Niagara Purple Eagles (6-8, 3-3 MAAC) at Monmouth Hawks (7-5, 2-1 MAAC)
Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 – 7 p.m. EST
OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, N.J.
 
TV
ESPN3
Play-by-Play: Greg Mescall
Analyst: Dei Lynam
 
Monmouth Notes
 
MONMOUTH COVID-19 POLICIES
Monmouth University has announced its campus-wide indoor event COVID-19 policies.
 
The following policies are in effect until further notice:

1. All fans 18 and over are required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test administered by a doctor's office or a clinic within 72 hours of the event time for indoor Athletic events. Home test kit results will not be accepted.
2. All event audiences must wear a mask that completely covers the nose and mouth of the participant. Face shields are not acceptable. This includes fans from 2-17 years of age.
3. Athletic events held in the OceanFirst Bank Center will be permitted to have food in the stands as long as masks remain on when the participant is not actively consuming food or beverages. Masks must be worn otherwise.
 
Men's and women's basketball season ticket holders will be mailed (and emailed) instructions on how to obtain a vaccine credential which will require them to show their vaccine cards once and receive a credential to speed up entrance to events. Season ticket holders who are not vaccinated will need to show proof a negative test within 72 hours of the event for every event attended.
 
Additionally, there will be separate entrances for students, season ticket holders and the general public. More information on those locations will be available on MonmouthHawks.com

OPENING TIP
-A win opposite the Purple Eagles would put the Hawks at 3-1 in MAAC play, the program's best start to conference play since starting 3-1 during the 2010-11 season as a member of the NEC.
-Monmouth begins a four-game homestand and plays in its first game at OceanFirst Bank Center since Dec. 10 when the team took on No. 23 Oregon State.
-The Hawks are 3-2 in their last five MAAC home openers, with the most-recent victory coming against Manhattan on Dec. 17, 2019. 
-Monmouth has won three of its last four games but is coming off a road loss to Marist on Jan. 15, the team's first road defeat since Nov. 28 at Providence.
-Niagara bounced back after back-to-back losses by defeating Rider in a come-from-behind victory this past Tuesday in Lawrenceville, N.J., 75-74.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-Thursday's matchup between Monmouth and Niagara marks the 16th all-time meeting between the two sides.
-Niagara swept the Hawks during the 2019-20 season after Monmouth claimed a pair of victories during the 2018-19 campaign.
-Five of the last six meetings between Monmouth and Niagara have been decided by seven points or less. 
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Graduate student point guard Stella Clark recorded Monmouth's first double-double of the season in the Hawks' most-recent outing at Marist on Jan. 15. She scored a team-best 13 points while reeling in a game-high 12 boards. She is the first Monmouth player to record a double-double in a game since her teammate Belle Kranbuhl tallied 20 points and 16 boards at Saint Peter's on Feb. 14, 2021.
 
THE 20-POINT MARK
Stella Clark has posted three 20-point performances this season. She is the first Hawk to accomplish that feat since Sierra Green '20 notched five 20-point games during her junior season (2018-19)
 
CLARK AND LOURO HEATING UP
Over their last seven outings, guards Stella Clark and Jen Louro have made a significant impact on the offensive end of the ball. Clark is averaging 15.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists, while shooting the ball at a 40-percent clip from the field and knocking down 47 percent of her shots from beyond the arc. Louro is putting up 11.0 points per tilt, while making 37 percent of her shots from the floor. The duo has combined for 44 percent of Monmouth's scoring during that seven-game stretch. 
 
DEFENDING THE PERIMETER
Monmouth currently leads the MAAC and is tied for 21st in Division I with Tennessee in opponent 3-point field goal percentage. Opponents are shooting just 25 percent from deep opposite the Hawks. Monmouth has held each of its previous seven opponents under 30 percent from beyond the arc.