Last Tune-up
The Niagara Purple Eagles end the regular season on Sunday when they host the Fairfield Stags at 2:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.
    
The final weekend of the season had plenty of playoff implications for Niagara (8-19; 8-11 MAAC) and it took care of the first part of its climb to sixth with Friday's 68-60 win over Rider. If Niagara can beat Fairfield (19-9; 14-5 MAAC MAAC), it will take sixth place and play Saint Peter's on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. There are other possibilities heading into next week's MAAC Tournament and we will cover them later in these game notes.
    
The Purple and White have won their last two games and have done so with a new starting five. Meghan McGuinness leads the team in scoring with 16.5 ppg in the last two games, but is one of four players averaging double digit points. Chanel Johnson has scored 15.5, Victoria Rampado has turned in 13.5, and Taylor McKay has scored an even 10.0 ppg. McKay also leads the team with seven steals, over a third of the team's total of 20. Kelly Van Leeuwen, who averages 8.0 ppg, leads the team with 10 assists. The junior from Brantford, Ont. has given up just two turnovers for an assist/turnover ratio of 5.0, well above the team ratio of 1.0.

    
As a team the Purple Eagles are shooting 44.1 percent (49-for-111) on one end of the floor while holding their opponents to 36.4 percent (43-for-118) at the other end.
    
The Stags enter the matchup unable to finish lower than fourth place despite the 52-45 loss to Canisius on Friday night. They average 61.1 ppg, led by Katie Cizynski's 16.3 ppg. The rest of the top-three scorers are within 1.2 points of each other. Alexys Vazquez, Brittany Obi-Tabot, and Kristin Schatzlein average 10.4 ppg, 9.9 ppg, and 9.2 ppg, respectively.
    
The last time these teams met was back in the first weekend of the conference season. Johnson hit 7-of-8 free throws led Niagara with 19 points.  Val McQuade was not far behind with 17 and earned her first double-double of the season by adding 10 rebounds. McGuinness shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc on her way to a 15-point afternoon and McKay scored 11 points. Johnson scored 12 points in the final 2:49, but Fairfield was able to take advantage of their chances at the free-throw line to come away with an 81-77 win.
 
How To Tune In
•    Purple Eagle fans will be able to follow all of Sunday's action on PurpleEagles.com. There will be a live video broadcast with announcer Dave Universal. Fans will also be able to follow along with live stats.
 
Against the Stags (Fairfield leads 34-18)
•   The first game of this season's series was close, but the Stags took advantage of Niagara fouling late and won the game 81-77.  The Purple Eagles broke a six-game losing streak with last season's victory.  Before that, the last Niagara victory came on January 16, 2010 when it won 52-49 on the road.
 
Playoff Scenarios:
•  There are three different scenarios for the Purple Eagles heading in to the MAAC Tournament.
•  NU gets sixth place if: Niagara defeats Fairfield. The result of the Canisius vs Rider game would not matter. If Rider wins, NU would be alone in sixth place at 9-11. If Canisius wins, a mini-conference develops between the three teams and NU's 2-2 record would be good enough for sixth place. In this event, Niagara would face Saint Peter's at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
•  NU gets seventh place if: Niagara loses to Fairfield and Canisius loses to Rider. Three teams would be tied at 8-12 with Manhattan winning the mini-conference with a 3-1 record. Niagara would be next at 2-2 and Canisius would be last at 1-3. In this event, NU would play Siena at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
•  NU gets eighth place if: Niagara loses to Fairfield and Canisius beats Rider. NU would tie Manhattan with an 8-12 record but lose the head-to-head tie breaker. In this event, NU would play Monmouth at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
 
Playing Some Major Minutes
•  If it seemed like Chanel Johnson was on the court a lot on Friday night, it's because she was; the senior played 39 minutes in the 68-60 win. For those keeping track at home, that is 39 minutes out of a possible 40.
 
Some Pun About Blocks
•  Donisha Watson played 15 minutes against the Rider Broncs on Friday; primarily setting up shop in the middle of NU's 2-3 zone. She set a career-high with three blocks and contributed two points, a steal, and an assist.
 
Snapping The Skid
•  Last season's 50-39 win over the Stags broke a six-game losing streak against Fairfield.
•  Four of those six losses were by a single-digit margin. This season's loss was by two possessions, 81-77.
• The last NU win over Fairfield before the streak came in a road game played in the Webster Bank Arena on Bridgeport, Conn. on Jan. 16, 2010.  The Purple Eagles won by three, 52-49.