Game Notes | Live Stats

The Niagara women’s basketball team will go for its third sweep of the season when it faces the Siena Saints on Sunday afternoon in the Alumni Recreation Center.
   
The Purple Eagles (12-12, 7-6 MAAC) have already swept the Rider Broncs and Saint Peter’s Peacocks this season and have a chance to do the same to the Siena Saints (9-14, 5-7 MAAC) on Sunday after taking the first matchup back in January.
   
The first meeting of the year was a come-from-behind 70-62 overtime victory in the second conference game of the year.  The Saints scored the first 13 points but Niagara followed up with an 11-0 run then slowly climbed back into it before taking the lead into halftime.  Siena again took a lead early in the half but Kayla Stroman hit a free throw with nine seconds left in regulation to tie it, then Shy Britton scored the first six points of the overtime period to give Niagara its final lead. 
   
Since the last time these teams met, Kayla Stroman and Kelly Van Leeuwen have been disciplined running the point.  Stroman, who averages 32.3 minutes a game, has posted a 1.6 assists/turnover ratio and Van Leeuwen, who averages 28.5 minutes per game, has posted a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio.
 
How to Tune In
Fans can follow Sunday’s action on PurpleEagles.com via live stats.  Audio and video broadcasts will be provided by Siena.
 
Last Time Out
The Niagara women’s basketball team had their winning streak halted at three games after dropping Friday evening’s contest to the Marist Red Foxes 68-41 at McCann Arena.
  
The Red Foxes (18-6, 13-0 MAAC) built their lead early in the game while the Purple Eagles (12-12, 7-6 MAAC) battled an unfavorable rim.  The Purple Eagles were able to cut into the deficit with a small run late in the half.  Kayla Stroman got things started with a jumper, and combined with four points from Val McQuade and another layup from Kelly Van Leeuwen, they went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 13 points, 28-15 with two minutes left in the half.
 
Marist was able to extend its lead before half to send the two teams into the half with the host leading 35-15.
  
Niagara would almost double its offensive output in the second half, scoring 26 points, but the Red Foxes were able to maintain their lead on the way to a 68-41 win.
 
On The Court: Siena Saints (9-15, 5-8 MAAC)
The Saints enter Sunday’s game with two-consecutive losses and losses in five of their last seven games.  The two wins came against third-seeded Iona (70-54) at home and on the road against Manhattan (54-51).  The losses came to second-place Fairfield (50-43), twice to conference leading Marist (75-64 and 66-48), Loyola (53-37), and Rider (73-61).  Before the most recent stretch, the Saints had a three-game winning streak.
  
Siena is led by senior forward Lily Grenci.  The preseason First Team All-MAAC honoree is averaging 15.5 ppg and a team-high 9.2 rpg.  Two other players average at least 9.0 ppg as Clara Sole Anglada, who is also second in rebounds with 5.3 rpg, scores 9.2 ppg and Tehresa Coles scores 9.0 ppg.
 
Against the Saints (Siena leads 41-24)
The Purple Eagles won the first game this season and final match-up last season, which snapped a three-game Saints winning streak.  The last time NU beat Siena on the road was 10 years ago, on December 3, 2005.
 
Wrapping Up On The Road
This weekend’s road-trip is the final multi-game road trip of the year for the Purple Eagles.  They already played Marist on Friday and will wrap up the trip against Siena on Sunday.  The team does have one more road game, the final game of the season against Manhattan, but that is a one-game road trip.
 
The Purple Eagles will head home and play the next three games in the Gallagher Center.
 
Tying A Record
With a win on Sunday, Niagara will tie its record for consecutive wins against Siena, with three.  The three wins came between January 1999 and February 2000.  While they haven’t won three-in-a-row since then, the Purple Eagles have won back-to-back games three times.
 
Last Five On The Road
The Purple Eagles have a 2-3 record in their last five games played away from the Gallagher Center.  Lauren Gatto has a team-high 18.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg.  Meghan McGuinness scored 9.8 ppg and has hit 40.0 percent (8-for-20) of her chances from three-point range.  Kayla Stroman has 2.0 assists per game, 2.2 steals per game, and 6.0 ppg over that span.
     
As a team Niagara has averaged 40.0 rpg and has outrebounded its opponents by an average of 4.4 rebounds a game.
 
National Rankings
As of Friday Feb. 15th, Niagara, as a team, is ranked in the top-100 in the NCAA in three categories.  It is 69th in assists per game with 14.6 apg, 95th in three-point field goal percentage after hitting 32.0 percent from three-point range, and is 96th in assist/turnover ratio with a 0.85 mark.
     
Individually, Lauren Gatto is 43rd in the nation with a 50.0 percent shooting percentage.  Kayla Stroman cracked the top-120 in a trio of categories.  She is 101st in steals per game (with 2.43), 109th in assist/turnover ratio (with a 1.44), and 117th in assists per game (with 4.0).
 
Holding Opponents Under 60 Points
Niagara has a 10-1 record this season when it holds opponents to 59 points or less. 
 
McGatto
The duo of Lauren Gatto and Meghan McGuinness have been the top-two scorers for Niagara in four of the last six games.  The two combined for an average of 34 ppg in those contests. Individually, Gatto posted 18.5 ppg and McGuinness added 15.5 ppg.
 
800 Club
With her six points against Marist, Lauren Gatto eclipsed the 800 career-point mark, becoming one of only two current Purple Eagles to do so.  She has 802 points, which is second to Kayla Stroman’s 897.
 
Sticky Fingers
Kayla Stroman’s 218 career steals has the guard all alone in sixth place all-time in program history.  She is only four steals shy of Samantha Davis and fifth place.
 
Playing The Point
Kayla Stroman has played the point efficiently over the past five games with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.4.  Over the last two games that number increases to 2.3 as the guard posted six assists and two turnovers against Rider and eight assists and one turnover against Saint Peter’s. 
     
Over the past five games she has also averaged 2.8 steals per game.