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Senior Send Off
The Niagara Purple Eagles will attempt to split the season series against the Rider Broncs on Sunday afternoon in their last home game of the season at the Gallagher Center.

Niagara (12-14, 8-9 MAAC) is coming off a 81-69 double overtime loss to the Monmouth Hawks. The Purple Eagles have won four of their last six games and have gone 3-2 in the month of February. Overall, Niagara's offense is led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness and sophomore forward Victoria Rampado. McGuinness averages 13.0 ppg while Rampado is scoring 12.9 ppg for the Purple Eagles.

The Broncs (11-16, 8-9 MAAC) are coming four consecutive victories against Saint Peter's, Monmouth, Manhattan and Canisius. Robin Perkins and Emily Fazzini are the players to watch for the Broncs. Perkins is averaging 11.4 ppg while Fazzini averages 9.7 ppg. Marritta Gillcrease leads the team in rebounds with 7.0 rpg while also contributing 4.6 points per outing.

As the Purple Eagles close out the home regular-season schedule, head coach Kendra Faustin and the team will honor seven seniors, Meghan McGuinness, Kelly Van Leeuwen, Val McQuade, Gabby Baldasare, Donisha Watson, Kelyn Freedman, and Tiye Davis for their commitment and dedication to the women's basketball program.

The team will also be holding a Kid's Day, inviting all elementary aged children in the Niagara Falls City School District to the game free of charge. Tickets will be available at the 'Taps' Gallagher Center box office located on the second floor outside the gymnasium. Free admission for children come compliments of Apple Granny's, ComDoc, Favorite's Pizzeria, Lewiston Chamber of Commerce, Tam Ceramics and Washington Mills.

Niagara dropped a 61-56 decision earlier this season. 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 Sunday's action via PurpleEagles.com.  Fans can tune in to a live video broadcast on Purple Eagles All-Access with announcer Dave Universal and follow along with Live Stats.

 
On The Court
Rider Broncs (11-16, 8-9 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 11.4 points, and pulls down 2.9 rebounds per game
• Junior guard Emily Fazzini is the Broncs' next leading scorer for Rider. Fazzini scores 9.7 points per contest and averages 3.1 rebounds per game.
• Senior forward Marritta Gillcrease leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game while also contributing 4.6 points per outing.

 
Against the Broncs (Niagara leads 23-17)
Last Meeting - January 16, 2015
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.Y. – Three Purple Eagles were in double-figures as Niagara fell to the Rider Broncs in a 61-56 setback on Friday night.
 
Tipoff Tidbits

• Niagara's offense is led by senior guard Meghan McGuinness, who averages 13.0 points per game. The Lincroft, N.J. native has scored at least 10 points in 21 of the last 24 games.
• Sophomore forward Victoria Rampado, also averages double-figures with 12.9 points per outing and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.
• Sunday will mark the 27th game of the season for the Purple Eagles and their 14th contest at home. NU is 5-8 at the Gallagher Center and 3-6 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 317-291 in their 17 conference games.
• NU has a 10-3 record this season when leading at halftime.
• Victoria Rampado is averaging 14.2 ppg in conference match ups while Meghan McGuinness averages 13.5 ppg in MAAC contests.

 
A Win On Sunday Would...

• Give Niagara a 24-17 lead in the series against Rider.
• Boost Niagara to a .500, 9-9 conference record.
• Give head coach Kendra Faustin a 9-8 record against the Broncs.

 
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 12 points away from 600 with 588 career points.

 
National Leaders (as of Feb. 21)

• The Purple Eagles rank 81st in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (.95), led by senior point guard Kelly Van Leeuwen (3.8 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 (40th), rebound margin (36th), three-point field goal percentage (13th) and assists per game (42nd).
• Meghan McGuinness ranks 11th in the NCAA with a 44.6 three-point field goal percentage.

 
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 two 3-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 seven assists away from the sixth all-time career assists spot.

 
Top Of The MAAC (as of Feb. 21)

• The Purple Eagles have two players in the top-10 in the MAAC in points per game.
• Victoria Rampado is ranked 5th with 14.2 ppg while Meghan McGuinness sits in the 8th spot with 13.5 ppg.
• Kelly Van Leeuwen ranks third in the conference with 5.0 assists per game.
• McGuinness is 2nd in the MAAC with a 45.7 three-point field goal percentage.
• The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 36.6 percent from the field.
• As a team, Niagara has the fourth best scoring margin within the conference (1.6) and the best rebounding margin (7.9). The Purple Eagles rank second in 3-point field goal percentage (38.1 percent/ 96-for-252) and fifth in field goal percentage (41.3 percent/ 406-for-984).
• NU additionally ranks fourth in offensive rebounds (13.6 per game) and second in defensive rebounds (28.4 per game).