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Taming The Broncs
The Niagara Purple Eagles take on the Rider Broncs on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Alumni Gymnasium.

The Purple Eagles (7-8; 3-3 MAAC) have dropped two of their last three games but shot a season-high 58.8 percent (30-for-51) from the field in last Sunday's loss to Quinnipiac. The Purple Eagles are tied for fifth place with Siena and Canisius with a 3-3 conference record.

Since the conference season started, Niagara is second in the MAAC with a 44.7 percent (147-for-329) field goal percentage. NU is holding opponents to 35.5 percent from the floor which is good for third in the conference.  The Purple Eagles are also first in the conference with a plus 8.5 rebounding margin so far in conference play.

Rider (3-13, 0-6 MAAC) has dropped its last six games and currently sits at the bottom of the conference with a 0-6 MAAC record. The Broncs won their first game of the season in overtime 59-56 against Old Dominion.
 
Robin Perkins and Julia Duggan are the players to watch for the Broncs. Perkins is averaging 11.8 ppg and 3.4 rebounds per game while Duggan averages 8.4 ppg and a team-high 7.2 rpg. There is a sharp drop off to second place in each category. Emily Fazzini is second on the team with 9.4 ppg and Marritta Gillcrease is averaging 6.3 rpg.

The Purple Eagles split last season's series against the Broncs as both teams won on their home court. Rider defeated the Purple Eagles 82-72 on February 9, 2014 in Alumni Gymnasium while NU topped the Broncs, 68-60, at the Gallagher Center.
 
How To Tune In

• Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Friday's action via PurpleEagles.com. Live stats will be provided with links to an audio feed and a video feed (both provided through Rider).

 
On The Court
Rider Broncs (3-13, 0-6 MAAC)

• The Broncs are led by Lynn Milligan who is in her 8th year as head coach at Rider.
• Sophomore guard Robin Perkins is Rider's top scorer, averaging 11.8 points, and pulls down 3.4 rebounds per game.
• Junior guard Emily Fazzini is the Broncs' next leading scorer for Rider. Fazzini scores 9.4 points per contest and averages 2.9 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore center Julia Duggan leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game while also contributing 8.4 points per outing.

 
Against the Broncs (Niagara leads 23-16)
Last Meeting - February 28, 2014
NIAGARA UNIV, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles got contributions from up and down the lineup Friday night, but were led offensively by senior Chanel Johnson and started the final weekend of the regular season with a 68-60 win over the Rider Broncs.

 
Tipoff Tidbits

• Niagara's offense is led by sophomore forward Victoria Rampado, who averages 12.1 points per game and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per contest.
• Senior guard Meghan McGuinness also averages double-figures with 11.6 points per outing. The Lincroft, N.J. native leads the team in scoring on the road with 10.3 points per contest and has scored at least 10 points in nine of the last 10 games.
• Friday will mark the 16th game of the season for the Purple Eagles and their eighth contest on the road. NU is 3-4 away from home and 1-1 against conference opponents on the road.
• Niagara had a season-high +22 rebound margin in the win over Binghamton.

 
A Win On Friday Would...

• Give Niagara a 24-16 lead in the series against Rider.
• Boost Niagara to a .500, 8-8 overall record and 4-4 record on the road.
• Break NU's two-game losing skid.

 
Cardiac Kids

• Niagara's past three games have all been nail-biting thrillers within a five-point margin.
• The Purple Eagles outlasted Fairfield in a 66-64 victory while falling to Siena (56-52) and Quinnipiac (71-68).

 
Breaking Records

• On Dec. 30, McGuinness went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc marking her 223rd career 3-pointer which ties her second all-time record. Sheryl Klick, who played for Niagara from 1996-00, also has 223 career three pointers.
• Later, McGuinness made two three-pointers on Jan. 4 against Fairfield which moved her above Klick with the second most three-point field goals made (225).
• McGuinness now stands 32 three-pointers away from the all-time top spot.
• Also on Dec. 30, Kelly Van Leeuwen had six assists for NU which marked her 283rd career assist and broke her into the top-10 for the all-time assist record at Niagara.
• Van Leeuwen then surpassed Kelly Chase, who played for NU from 1984-88 and recorded 287 career assists. On Jan. 4 against Fairfield, the senior guard had four assists which placed her ninth in the all-time career assists record with a total of 289 assists.

• The senior guard now sits four assists away from the eighth all-time career assists spot.

 
National Leaders

• The Purple Eagles rank 87th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (.95), led by senior point guard Kelly Van Leeuwen (3.37 assist-to-turnover) who ranks 5th among all players in the country.
• Niagara also ranks in the top-100 in the nation in field-goal percentage (98th), field-goal percentage defense (44th), rebound margin (59th), three-point field goal percentage (58th) and assists per game (50th).

 
Top Of The MAAC (as of Jan. 15)

• The Purple Eagles have three players in the top-25 in the MAAC in points per game.

• Victoria Rampado is ranked 12th with 12.1 ppg while Meghan McGuinness sits in the 14th spot with 11.5 ppg.
• Val McQuade is 21st in the conference with 10.6 points per game.
• Kelly Van Leeuwen ranks first in the conference with a 3.4 assist/turnover ratio.
• Rampado also ranks first in the conference with a 54.3 field goal percentage after going 69-for-127 in 14 games.
• The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC in scoring defense, allowing just 62.7 points per game.
• As a team, Niagara has the fourth best scoring margin within the conference (3.1) and the second best rebounding margin (5.3). The Purple Eagles rank second in 3-point field goal percentage (34.8 percent/ 92-for-264) and field goal percentage (41.7 percent/ 372-for-892).
• NU additionally ranks fifth in offensive rebounds (13.1 per game) and second in defensive rebounds (28.7 per game).