Game Notes | LIve Stats

Jasper The Friendly Ghost
Coming off of a thrilling come from behind victory last Sunday, the Niagara Purple Eagles take on the Manhattan Jaspers on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Draddy Gymnasium.
    
Thursday's matchup includes two of the three teams in the MAAC that are tied at 3-5.  Niagara (5-12; 3-5 MAAC) is 2-2 in its last four after while Manhattan (4-13; 3-5 MAAC) is 1-3 in its last four.  If you extend the score to each team's last six games, NU remains .500 at 3-3, but Manhattan clocks in at 1-5. 
    
Let's talk about Sunday's win over Monmouth for a second.  Things weren't looking good for the Purple Eagles (5-12; 3-5 MAAC) after the team only scored 12 points in the opening half.  Luckily for them, the defense held Monmouth to just 22 points in the first half which opened the door for Victoria Rampado to take over in the second.  The newly-minted MAAC Rookie of the Week scored 23 points in the game, including 14 in a 19-8 Niagara run that tied the game at 44-44with just over two minutes left. 
    
Another reason Niagara was in position for the comeback was its effort on the boards.  Continuing a developing trend over the previous seven games, Niagara turned in its best rebounding effort of the season on Sunday when it finished with a rebounding  margin of +14 after outrebounding Monmouth 49-35.  NU, which also won the rebounding battle 40-28 against Marist on Friday, has pushed its streak of rebounding prominence to five of its last seven games. 
    
The Jaspers (4-13; 3-5 MAAC) enter the matchup on a 1-4 skid after dropping a 70-52 decision to Iona on Monday.  They average 58.5 ppg this season but have failed to reach that mark on three of their previous five games.  Manhattan is led by Monica Roeder's 11.9 ppg.  She is followed closely by Kayla Grimme's 9.9 ppg and Shayna Ericksen's 9.5 ppg.
    
These teams met twice in the final three games of the 2012-13 season.  Niagara won the first meeting 48-43 thanks to Megan McGuinness putting 20 points on the scoreboard.  Manhattan took the game eight days later in Riverdale 61-52.  McGuinness had another strong game that day, scoring 16 points. 
 
How To Tune In
•    Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Thursday's action via PurpleEagles.com.  Fans will also be able to follow along with live stats.
 
Against the Jaspers (Manhattan leads 25-24)
    The Purple Eagles swept the season series in 2011-12 before winning the first game of the season series in 2012-13 but lost to the Jaspers in the final game of the regular season to see their winning streak snapped at three games.
 
Rebounding Battle
•  The Purple Eagles have outrebounded their opponents in five of their last seven games. 
•  The two largest rebounding margins came last weekend.  NU turned in a +12 (40-28) against Marist on Friday and a +14 (49-35) against Monmouth on Sunday.
 
Ramp-ing Up
•  Victoria Rampado had a career-day in Niagara's first ever game against Monmouth (1/19).  She scored a career-high 23 points with 21 coming in a second-half rally.  She went 9-for-13 from the floor, 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, and added two steals and a block.
•  Her performance earned her the MAAC Rookie of the Week award.
 
Scoring Over 20
•  With her 23 points against Monmouth, Victoria Rampado became the fourth Purple Eagles to score over 20 points this season.  She joins Meghan McGuinness, Val McQuade, and CChanel Johnson.
•   Meghan McGuinness is the only player to accomplish the feat multiple times.  She scored 21 against Saint Peter's (1/12), 25 against Lehigh (11/8), and 29 against Siena (1/10).
•  Chanel Johnson scored exactly 20 against Robert Morris (12/7). 
•  Val McQuade scored the most points by a single player this season with 31 against Buffalo (12/21).