One If By Land, Two If By Jasper
With Thursday's win against the Saints, the Purple Eagles have a chance to sweep the weekend and the season series against Manhattan when they face the Jaspers on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.
 
Before we get to a recap of the thrilling overtime matchup between these teams back on Jan. 23, let's take a look at how each team has done since then. Niagara (8-16; 6-9 MAAC) is 2-5 with three losses between wins against Canisius (1/29) and Siena (Thursday). The Jaspers (7-17; 6-9 MAAC) have alternated wins and losses on their way to a 3-3 record since the 23rd. At press time, these teams are tied for sixth in the MAAC at 6-9 in conference. They are two games behind Rider an fifth place while sitting a half-game ahead of Monmouth (who play Iona on Thursday night and will either move into a tie for sixth or eighth).
    
Alright, back to that overtime game between NU and Manhattan. For those that might not remember, the Purple Eagles faced a 36-32 deficit at the end of the first half, but a 22-4 run at the beginning of the second gave them an 11-point lead.
    
The visitors were able to build a lead that got as high as 13 points with 11:51 left, but in a mirror image of the opening half, Manhattan chipped away at the lead until it eventually tied the game at 61-61 with three minutes left. The game headed into overtime with the score knotted up at 63-63 and Chanel Johnson continued to lead the charge with six more points in the overtime period, but it was a pair of free throws from Kelly Van Leeuwen that gave NU a 68-67 lead after Manhattan briefly had a one-point advantage. Johnson hit a layup and a free throw to give NU a two-possession cushion.
    
The Japers had the ball with just seconds left but Taylor McKay capped her career night, she finished with a career-best 14 points, by stepping into a passing lane and getting a steal to give the Purple Eagles the 71-67 victory.
    
Manhattan is led by Monica Roeder's 12.1 ppg.  Shayna Ericksen has moved into second place in team scoring with 10.0 ppg and she is followed closely by Kayla Grimme's 9.9 ppg.  Niagara is led by Meghan McGuinness and her 12.5 ppg but a big game from Chanel Johnson against Siena moved her to a very close second with 12.3 ppg.
 
How To Tune In
• Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Saturday'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 Jaspers (Tied 25-25)
• The Purple Eagles won the first game of this season's series 71-67 in overtime for their first win in Riverdale since February 10, 2012. Niagara has won the last two games played in the Gallagher Center.
 
Breaking The Tie
• The all-time record between these two teams is currently tied 25-25 so a Niagara win would give it the all-time lead by a game and wins in five of the last six meetings.
 
This Rampado Lady Is Kinda Good
• Freshman Victoria Rampado has scored a double-double in the last two games.
• First she scored 18 points and collected 10 rebounds against Rider on Feb. 9 to become the fourth player this season to record a double-double. Both her point and rebound totals were team-highs in the 82-72 loss.
• Then she scored 21 points and got another 10 rebounds against Siena on Feb. 13.  Again, both were team-highs (except she was tied with Chanel Johnson in points, but it still totally counts).
• 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.
 
Scoring Over 20
• Both Chanel Johnson and Victoria Rampado scored 21 points against the Saints on Feb. 13 to join Meghan McGuinness as the only Purple Eagles who have scored over 20 points multiple times.
• Rampado scored 23 points against Monmouth (1/19) and 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).
 
"Chock-full of Ovaltine, are we?"
• The game against Manhattan (1/23) was a career night for sophomore Taylor McKay.  She set career highs with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, six field goals, four steals, and 34 minutes played.
 
Raising Money For A Good Cause
• Between money donated by fans, the basket raffle, and ribbon sales, the team raised $456.27 for the American Cancer Society on Thursday in the team's annual Play-4-Kay game.