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Battle of the Bridge
It took eight games into the MAAC schedule, but the Niagara Purple Eagles will finally go head-to-head with cross-town rival Canisius Golden Griffins at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday in the Gallagher Center.

This matchup between Battle of the Bridge opponents has a lot of history behind it since this will be the 85th game played between the teams. The first meeting came way back during the 1974-75 season, Niagara's (8-9, 4-4 MAAC) first as a program. More recently the teams have split the season series in each of the last two seasons. Niagara won the first game in both, 62-49 on Jan. 27, 2013 and 69-60 on Jan. 29, 2014, but Canisius (6-11, 4-4 MAAC) won the second game and force the split, 51-36 on Mar. 1, 2013 and 62-53 on Feb. 7, 2014.

Niagara is looking to keep its momentum after a 59-45 win against the Monmouth Hawks. The team's leading scorer Meghan McGuinness played well, scoring 14 points to go along with a six rebounds.  The senior went 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in the win. For the season, McGuinness averages 12.0 ppg while sophomore forward Victoria Rampado is not far behind with 11.8 ppg. Rampado also hauls down a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.

The Golden Griffins come into the matchup winning one of their last five games, which was a 57-45 win over Saint Peter's.  Junior forward Crystal Porter scored a team high 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Griffins.  Junior guard Tiahana Mills leads the Griffins with 11.1 ppg and 30 steals on the season.  Senior guard Kayla Hoohuli is the Griffs' next leading scorer for Canisius. Hoohuli scores 10.9 points per contest and averages 3.2 rebounds per game.
With a win on Wednesday evening, Kendra Faustin's record against her former team, she served as an assistant under Terry Zeh for three seasons, would improve to 7-8.
 
How To Tune In

• Purple Eagle fans can follow all of Wednesday's action via PurpleEagles.com.  A live video broadcast with announcer Dave Universal will be available on Purple Eagles All-Access.  Fans will also be able to follow along with live stats.

 
On The Court
Canisius Golden Griffins (6-11, 4-4 MAAC)

• The Griffins are led by Terry Zeh who is in his 11th year as head coach at Canisius.
• Junior guard Tiahana Mills is Canisius' top scorer, averaging 11.1 points, and pulls down 3.9 rebounds per game
• Senior guard Kayla Hoohuli is the Griffs' next leading scorer for Canisius. Hoohuli scores 10.9 points per contest and averages 3.2 rebounds per game.
• Junior forward Crystal Porter leads the team with 5.7 rebounds per game while also contributing 10.1 points per outing.

 
Against the Griffins (Canisius leads 50-34)
Last Meeting - February 7, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Val McQuade scored a team-high 14 points in Niagara's 62-53 loss to Canisius on Friday afternoon in the Koessler Center.
 
Tipoff Tidbits

• Niagara's offense is led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness, who averages 12.0 points per game. The Lincroft, N.J. native leads the team in scoring on the road with 11.3 points per contest and has scored at least 10 points in 11 of the last 12 games.
• Sophomore forward Victoria Rampado, also averages double-figures with 11.8 points per outing and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.
• Wednesday will mark the 18th game of the season for the Purple Eagles and their ninth contest at home. NU is 4-4 at the 'Taps' Gallagher Center and 2-2 against conference opponents at home.
• Niagara had a season-high +22 rebound margin in the win over Binghamton.

 
Battle of the Bridge

• The Battle of the Bridge, the all-sports competition between cross-town rivals Niagara University and Canisius College, enters its ninth season in 2014-15. 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, 7-5.

 
 
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 26 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 and Joanne Lesnau. On Jan. 16 against Rider, the senior guard had a season-high eight assists which placed her eighth in the all-time career assists record with a total of 311 assists. The senior guard now sits six assists away from the seventh all-time career assists spot.

 
National Leaders

• The Purple Eagles rank 81st in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (.96), led by senior point guard Kelly Van Leeuwen (3.45 assist-to-turnover) who ranks 4th among all players in the country.
• Niagara also ranks in the top-50 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (26th), rebound margin (49th), three-point field goal percentage (48th) and assists per game (49th).

 
Top Of The MAAC (as of Jan. 20)

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

• Meghan McGuinness is ranked 13th with 12.0 ppg while Victoria Rampado sits in the 15th spot with 11.8 ppg.
• Kelly Van Leeuwen ranks second in the conference with a 3.5 assist/turnover ratio.
• Rampado also ranks third in the conference with a 49.7 field goal percentage after going 78-for-157 in 16 games.
• The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC in scoring defense, allowing just 61.5 points per game.
• As a team, Niagara has the fourth best scoring margin within the conference (3.2) and the second best rebounding margin (6.0). The Purple Eagles rank second in 3-point field goal percentage (35.2 percent/ 102-for-290) and sixth in field goal percentage (40.9 percent/ 418-for-1,022).
• NU additionally ranks second in offensive rebounds (14.0 per game) and first in defensive rebounds (28.8 per game).