Game Notes | Live Stats

The Niagara Purple Eagles start up their second MAAC weekend with a trip to Jersey City, N.J. to take on the Saint Peter’s Peacocks on Thursday night.
 
Niagara (6-7, 1-1 MAAC) is coming off of its second overtime win of the season and its first conference win of 2012-13.  Last season, it won two games in the season series against Saint Peter’s (0-13, 0-2 MAAC).  The first game was decided by nine points (61-52) and the second game was a two-point victory (54-52)
 
Two Purple Eagles carry serious momentum into this weekend.  Both Lauren Gatto and Shy Britton recorded career-highs in points, Gatto with 22 against Iona and Britton had 20 against Siena.
   
Senior forward Kristal Edwards the Peacocks as they search for their first win of the season having gone 0-11 in non-conference and losing both conference games last weekend.  Edwards is averaging a team-high 12.8 ppg and second on the team with 5.7 rpg.
 
How to Tune In
Fans can follow all of the action via Live Stats on PurpleEagles.com.
 
Last Time Out
The Niagara Purple Eagles came back late to win an overtime thriller 70-62 over the Siena Saints last Sunday in the Gallagher Center.
  
Coming out of halftime with a 29-27 lead, Niagara again found themselves trailing after Siena put together a run to take a 43-33 lead.  Niagara was able to get the game back with one with less than a minute to go.  Kayla Stroman was sent to the free-throw line with nine seconds left in regulation.  The Syracuse, N.Y. native hit the second of her two shots to tie the game and send the two teams to an extra period.
  
Britton scored Niagara’s first six points in overtime to give her team a four point lead.  Siena was held scoreless though the final three minutes of overtime.
 
On The Court: Saint Peter’s Peacocks (0-13, 0-2 MAAC)
The Peacocks are looking for their first victory of 2012-13 after dropping the first 13 contests of the year.  Five of those losses, including their two conference games, have been decided by less than ten points.  They lost a 56-47 decision to Loyola after falling 73-66 to Manhattan. 
  
The other single-digit losses came against Bucknell (69-62), Fairleigh Dickinson (55-50), and Lehigh (62-60) in the second game of the season.
  
Saint Peter’s is led in scoring by senior forward Kristal Edwards’ 12.8 ppg.  Fellow senior forward Jesika Holmes is the team’s top rebounder, bringing down 7.4 boards per game.
 
Against the Peacocks (Saint Peter’s leads 42-13)
These two programs have alternated season-sweeps over the past two seasons as the Purple Eagles swept the  season series in the 2011-12 campaign but the Peacocks took the series in 2010-11.  They split the pair of games in 2009-10 with each team winning on the road.
 
Going For The Record
The most consecutive victories Niagara has against Saint Peter’s is two, a mark it matched by sweeping last season’s pair of games.  Niagara can set a new mark with a win on Thursday.
 
Winning On The Road
While the Purple Eagles are below .500 in games played at SPU, they have won two of the last three meetings in the Yanitelli Center.  They won last year 54-52 and on Feb. 15, 2010 by a 64-58 score.
 
Quick Look Back
Niagara went 3-3 last season on the road during the conference season.  It beat Loyola, Canisius, and Iona away from the Gallagher Center.  The 57-54 win over the Greyhounds was the first MAAC road game of the year.
 
Take A Little Extra Time
With the 70-62 overtime victory over Siena on Jan. 6, the Purple Eagles won their second overtime game of the season, a feat they haven’t achieved since the 2006-07 season.
 
Top Of The MAAC
The Purple Eagles are in the top-3 in a few important offensive statistical categories.  They currently have the second highest scoring offense with 62.7 ppg (one point behind Iona’s 63.7 ppg), third in field goal percentage with a 38.5 percent clip (Iona leads with a 40.1 percent for the year), and first in assists per game with 14.6 apg.
 
High Fliers
Lauren Gatto leads the team with 13.7 ppg, which was good enough to land her fifth in the conference.  Chanel Johnson made it into the top-25 with her 8.7 ppg (good for 24th).
   
Gatto also leads all players in the MAAC in field goal percentage, hitting 51.7 percent of her looks from the floor.
 
Dishing Out Assists
With 46 assists on the season, Kayla Stroman is averaging 3.5 assists per game, which has her tied with Loyola’s katie Sheahin for second in the MAAC.