Going For Two
The Niagara women's basketball team will try and carry over the momentum from Friday's win into Sunday's 2:00 p.m. meeting with the Iona Gaels in the Gallagher Center.
           
The Purple Eagles (3-9; 1-2 MAAC) dominated from start to finish in the team's most recent win over Saint Peter's, especially in the turnover department where ball pressure forced 19 turnovers (while NU only committed only 11) and the defense collected 12 steals which led to 22 of the team's 78 points.  On offense NU worked the interior scoring 40 points in the paint, compared to 14 for the Peacocks, and shot 53.3 percent from the floor with a 47.1 shooting percentage from three-point range. 
           
The Gaels (10-2: 3-0 MAAC) and first-year head coach Billi Godsey are on a nine-game winning streak which includes a perfect 3-0 start against MAAC opponents.  The closest of the MAAC contests came against Saint Peter's (whom you might remember from the previous paragraph).  The Gaels came away with the 65-61 victory on the road for the second smallest margin of victory of the season; the closest win came against Navy in a game November where Iona won by three points, 64-61. 
           
Sunday's game features the top two offenses in the MAAC with Iona leading the way with 73.3 ppg during conference play and Niagara taking the second spot with 72.0 ppg through its three games.  Niagara is leading the conference, however, in field goal percentage with a 45.7 percent clip and second in field goal percent defense, allowing opponents to hit just 36.1 percent of their opportunities. 
           
Individually, both teams have players in the top of several of the conference stat leaderboards.  Damika Martinez (26.7 ppg) is second in the conference in scoring and Joy Adams (17.7 ppg) is fourth.  Chanel Johnson sits in sixth with a team-leading 16.7 ppg but is fourth in field goal percentage with a 58.1 percent success rate.  Kelly Van Leeuwen is second with 5.0 assists per game and fifth with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.1.

Overall, Iona is led again this season by Martinez who is scoring 26.2 ppg.  Adams, who is averaging a double-double per game, is the complete threat with 17.3 ppg and 13.5 rpg.  Johnson leads Niagara with 12.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg through the opening 12 games. 
 
How To Tune In
•    Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Sunday's action via PurpleEagles.com.  A live video feed with announcer Dave Universal will begin at 11:50 and fans will be able to follow along with live stats.
 
Against the Gaels (Niagara leads 26-24)
•   Niagara dropped both games in last season's series after splitting in 2011-12 with the win coming on the road by a 68-55 score.  That win snapped a 14-game losing streak.  Between 1992-2005 the Purple Eagles went 23-5 against the Gaels.
 
Talk About A Big Win
•  Friday's win over Saint Peter's was a big in more ways than one.  It was the team's first win in conference play and it was the best defensive showing as the team set a new season-best in points allowed with 46.
•  It also set a program mark as well; it was the first time the team won by 30 points since the opening game of the 2007-08 season, a 78-39 win over Colgate in Kendra Faustin's first game as head coach.
 
Take The Under
•  Niagara held its opponent to under 50 points for the first time this season in Friday's win over Saint Peter's when it allowed just 46 points.
•  The team held its opponent to under 50 points five times last season with all five coming during conference play.  The accomplished the feat in a 54-46 win over the Peacocks (1/10), a 62-49 win over Canisius (1/27), a 58-47 win over Loyola (2/7), a 50-39 win over Fairfield (2/22), and a 48-43 win over Manhattan (2/24).
 
Stringing Them Together
•  The Purple Eagles will go for their first back-to-back wins of the season on Sunday against the Gaels.  Last season the team had a 7-8 record in games after a win.
 
Consistency
•  With her 12 point outing against Saint Peter's, Chanel Johnson has scored over 10 points in four-consecutive games and has tied her longest double-digit scoring streak the she set as a freshman in the 2010-11 season.
•  Chanel Johnson has scored in the double digits in her last four contests with 12 points against Buffalo (12/21), 19 against Quinnipiac (12/29), 19 against Fairfield (12/31), and another 12 against Saint Peter's (1/3). 
•  With her 12  points against Fairfield, she has hit double digits in six of her last seven games.
 
Turning Things Around
•  While NU has a 1-2 record throughout the first three games of MAAC play, it has seen a marked improvement on the stat sheet.
•  Points per game jumps from 64.2 on the season to 72.0 in the last three games.  Field-goal percentage jumps from 39.9 percent to 45.7 percent.  On defense they are holding opponents to four fewer points per game, down to 70.3 from 74.0 for the year.