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Looking For A Streak
The Niagara Purple Eagles enter Friday's 6 p.m. contest at the 'Taps' Gallagher Center against the Saint Peter's Peacocks with two-straight wins under their belt.

Niagara (2-3) is coming off of its second consecutive win of the season, a 71-49 decision against Detroit on Nov. 29. Junior guard Taylor McKay came off the bench to lead Niagara with 14 points, six assists and six rebounds. Val McQuade was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc finishing with 12 points and five rebounds, while Victoria Rampado added 10 points. Kaylee Stroemple also impressed the crowd in her home debut, making all four of her attempts from the field and finishing with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Purple Eagles came out on fire in the second half. They opened with a 23-5 run, led by Stroemple who scored six of her eight total points. Niagara took its largest lead of the game, 67-38, after a beautiful layup by freshman newcomer Simone Hobdy with 3:12 left in the game. NU finished the game with a jumper by sophomore guard Tiffany Corselli to claim the 71-49 win. Niagara shot 60 percent (18-for-30) from the field in the second half and 50.9 percent for the game while making eight three-pointers and leading by double digits for the final 13 minutes of the game.

The Saint Peter's Peacocks (0-4) are looking to break a four-game losing streak after dropping their most recent matchup to St. Francis Brooklyn, 48-36. Hala Mostafa and Alyssa Velles paced the Peacocks with nine points each. Samantha Meier finished with a game-best 10 rebounds and two steals in the loss.

The Purple Eagles split last season's series against the Peacocks. The split came on the heels of four consecutive wins for the Purple & White. In the 2010-11 season, Niagara dropped both contests after a split in the 2009-10 season.
 
How To Tune In

• Purple Eagle Fans can follow all of Friday's action on the Niagara Sports Network via PurpleEagles.com.  A live video broadcast will be provided through Purple Eagles All-Access with announcer Dave Universal.  Live stats will be provided as well.

On The Court
Saint Peter's Peacocks (0-4, 0-0 MAAC)

• Senior Antonia Smith is the Peacocks' top returning scorer after averaging 9.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in her junior campaign.
• Junior Hala Mostafa ranked fourth on the team last season with 5.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
• The squad also returns six other letter winners from last year's team.
• Saint Peter's finished 3-27 overall and 2-18 in MAAC play in head coach Pat Coyle's first season in Jersey City.

 
Against the Peacocks (Saint Peter's leads 43-16)

• The Purple Eagles split last season's series against the Peacocks.  The split came on the heels of four consecutive wins for the Purple & White. In the 2010-11 season, Niagara dropped both contests after a split in 2009-10.

Back Home

• The last time these teams met at the 'Taps' Gallagher Center, the Purple Eagles came away with a 78-46 victory. 
• NU kept Saint Peter's to 31.5 percent from the ?oor as the visitors went 17-for-54.
• Sylvia Maxwell finished with 11 points and a 5-for-6 outing from the floor.  She tied Meghan McGuinness, who went 3-for-6 from three-point range.
• Victoria Rampado, Gabby Baldasare, and Val McQuade finished with nine points for the game while Kelly Van Leeuwen continued to take care of the basketball as she added a team-high five assists while only committing one turnover.

 
Believe NU

• As they did this season, NU started 2011-12 with three losses.
• NU would go on to tie for 4th place in the MAAC and make a MAAC Tournament semi?nal appearance.

 
Put It on the Board...

• Freshman Kaylee Stroemple scored her ?rst collegiate points in the ?rst half against the Youngstown State Penguins on Nov. 15th.
• Freshman Jamie Sherburne also scored her first points as a Purple Eagle against Pitt, finishing the game with four points.
• Freshman Simone Hobdy scored her first career points in Niagara's home opener against Detroit on Nov. 29. She finished the game with four points.

 
Top Of The MAAC (as of Dec. 4)

• The Purple Eagles have three players in the top-30 in the MAAC in points per game.

• Sylvia Maxwell is ranked 18th with 11.3 ppg while Val McQuade sits in 21st with 10.2 ppg.
• McGuinness is 27th in the conference with a 9.2 points per game.
• Donisha Watson stands in second in the MAAC averaging 1.8 blocks per game.
• As a team, Niagara is second in the conference with a .9 assist/turnover ratio and second in offensive rebounds, averaging 15.0 per game.