thus far away from Alumni Gym.  The two most recent wins came against conference foes Manhattan and Loyola, making the Broncs undefeated in road-MAAC games.  
  
This season the Broncs are again led by MyNesha McKenzie.  The junior has started all 15 games and averaged a team-high 14.2 ppg and 9.5 rpg.  Senior Sironda Chambers also averages double-digit ppg, putting up 13.9 ppg this season.
 
Against the Broncs (Niagara leads 19-15)
The teams split the season series in 2011-12 with each team winning at home.  The most recent meeting, a 69-53 NU victory on Kid’s Day, was the first Purple Eagles victory since 2010.
 
Don’t Take Your Coat Off
The two-game home stand this weekend will the only two home games over the course of eight games.  The team already played at Saint Peter’s and Fairfield.  Then, after hosting Rider and Marist, will be back on the road to take on Iona, Canisius, Loyola, and Rider.
 
Get Acquainted
These two teams will play twice in the span of two weeks.  After Friday night, the two will meet again on Feb. 2.
 
Two Out Of Three
Niagara has won two out of the last three games played between these two teams in the Gallagher Center.  It won the last meeting 54-52 and won on Feb. 6, 2010 by the score of 68-56.  The lone loss, on Feb. 18, 2011, came in triple overtime 79-73. 
   
Ties That Bind
The last time the Purple Eagles were around .500 this late in the season was in 2006-07 when the team was 9-6.  That year they finished 14-16 overall and 6-12 in conference play.  The Purple Eagles swept Rider that year by scores of 71-51 and 66-60.
 
Starting off Strong
This season’s 2-1 start to MAAC play was the best since the 2004-05 season when the team went 3-0.  The team finished that season with a 20-9 overall record and went 13-5 in conference play.
 
Individual Success
Niagara split the season series with Rider last year but point guard Kayla Stroman had a pair of stellar performances.  She scored 17 points in both meetings while she averaged 3.5 rpg and 5.5 apg.