Color Me Pink
The Niagara Purple Eagles look to snap their three-game skid on Thursday night when they face the Siena Saints at 7:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.
    
Niagara (7-16; 5-9 MAAC) now finds itself in a four-way tie for sixth place in the MAAC with Canisius, Manhattan, and Monmouth. At 5-9 in conference it is three games back of fifth-place Rider with six games left to play including one more head-to-head matchup with the Broncs.
    
Siena (7-16; 2-12 MAAC), on the other hand, sits in 10th place after going 1-8 since the last meeting on Jan. 10 which puts it three games back of the four-team pile-up at 5-9. The Saints have some momentum entering Thursday with a 76-54 win over Saint Peter's last Saturday. A 15-2 run propelled the Saints into halftime and a second half where they shot 51.6 percent from the floor. The senior duo of Kaniika Cummings, who is second on the team with 9.0 ppg, and Clara Sole Anglada, who averages 5.9 ppg, paced the offense with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
    
The first time these teams met this season was a 76-72 come-from-behind victory by the Purple Eagles. They trailed 46-41 with 13:48 remaining on the clock when senior Chanel Johnson checked back into the game and scored six points before a Taylor McKay layup gave NU the lead, 49-48, that they never gave up.
    
Meghan McGuinness had a monster game with a career-high 29 points. She went 7-for-11 from three-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Johnson and McKay finished with 11 points apiece and Sam Lapszynski collected a team-high eight rebounds.
    
Thursday is the team's annual Play-4-Kay game. Tickets are normally $7 but will be available for $3 to encourage fans to make a donation to the American Cancer Society. The Niagara women's lacrosse team will also be holding a basket raffle in the Gallagher Center Lobby before the game with proceeds also going to the American Cancer Society.
 
How To Tune In
• Purple Eagle fans can fallow all of Thursday's action on PurpleEagles.com. A live video broadcast with announcer Dave Universal will be available as well as the traditional live stats, as is tradition.
 
Against the Saints (Siena leads 43-25)
• The Purple Eagles won the first game of this season's series 76-72 for their first win in Albany since December 5, 2003.  Niagara has won the last two games played in the Gallagher Center.
 
Chalkin' Up The Dubs
• Freshman Victoria Rampado's 18 points and 10 rebounds against Rider on Feb. 9 made her the fourth player this season to record a double-double.
• Both her point and rebound totals were team-highs in the 82-72 loss.
• For more information on the other Niagara double-doubles, consult your local library or just refer to the notes about them later on in these game notes.
 
Saint Meghan
• Meghan McGuinness has found success against the Saints. The Junior has scored in the double figures in every game except for one, which was her first against Siena.
• Her prowess came to a head in the last meeting between these teams on Jan. 10 in the Times Union Center when McGuinness scored a career-high 29 points on a night when she went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
• McGuinness has averaged 15.2 ppg in her five games against the Saints.
 
Taking The Points You're Given
• Meghan McGuinness leads the MAAC with a 92.3 percent (36-for-39) free-throw percentage in conference games.
• Chanel Johnson is ninth in MAAC-games with an 80.3 percent (51-for-71).
• Johnson's mark in conference games is not far off from her overall total. For the season she is shooting 81.6 percent (80-for-96) which is good for fourth in the MAAC.
 
NCAA Rankings
• The Purple Eagles have two players in the top-25 of a pair of national statistical rankings.
• Meghan McGuinness is 18th in the nation with a 43.4 percent three-point percentage while Kelly Van Leeuwen is 25th in the nation with a 2.5 turnover/assist ratio.
• McGuinness reappears in the top-50, ranking 40th in three-point field goals per game with 2.74.