Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video

How We Got Here
The Niagara Purple Eagles wrap up the weekend with a home game against the Monmouth Hawks on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.
    
After dropping Friday's tilt 74-59 to Marist, the Purple Eagles (4-12; 2-5 MAAC) have collected five losses so far in the conference season.  As of Saturday afternoon Niagara occupies ninth-place in the new 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) while Monmouth (4-14; 3-4 MAAC) sits in sixth.  Four of NU's losses have come against the top-four teams in the MAAC; Iona, Marist, Fairfield, and Quinnipiac have all topped the Purple Eagles and sit in spots one through four, respectively.  Niagara had a good-look at a victory in each of those four games, leading throughout carious points throughout each game.  Monmouth, on the other hand, has three of its four losses against teams in the bottom six of the conference (Manhattan, Canisius, and Saint Peter's).
    
These teams don't have much of a history since they don't have any history at all.  Monmouth is one of the two teams that joined the MAAC in 2013 and the teams managed to avoid each other in the last 39 years. 
    
The Hawks are led by senior Chevannah Paavast and her 13.0 ppg and 5.4 rpg.  She has started each of the team's 16 games.  She is the only player on the Monmouth squad who averages double-digit points; the next highest scorer is Jasmine Walker who clocks in at 7.6 ppg.
    
Monmouth is 2-2 in its last four games with losses book-ending a pair of wins.  The latest loss came on Friday afternoon in downtown Buffalo when the Hawks dropped a 60-52 decision to Canisius.  Paalvast played 21 minutes and scored just five points in the loss that dropped the Hawks' road record to 3-5 on the season.
    
A win on Friday would move the Purple Eagles back to .500 at home with a 4-4 record.  We've already covered how well the team preforms at home, so we won't go over it again, but a win would set the team up nicely for next weekend's trip to Manhattan and a second go-around Marist.  It would also give NU a 2-2 record in its last four games.
 
How To Tune In
•    Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Sunday's action via PurpleEagles.com.  A live video broadcast announcer Dave Universal will be available on Purple Eagles All-Access.  Fans will also be able to follow along with live stats.
 
Against the Hawks (First Meeting)
•   Sunday's game will be the first time these teams will face each other.  Monmouth joined the MAAC in the summer of 2013.
 
Scoring In Bunches
•  The Purple Eagles are one of two teams to have multiple players in the top-10 in conference scoring.
• Meghan McGuinness is fifth in the MAAC with 16.7 ppg and Chanel Johnson is seventh with 15.7 ppg against MAAC opponents.
•  The other team with multiple players in the top-10 in MAAC scoring is Iona. 
 
National Success
•  The Purple Eagles have two players in the top-50 of a pair of national statistical rankings.
•  Kelly Van Leeuwen is 38th in the nation with a 2.3 turnover/assist ratio.  Meghan McGuinness is 15th in three-point field goals per game (with three) and 20th in three-point field goal percentage (with 44.6 percent.)
 
It Was That Kind Of Night
•  Several Purple Eagles set records in their 76-72 win over Siena on Jan. 5.
•  Meghan McGuinness set a career mark with 29 points.
•  Sam Lapszynski set marks in rebounds (eight), assists (four), blocks (two), and minutes (27).
•  Taylor McKay tied a career-best with 11 points and five field goals made and set a new high in minutes with 29.