She recognized the look. Her players thought she was crazy, perhaps a bit insane. But

Kendra Faustin wasn't fazed.

If she and her staff were going to build a solid women's basketball program at Niagara,

there would have to be a standard way of doing things — win or lose.

And so, after stringing together road wins at Fairfield and Rider last month, Faustin

announced to the team that they would watch game film, learn and move forward.

It was the same thing she said after all their losses in a 3-8 start.

"I didn't give us an option," Faustin said. "In practice we were demanding and they looked

at me like I was crazy and then we would address it. We talked about what we're about as a

group. This is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we're about."

The approach and the attitude wouldn't change just because they won a couple of games.

And now, the hard work is reaping rewards for the Purple Eagles.

The Purple Eagles are 7-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and 10-13 overall.

Their five straight wins constitute their longest win streak in five seasons — and

include the coveted signature win over perennial league power Marist.

What's come together for Niagara? It's a combination of better movement on both ends of the

floor and maturation of the backcourt.

Freshman Kayla Stroman has settled into the point guard position, earning three MAAC Rookie

of the Week honors. In the five-game win streak (over five home games) Stroman has 23 assists

to 12 turnovers with seven steals.

"Kayla has done a great job of making great reads so we can score or get into our offense

quickly," Faustin said. "I feel the other thing is we're really moving the ball and getting

quality open shots. A lot of times, they're short jump shots and that makes a lot of coaches

cringe, but that's what we do.

"Defensively we're much more active in help-side and not just sitting in there and allowing

things to happen. We're trying to dictate what's happening ... and we're getting more steals

and forcing more turnovers."

Indeed, Niagara has forced at least 20 turnovers in its five-game win streak.

But the confidence and improved play will be tested over the next few weeks for the Purple

Eagles with their next four games on the road, including rematches at Canisius and Loyola.

"Right now, we're just focused on what we have to take care of — watching films,

going to class, getting healthy," Faustin said. "At the end of the year we'll look at what we

did and want to do more. But right now, it's February and it's college basketball. It's a

grind."

Swimming and diving

The championship season begins this weekend when Niagara and Canisius compete in the Metro

Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in Baltimore while Buffalo State preps for the

State University of New York Athletic Conference meet hosted at the Flickinger Center.

For Niagara, the difference has been notable on the women's side as the team broke 10

different school records paced by freshman Lindsey Jackson. The Marietta, Ga., native set

three individual records and was part of four relay records for the Purple Eagles. Jackson has

the Niagara record in the 200 individual medley, the 400 IM and the 100 butterfly while being

part of the record-setting relays in the 200 and 400 medley and the 400 and 800 freestyle.

"Lindsey has been a joy to work with. She's done everything we've asked in the pool," fourth-

year Niagara coach Ben Nigro said. "She likes to train hard and she seems to have fun while

doing it. That's the best part of it; she does it with a smile on her face. She never looks

labored and sometimes I wonder if I could push her harder. But her positive attitude just rubs

off on everyone else."

Last year, the Niagara women placed eighth in the 10-team field and while Marist, Loyola

and Rider have dominated the MAAC in recent years, look for the Purple Eagles to challenge for

a top-five spot.

The men, who placed fifth last year, look to again stay in the top half with performances

from juniors Evinn Drusys and Kevin Jennings and freshman Brian Sawma (Niagara Falls).

For Canisius, the big recruiting class for first-year coach Scott Vanderszell came on the

men's side as the Golden Griffins look to improve on their eighth-place finish last year.

Freshmen Matt Moessinger (Iroquois) and Tyler Carver (Canisius) have helped refresh the

Griffs.

"They just have a great work ethic and work hard every day," Vanderszell said. "On top of

that, they have fun doing it. It's not a grind every day getting in, trying to swim. It's

something they enjoy doing and it resonates with the rest of the team."

In the SUNYAC meet, Buffalo State freshman freestyler Kaitlin Mergler (Sweet Home) already

has school records in the 200, 100 and 50 and looks to challenge for top finishes.

Men's hockey

Canisius senior forward Jason Weeks became the all-time leading goal scorer in the Griffs'

Division I era when he netted his 50th goal in a 5-2 win at Connecticut on Saturday. He broke

the mark of 49 set by David Deeves (1998-2002).

Friday night at Dwyer Arena will be Juvenile Diabetes Foundation night as Niagara hosts

Alabama-Huntsville at 7 p.m. Wristbands will be on sale for $1 and fans will be able to skate

with the team after the game.

Women's lacrosse

Buffalo State earned a national ranking of No. 20 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse

Coaches Association Division III preseason poll. There are 201 NCAA Division III women's

lacrosse programs in the nation. The Bengals return five All-SUNYAC players from a team that

went 16-2 overall, 9-0 in conference play before losing to Cortland in the SUNYAC championship

game.