Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video

Back In Action
The third and sixth seeds in the MAAC will go head-to-head on Friday when the Niagara Purple Eagles host the Iona Gaels at 7:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Center.

Niagara (8-10, 4-5 MAAC) is coming off a 66-55 overtime loss to cross-town rival Canisius College. NU has collected five losses so far in the conference season. Two of NU's losses have come against the top-team in the MAAC, Quinnipiac, who is still undefeated in conference play.  Niagara has dropped four of its last six games but each have all been nail-biting thrillers. The Purple Eagles outlasted Fairfield in a 66-64 victory and Monmouth (59-45) while falling to Siena (56-52), Quinnipiac (71-68), Rider (56-51) and Canisius (66-55 OT).

The game against Canisius was first time those two teams went into overtime since the 2007-08 season when Niagara came away with a 65-63 thriller. Niagara's last overtime game was on January 6, 2013 against Siena, when NU came away with a 70-62 win.

The Gaels (9-8, 6-2 MAAC) and second-year head coach Billi Godsey enter Friday's matchup with a 5-1 record in their last six games.  They began the MAAC season with a win over Rider before dropping a 75-74 overtime decision to Monmouth. They have a 4-5 away record this season with only one of those losses coming in conference. Their only other loss in conference play was an 85-81 decision in overtime against Rider. They defeated Fordham, Stony Brook, and Central Florida in non-conference action earlier this season.

Overall, Iona is led again this season by Damika Martinez who is scoring a MAAC best 25.1 ppg. Joy Adams, who is averaging a double-double per game, is the complete threat with 13.6 ppg and 11.6 rpg. McGuinness leads Niagara with 12.1 ppg and 3.9 rpg through the opening 18 games.

Niagara dropped both games in last two season's series. It split the season series in 2011-12 with the win coming on the road by a score of 68-55. That win snapped a 14-game losing streak. Between 1992-2005 the Purple Eagles went 23-5 against the Gaels.
 
How To Tune In

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

 
On The Court
Iona Gaels (9-8, 6-2 MAAC)

• The Gaels are led by Billi Godsey who is in her 2nd year as head coach at Iona.
• Senior guard Damika Martinez is Iona's top scorer, averaging 25.1 points, and pulls down 5.4 rebounds per game
• Junior forward Joy Adams is the Gaels' next leading scorer for Iona. Adams scores 13.6 points per contest and averages a team-high 11.6 rebounds per game.
• Aaliyah Robinson and Marina Lizarazu also score atleast 10.0 ppg for Iona.

 
Against the Gaels (Tied, 26-26)
Last Meeting - February 20, 2014
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles fell 78-62 to the Iona Gaels at the Hynes Athletic Center on Thursday night.
 
Tipoff Tidbits

• Niagara's offense is led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness, who averages 12.1 points per game. The Lincroft, N.J. native has scored at least 10 points in 12 of the last 13 games.
• Sophomore forward Victoria Rampado, also averages double-figures with 11.4 points per outing and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
• Friday will mark the 19th game of the season for the Purple Eagles and their 10th contest at home. NU is 4-5 at the 'Taps' Gallagher Center and 2-3 against conference opponents at home.
• NU had a season-high +22 rebound margin in the win over Binghamton.
• Niagara's bench has outscored its opponents bench by a combined 194-149 in their nine conference games.
• NU has a 6-2 record this season when leading at halftime
• Three Purple Eagles are averaging over 8.0 ppg in conference games, up from one in nonconference. Victoria Rampado has 12.4 ppg, Meghan McGuinness has scored 12.0 ppg and Taylor McKay has registered 8.6 ppg.

 
Ramp-ing Up

• Victoria Rampado had a career-day in Niagara's game against top-seeded Quinnipiac (1/11). She set career-highs with 27 points and 14 rebounds to mark her second double-double of the season. The Niagara Falls, Ont. native finished 12-for-18 from the field, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
• Her performance earned her the MAAC Rookie of the Week award.

 
A Win On Friday Would...

• Give Niagara a 27-26 lead in the series against the Gaels.
• Boost Niagara to a .500, 5-5 conference record.
• Break Iona's four-game winning streak in the series.

 
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 24 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 one assist away from the seventh all-time career assists spot.

 
National Leaders

• The Purple Eagles rank 82nd in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (.95), led by senior point guard Kelly Van Leeuwen (3.38 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 (24th), rebound margin (48th), three-point field goal percentage (49th), assists per game (50th) and defensive rebounds per game (30th).

 
Top Of The MAAC (as of Jan. 22)

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

• Victoria Rampado is ranked 12th with 12.4 ppg while Meghan McGuinness sits in the 16th spot with 12.0 ppg.
• Kelly Van Leeuwen ranks third in the conference with 5.0 assists per game.
• The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC in scoring defense, allowing just 57.7 points per game.
• As a team, Niagara has the fourth best scoring margin within the conference (4.4) and the best rebounding margin (9.0). The Purple Eagles rank fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (34.8 percent/ 46-for-132) and sixth in field goal percentage (41.4 percent/ 217-for-524).
• NU additionally ranks fourth in offensive rebounds (14.3 per game) and first in defensive rebounds (29.6 per game).