"We Can Make It If We Run"
The Niagara Purple Eagles have just three games left in the regular season and close out their road schedule with their first ever trip to West Long Branch, N.J. to take on the Monmouth Hawks in an ESPN3 matchup on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
    
Niagara (8-18; 6-11 MAAC) won the first game against Monmouth (6-22; 5-12 MAAC) back on Jan. 19. Victoria Rampado, who anyone that has been following the team knows has found plenty of success as of late, took over in the second half to help Niagara complete the comeback and win 48-45. The freshman went 8-for-11 from the field to score 21 points in the half and finished with a career-high 23 points for the afternoon. Gabby Baldasare owned the boards to finish with a game- and career-high 13 rebounds, with nine coming during the second-half rally.
    
Both teams enter the final stretch looking like they will play on the first day of the fast-approaching MAAC tournament. The Purple Eagles are currently in eighth place with a 6-11 conference record with the Hawks just one game back in ninth at 5-12 in conference play.
    
The aforementioned Hawks are led by Chevannah Paalvast and her 13.3 ppg. She narrowly misses the team lead in rebounding with 5.2 per game, but Sarah English currently holds the top spot with 5.8 rpg. Monmouth is also looking for its first win in February; it is currently in the middle of a six-game losing streak with its last win coming in a 52-41 decision on Jan. 30 against Saint Peter's. The Hawks average 56.5 ppg and have topped the 60-point mark nine times in the 28 games played this season.
    
In that same span, Niagara has a 1-5 record that came on the heels of a 3-1 run last month. At this point of the season, NU is scoring at a 64.3 ppg clip and is outshooting opponents opponents 40.2 percent to 38.2 percent.
 
How To Tune In
• Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with announcers Dean Darling and Julianne Viani. Purple Eagle fans can also follow all the action with live stats on PurpleEagles.com.
 
Against the Hawks (Niagara leads 1-0)
• The Purple Eagles won the first ever meeting between these teams back on January 19. This will be the first time Niagara travels to play a game at the MAC.
 
"...The Change Was Made Uptown"
• I get that we just covered it, but let's talk about Victoria Rampado's performance in the first game agaisnt 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 first of two MAAC Rookie of the Week awards.
 
"You're Gonna Break On Through To The Inside..."
• The Purple Eagles responded in the second half of Thursday's 78-62 loss to the Iona Gaels.
• They outscored their opponent 39-38 in the second half, including a 16-6 edge in scoring in the paint.
 
Splitting on the Road
• Niagara has managed to earn a split in each the last two "real" road trips.
• The most recent set of road games doesn't count since Canisius is a 20-minute drive down the thruway from Niagara's campus.