Game Notes | Live Stats | ESPN3

Yeah, But This One Is On ESPN3
On Friday evening the Niagara Purple Eagles and Canisius Golden Griffins will meet again for the second time in 10 days, this time in the Koessler Center for a game that can be seen on ESPN3.
           
These teams just went head-to-head last Wednesday in the Gallagher Center. Niagara (7-14; 5-7 MAAC) came out firing with an 11-4 run that featured three 3-pointers in the first four field goals.  Canisius (8-13; 4-8 MAAC) was able to take the lead briefly after halftime but two quick buckets from Meghan McGuinness gave the lead back to the Purple and White for good.
           
McGuinness had a big night for Niagara which came out on top, 69-60. The junior scored 22 points and was tied for the team lead with six rebounds. McGuinness hit 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. Three of those five came in the final 41 seconds to preserve NU's lead.
           
Prior to Niagara's victory on Jan. 29, the last time the home team had won a contest between these two teams was Feb. 24, 2011 when Canisius won 55-27 in the Koessler Center. The season before that, 2009-10, began with a 52-49 Niagara win at home on Feb. 3, 2010. On both occasions, the team that won at home went on to sweep the season series. More recently the teams have split the series in each of the previous two seasons. Niagara won the first game each of the least two seasons, beginning with a 66-60 on Jan. 19, 2012 and 62-49 on Jan. 27, 2013. Canisius won the second game and forced the split, 58-57 on Feb. 4, 2012 and 51-36 on March 1, 2013.
           
The Golden Griffins haven't been on the court since that game in the Gallagher Center. Junior Guard Kayla Hoohuli scored nine points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Griffins.  Hoohuli leads the Griffins with 10.1 ppg and is third with 3.4 rpg on the season.  Guard Tiahana Mills, who averages 7.8 ppg, scored a team-high 12 points against Niagara.
           
With a win on Friday afternoon, Kendra Faustin's career record against her former team, she served as an assistant under Terry Zeh for three seasons at Canisius, would improve to an even 7-7. 
 
How To Tune In
• Purple Eagle fans can watch all of Friday's action live on ESPN3 with announcers Ed Cohen and Julianne Viani.  A link to the broadcast can be found on PurpleEagles.com along with live stats.
 
Against the Griffs (Canisius leads 49-34)
• The Purple Eagles have won the last three season-series openers.  Niagara was a last-second shot away from sweeping the season series in 2011-12 but instead split with Canisius. A win on Friday would be the first season sweep since the 2009-10 season. 
 
Battle of the Bridge
• The Battle of the Bridge, the all-sports competition between cross-town rivals Niagara University and Canisius College, enters its eighth season in 2013-14. After Niagara claimed the inaugural competition, Canisius won the series the next two years, before Niagara claimed the Canal Cup at the end of the 2009-10 season. With the series tied 2-2, Canisius edged Niagara for the 2010-11 & 2011-12 title.
• Points are awarded to the winner of regular-season contests, except for cross country, golf and swimming and diving, which will be determined by MAAC Championship standings. The Canal Cup is awarded to the victor each year.
• The name of the series is in reference to the Grand Island Bridge, which each team crosses when traveling to the other's campus. The name of the trophy is in reference to the Erie Canal, which intersects Niagara County, where Niagara is located, and Erie County, where Canisius is located.
• Niagara is currently trailing this season's series, 8-7.
 
Setting Up The Sweep
•  With the 69-60 win over Canisius on Jan. 29, the Purple Eagles earned their first win at home over the Golden Griffins since the 2009-10 season.
•  The last win at home came on Feb. 3, 2010 when Niagara opened the series with a 52-49 win over Canisius. NU also won the second game on Feb. 19, 2010 by a 49-46 final.
•  Just to make the point abundantly clear, the last time NU beat Canisius at the Gallagher Center they swept the season series.
 
ESPN3: The Good Luck Charm
•  Each of the last two games at the Koessler Center between Niagara and Canisius have been broadcast on ESPN3 and each have been Niagara victories.
•  On Jan. 19, 2012 the Purple Eagles shot 44..1 percent from the floor and held Canisius to 37.5 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc on the way to a 66-60 victory.
•  On Jan. 27, 2013 Niagara had another strong defensive showing, holding the Griffs to 1-for-20 from three-point range and 32.0 percent from the floor.  Meghan McGuinness scored 16 points and Niagara won 62-49.
 
Flying North
•  The women's basketball program at Niagara is closely bound to its counterpart at Canisius because of more than just the long-standing rivalry.  Kendra Faustin was an assistant coach at Canisius for three seasons (2004-07) before becoming the head coach at Niagara.
•  Brianna Lucas, the director of basketball operations, was a four-year member of the Canisius women's basketball program from 2006-10.  Lucas graduated from Canisius College in 2010.
•  Kyle Hejmowski also has ties to the Griffs.  He was a three-year student manager for the Golden Griffins men's team and a spot-starter for the women's team's radio broadcasts while an undergraduate at Canisius from 1999-2003.  While Hejmowski was at Canisus, long-time Griffs head coach, Terry Zeh, was still an assistant for the men's team.
 
Well Acquainted
• Sunday's game will be another in a long list of matchups between these two programs.  Niagara has faced Canisisus the most out of any other school in program history.  The 83 all-time meetings are far ahead of second-place St. Bonaventure (another Little Three rival) and their 57 games. 
 
From Downtown
• The Purple Eagles have two players in the top-10 in three-point field goal percentage in conference play.
• Meghan McGuinness' 46.8 percent earned her fourth in the MAAC.
• Val McQuade is tied at seventh with 40.0 percent because this is how we do it.