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Slowing Down The Saints
The Niagara women's basketball team will attempt to split the season series against the Siena Saints on Thursday night in the Alumni Recreation Center.

Niagara (10-13, 6-8 MAAC) is coming off a 66-56 victory, sweeping the season series, against Fairfield . The Purple Eagles have won two of their last three games and have enjoyed two of their best three-point shooting performances of the season. NU shot 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc against Marist and 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) against the Stags. Niagara currently ranks 11th in the NCAA with a 37.2 three-point field goal percentage.

Overall, Niagara's offense is led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness and sophomore forward Victoria Rampado. McGuinness averages 13.2 ppg while Rampado is scoring 12.7 ppg for the Purple Eagles.

The Saints (14-9, 7-7 MAAC) are coming off a 65-58 win over the Monmouth Hawks before defeating the Rider Broncs, 65-43.  Siena, which was picked to finish tenth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, opened conference play with losses against Fairfield and Quinnipiac. The Saints hold a 5-6 record on their home court and a 9-2 away record.

This year's Saints feature three players averaging double-figures scoring, led by Tehresa Coles's 13.7 points per game. Margot Hertz also contributes 13.6 points per contest and leads the team in rebounding with 7.2 rebounds per outing.

Niagara dropped a 56-52 decision earlier this season to the Saints. However, the Purple Eagles swept the season series with Siena last year for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
 
How To Tune In

• Thursday's game will air live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
• Fans can also follow all of Thursday's action via Live Stats that can be found online at PurpleEagles.com (provided through Siena).

 
On The Court
Siena Saints (8-5, 1-3 MAAC)

• The Stags are led by Ali Jacques who is in her 3rd year as head coach at Siena.
• Senior guard Tehresa Coles is Siena's top scorer, averaging 13.7 points while adding 4.9 rebounds per game.
• Freshman forward Margot Hetzke also averages double-figures for the Saints. Hetzke scores 13.6 points per contest and averages a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore forward Meghan Donohue additionally contributes 10.0 points per outing and 5.0 boards per game.

 
Against the Saints (Siena leads 44-26)
Last Meeting - January 9, 2015
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara women's basketball team was edged by the Siena Saints, 56-52, on Friday at the Gallagher Center.
 
Tipoff Tidbits

• Niagara's offense is led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness, who averages 13.2 points per game. The Lincroft, N.J. native has scored at least 10 points in 19 of the last 21 games.
• Sophomore forward Victoria Rampado, also averages double-figures with 12.7 points per outing and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game.
• Thursday will mark the 24th game of the season for the Purple Eagles and their 12th contest on the road. NU is 5-6 away from the Gallagher Center and 3-3 against conference opponents on the road.
• NU had a season-high +22 rebound margin in the win over Binghamton.
• Niagara's bench has outscored its opponents bench by a combined 276-252 in their 14 conference games.
• NU has an 8-3 record this season when leading at halftime.
• Victoria Rampado is averaging 14.1 ppg in conference match ups while Meghan McGuinness averages 13.9 ppg in MAAC contests.

 
A Win On Thursday Would...

• Split the series against Siena this season.
• Boost Niagara's record to 11-13 overall and 7-8 in the conference.
• Give head coach Kendra Faustin her sixth win against Siena.

 
McGuinness Earns Capital One Academic All-District Honors

• On Feb. 5, senior Meghan McGuinness was named to the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-District Women's Basketball First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

 
Breaking The 500-Point Barrier

• Victoria Rampado scored her 500th career point against Manhattan on Jan. 31. She entered the game with 496 points and turned in a 10-point effort to finish the evening with 506 career points.
•  The sophomore now stands 55 points away from 600 with 545 career points.

 
National Leaders (as of Feb. 11)

• The Purple Eagles rank 85th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (.94), led by senior point guard Kelly Van Leeuwen (3.82 assist-to-turnover) who ranks 2nd among all players in the country.
• Last season, Van Leeuwen finished 10th in the nation with a 2.91 assist/turnover ratio.
• Niagara also ranks in the top-50 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (36th), rebound margin (38th), three-point field goal percentage (11th) and assists per game (44th).

 
Breaking Records

• On Dec. 30, McGuinness went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc marking her 223rd career 3-pointer which tied her second in the 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 six 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, Joanne Lesnau and Kim Kuhn. On Jan. 23 against Iona, the senior guard had a season-high eight assists which placed her seventh in the all-time career assists record with a total of 328 assists. The senior guard now sits 21 assists away from the sixth all-time career assists spot.

 
Top Of The MAAC (as of Feb. 11)

• The Purple Eagles have two players in the top-10 in the MAAC in points per game.
• Victoria Rampado is ranked 6th with 14.1 ppg while Meghan McGuinness sits in the 7th spot with 13.9 ppg.
• Kelly Van Leeuwen ranks third in the conference with 5.1 apg.
• McGuinness is 2nd in the MAAC with a 47.0 three-point field goal percentage.
• The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 36.4 percent from the field.
• As a team, Niagara has the fourth best scoring margin within the conference (1.5) and the best rebounding margin (8.2). The Purple Eagles rank second in 3-point field goal percentage (38.0 percent/ 76-for-200) and sixth in field goal percentage (40.0 percent/ 303-for-757).
• NU additionally ranks fifth in offensive rebounds (13.9 per game) and second in defensive rebounds (28.8 per game).