The Purple Eagles have a chance to get back into the win column and split the season series with the Fairfield Stags with Friday night’s 7 p.m. Play 4Kay matchup in the Gallagher Center.
   
Niagara (12-13, 7-7 MAAC) comes home after dropping the last two games after winning three-straight.  NU returns to the Gallagher Center where it has won four of its last five games.  During this stretch, NU defeated Siena in overtime (70-62), Rider (62-58), Loyola (58-47), and Saint Peter’s (67-55).  The lone loss came against the conference-leading Marist Red Foxes (71-51).
   
With just four games left, three of which come at home, the Purple Eagles have a chance to finish above .500 in the MAAC for the first time since the 2004-05 season when the team went 11-7 in conference and 17-12 overall.  That season, the team did its damage early, winning the first six conference games before going on to split the last four.  The team has finished 9-9 twice in the last three seasons.  In 2009-10 the team started slow but went on a stretch that saw it win 8-of-10.  Last season, Niagara was 7-7 before splitting the final four games.
 
How to Tune In
Fans can watch all of the action on Purple Eagles All-Access with announcer Dave Universal.  Live stats will also be available.
 
Last Time Out
After a back-and-forth first half, the Siena Saints were able to take charge late and the Purple Eagles fell 59-43 in Sunday afternoon’s tilt.
  
Each team held a minor lead early in the game but it was Siena (10-15, 6-8 MAAC) that was able to build the first multi-possession lead.  Niagara (12-13, 7-7 MAAC) responded with Lauren Gatto and Meghan McGuinness trading baskets before shots from both Kayla Stroman and Kelly Van Leeuwen capped a 13-3 run to give the Purple Eagles an 18-14 lead with six minutes remaining.
 
McGuinness (who went 5-for-11 from the floor) and Gatto (who went 5-for-12 from the floor) had 15 and 13 points, respectively.  Stroman tied a career-high with a game-high nine rebounds and added another five assists, also a game-high, and three steals. NU was able to hold onto the lead for most of the first, but Siena took 25-23 advantage into the break.  After halftime, the Saints were able to build a double-digit lead and the Saints took away a 59-43 win.
 
On The Court: Fairfield Stags (16-9, 10-4 MAAC)
The Stags enter Friday’s game with three-consecutive wins and wins in four of their last six games.  The three consecutive wins came against Manhattan (55-50) on the road an against Canisius (56-50) and Saint Peter’s (61-49) at home.  Before the most recent stretch, the Stags had another winning streak of five-games from January 10 to January 25, 2013.
  
On the season, Fairfield is 5-6 on the road.
  
Fairfield is led by junior forward Katie Cyzinski.  The Southbury, Conn native is averaging 12.3 ppg and a team-high 8.4 rpg.  Three other players average at least 8.5 ppg as Brittany Obi-Tabot averages 10.7 ppg, Katelyn Linney averages 8.6 ppg, and Alexys Vazquez averages 8.5 ppg.
 
Against the Stags (Fairfield leads 33-17)
The Purple Eagles are  up against a six-game losing streak to the Stags.  The last Niagara victory came on January 16, 2010 when it won 52-49 on the road.  Four of the last six losses have been by a single-digit margin.
 
Back To The Nest
The Purple Eagles play the next three games at home before ending the regular season with a road game against Manhattan. They are 7-4 in the Gallagher Center this season and 4-2 in MAAC games.  They are on a stretch that has them victorious in four of the last five.
     
Momentum Builder
If the Purple Eagles can put together a winning record in the last four games, they will have an above .500 record in the MAAC since the 2004-05 season. 
 
The last time the Purple Eagles defeated the Stags was in Jan. 16, 2010.  That win kicked off a stretch where Niagara went 7-1 in eight games.
 
String Of Success
Between the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons, Niagara won five consecutive games over Fairfield, winning each game by an average 9.6 points.
     
They would split the next two games, giving NU a 6-1 record against the Stags between 2/10/02 and 1/14/05.  The bigges wins were a pair of 13-point victories on 2/10/02 (85-72) and 2/21/03 (74-61).  Four of the victories were by at least 10 points.
 
Tossing Up 80
The largest win for Niagara over Fairfield came on Jan. 26, 1998 when it won by 20-points, 85-65.
     
That win was also one of nine times the Purple Eagles were able to score at least 80 points against the Stags.  They have a 7-2 record in those games.
 
Taking The Stags To Overtime
The Purple Eagles have a 2-1 record all-time against the Stags in overtime games.  The two wins came on Feb. 6, 1994 (93-89) and Feb. 14, 2005 (77-72).
 
Gunning For Fourth
With five assists against Siena on Feb. 17, Kayla Stroman sits alone in fifth place all-time in career assists with 379 passing Katie Murphy who played on Monteagle Ridge from 1999-03.  Stroman is now only 10 assists away from taking possession of fourth place, which is held by Jen Nelson who played for th Purple and White from 1991-95.

Eclipsing 900
Redshirt-junior Kayla Stroman now has 901 points for her career, making her the only active Purple Eagle with at least 900 points.  The closest player to her is Lauren Gatto, who has 815.