Women's Basketball 1/25/2004 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Plays Host to MAAC Rival Iona College

Game No. 17 Canisius (8-8, 3-4 MAAC) vs. Iona (3-13, 2-5 MAAC) Date and Time: Monday, Jan. 26, 2004 - 7:00 p.m. Site: Koessler Athletic Center (2,176) - Buffalo, N.Y. Broadcast Information: www.GoGriffs.com (Joe Clifford, play-by-play)

Tonight The Canisius College women's basketball team enters tonight's game against conference rival Iona College looking to post its first three-game winning streak of the season. The Golden Griffins registered a 60-56 win Saturday night over Siena in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win snapped Canisius' eight-game losing streak to the Saints and improved the Blue and Gold to .500 for the first time since Dec. 5. Canisius has now won three of its last four and five of its last seven contests. The Gaels enter this evening contest 3-13 and 2-5 in conference play after losing at Niagara 68-67 Saturday afternoon. The Gaels snapped an 18-game conference losing streak Dec. 5, with a road win over Loyola, but have dropped five of their last six MAAC games since Dec. 7, and 10 straight dating back to a home win over Rider. The Griffs are 3-1 this season at home while the Gaels come into tonight's game 2-7 in road contests this year. Tonight's game is Canisius' first Monday game of the year. The only other time Canisius is scheduled to play on a Monday this season is at Iona Feb. 16.

Quick Hits Canisius head coach Mike Decillis has named to the 2004 Induction Class of the Nazareth College Athletic Hall of Fame. Decillis led Nazareth's women's basketball team for 14 season and helped guide the team to a 253-129 career record... The win over Siena was the first since Feb. 25, 2000. Prior to Saturday's win, no player or assistant coach on the current roster had beaten Siena... Senior Lonnie Brown has led the Griffs in scoring in each of the last three games, with the team going 2-1 in those contests... Iona and Canisius have a non-conference opponent in common this season as both teams played at and lost to the University of San Francisco... Canisius held Colgate to 47 points in the win Jan. 6, the first time the Griffs have held an opponent under 50 points since Jan. 23, 2000, when Canisius beat conference rival Marist 82-45 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y... Canisius is 7-0 this season when leading at the half and 0-8 when trailing at the intermission... The Griffs are 7-2 this year when out rebounding its opponents... In five of the team's eight losses this season, Canisius has scored 59 points or less and in four of the team's eight wins the Griffs have held their opponents under 60 points.

Scouting the Gaels Iona College enters tonight's game looking to snap a 10-game losing streak. The Gaels lost at Niagara Saturday afternoon by a 68-67 count to fall to 3-13 overall and 2-5 in conference action. Senior Michelle Fahy leads the way for the Gaels at the offensive side of the floor, registering a team-high 17.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Meg Abele is the only other Gael player to average double figures in the scoring column. She chips in 10.7 points per game, while Sheena Howard pulls down a team-best 6.0 rebounds per outing.

Series History Canisius holds a 17-13 all-time series advantage after posting three wins last season. The season series sweep was the Griffs' first since the 1994-95, and the home win Jan. 19, 2003, was the Blue and Gold's first win in the Koessler Athletic Center since the 1998-99 campaign.

From the Training Room Canisius will dress just nine players this evening. Freshmen Jackie Richards (concussion), Abby Radunske (foot) and Jess Starkey (back) are all out for tonight's contest. Richards is expected to return next weekend when the team plays at Manhattan Jan. 30. Friendly Confines The Griffs own an all-time mark of 182-83 (.687) in the Koessler Athletic Center. The Dec. 6, 2002, game against Saint Peter's in the KAC was the 250th contest the women's program has played in the on-campus facility. The KAC underwent a $1.3 million facelift over the past three years, which includes adding reserved seating and bringing the capacity to 2,176.

Head Coach Mike Decillis 69-90; .434 (6th Year); Native of Irvington, N.J. Became the second Canisius coach to be on the bench for 150-career games Dec. 19, 2003. Became the fourth coach in Canisius women's history to reach 50-career wins on the Griffs' bench. Won his first game as the Canisius head coach Nov. 27, 1998, a 92-90 win over Cornell. Won his overtime game as the Griffs' head coach Feb. 23, 2003 at Fairfield by an 82-79 score. Was named the seventh head coach in program history July 20, 1998. Prior to coming to Canisius, Mike spent 14 seasons as the head coach at Nazareth College in Pittsford, N.Y., where he compiled a 253-129 record, making him the winningest coach in the history of Nazareth College athletics, a title he still holds. In the summer of 2003, Decillis was in the first induction class to the Ocean County (N.J.) Sports Hall of Fame.

One Last Go-Round Prior to the start of the 2003-04 season, head coach Mike Decillis announced that his sixth season at the helm of the women's program at Canisius will be his last. Decillis has been coaching since 1970 and is in his 24th year as a college basketball coach.

Since Decillis Has Been Coaching... When Decillis got his start in the coaching ranks at Trumansburg (N.Y.) High School, Richard Nixon was the President of the United States. Through his career, there have been seven different presidents in the White House When Decillis took over the women's team at Nazareth College in 1984, only three players on the current Canisius roster were born. When Decillis came to Canisius in 1998, there were just 5 million web sites on the Internet. Today there are over 500 million web addresses.

Canisius Milestones Senior Jenel Stevens needs 16 more rebounds to move into the Top-5 on the career rebounding list. She will become the fourth player in program history to have 1,000-career points and 745 career boards... Stevens became the first player on the current roster and just the third player in the last three seasons to play in 100-career games... Senior Lonnie Brown has started in 45-straight games after not starting a single game in her freshman and sophomore seasons and can become the second player on this year's team to play in 100 career contests... Brown needs 193 more points to become the 15th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career... The Golden Griffins need 12 more wins to reach the 400-win mark as a program... Head coach Mike Decillis coached in his 150th game on the Canisius bench Dec. 19, making him just the second coach in program history to reach that mark. Former women's basketball coach and current Canisius softball coach Mike Rappl coached in 187 basketball games from 1986-93... Sophomore Jess Steeves has played in all 46 games in her two seasons at Canisius and needs four more rebounds this season to reach 100 this year.

Free Hoops When Canisius and Fairfield meet on the hardwood, women's hoops fans are bound to get their moneys worth. Three of the last four meetings between the Golden Griffins and the Stags have gone to overtime, with Fairfield holding a 2-1 record in those contests. The Stags scored a 90-82 double overtime win over the Griffs Jan. 9, 2004, in the Koessler Athletic Center for their first overtime win of the 2003-04 season. Fairfield eliminated Canisius from the 2002 MAAC Tournament with a 92-90 win in the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., while the Blue and Gold scored their first overtime win under Mike Decillis Feb. 23, 2003, with an 82-79 overtime victory in Bridgeport, Conn.

Step Right Up The Wendy's Kid's Day crowd Jan. 6, of 1,465 was the largest crowd to see a Canisius College women's basketball game at the Koessler Athletic Center. The previous attendance record was 708, which was set Jan. 8, 1984 when the Blue and Gold played host to Charleston.

From the Hard to Believe File In Canisius' 65-45 loss at California Dec. 21, the Golden Griffins went to the free-throw line just twice, going 0-for-2 on the day. That marks just the second time in program history that the team has not made a free-throw in a game. The only other time that happened was in a home loss to conference rival Siena Jan. 24, 1981. The Griffs were 0-for-2 from the charity stripe in that loss as well.

Double-Double The Fun Canisius players have posted 13 double-doubles this season, going 5-3 in those games. Senior Jenel Stevens collected her 28th career double-double in the team's win over Siena with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Eight of her 11 boards came off the offensive glass.

National Recognition for #21 Senior Jenel Stevens has been honored as one of 30 candidates for the 2003-04 Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to the top male and female NCAA Division I Player of the Year. Stevens is the only female player from a MAAC school to receive this honor. The award was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the recent trend of college basketball players leaving school early to turn professional. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was developed to honor seniors for completing their collegiate athletic eligibility. Past winners of this award are Juan Dixon (Maryland) and David West (Xavier) on the male side and Sue Bird (Connecticut) and LaToya Thomas (Mississippi State) on the women's side. A national media committee will select 10 finalists in February, with the female winner being announced at the 2004 Women's Final Four in New Orleans.

Top Honors for Stevens Jenel Stevens became the first player in program history to be honored as the 2003-04 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year at the conference's annual Media Day in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. She was also named Preseason First Team All-MAAC for the second-straight year.

Preseason Poll Canisius was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Hoak Knows Hoops Junior Aileen Hoak joined the women's basketball team as a walk-on this season, and is the only junior on this year's roster. She is also the only two-sport athlete on the team. Hoak joined the basketball team in October, while still participating for the cross-country. She took top individual honors at the Little Three event Oct. 18, and posted the top individual finish for the Griffs at the MAAC Championships Oct. 31. Hoak has not played basketball since high school, where she a four-year letterwinner at Nardin Academy.

Not Easy Being Green This season, Canisius has 11 players on its active roster. Eight of those players are either freshmen or sophomores. As a team, the Griffs had a total of 278 games worth of college basketball experience entering the season opener at the University at Buffalo Nov. 21.

Griffs on the Tube The Golden Griffins are set to appear on television Feb. 29, at Niagara. This will be the first time the Blue and Gold has played a TV game during the regular season since the 2001-02 season when the Griffs played Niagara in the Gallagher Center. Last year Canisius played one televised game, the MAAC Semifinal game against Manhattan.

On the Air Twelve Canisius regular season games will air on the Internet at www.GoGriffs.com this season. Canisius College senior Joe Clifford will call the play-by-play for all remaining home games and the Feb. 29, game at Niagara.

Captains Seniors Jenel Stevens and Lonnie Brown and sophomore Cheri Wittlieb have been selected as this year's captains.

Canisius Signs Five Head coach Mike Decillis has announced that Nia Capuano (Moon Township, Pa.), Mary Kathryn LaFave (Lakeport, Mich.), Mere Mullins (Binghamton, N.Y.), Katie Thorner (Sarnia, Ont.) and JJ Williams (Lansing, N.Y.) have all signed their National Letters of Intent during the NCAA's early signing period. Capuano is entering her senior season at Moon Area High School. She was a co-captain on last season's team that posted a school-record 26 wins en route to an appearance in the PIAA's Elite 8. LaFave is a 5-foot-10 guard from Port Huron, Mich. She average better than 15 points a game and was recently named the Macomb Area Conference Most Valuable Player. Mullins is a 6-foot guard who has been named all-conference in her last two seasons, while Thorner is a five-time letterwinner and three-time captain for her Northern High School squad. Williams will play in the post for the Blue and Gold and is an AAU teammate of Mullins.

Family Ties Freshman Abby Radunske is a big Edmonton Oilers fan, especially after the National Hockey League franchise drafted her older brother Brock in the third round (79th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Brock is currently a junior left winger at Michigan State University.

Connecticut Connection Sophomore Jess Steeves and freshman Jess Starkey are both natives of Connecticut and were teammates before coming to Canisius. Both players played on the Connecticut Storm AAU team while in high school.

Non-Conference Schedule Canisius closed out the 2003-04 portion of their non-conference schedule with a 5-4 record after beating Colgate Jan. 6. The Griffs played eight-straight non-conference games away from the Koessler Athletic Center, with two games being played at a neutral site. The meetings with North Texas, San Francisco and California were the first in program history.

What's On Tap Canisius returns to the road for two MAAC games at Manhattan and Saint Peter's. The meeting with the Lady Jaspers Jan. 30, will be the first between the two teams since March 8, 2003, when Manhattan defeated Canisius 71-57 in the MAAC Tournament Semifinal round in Trenton, N.J. Canisius beat Saint Peter's 70-61 Jan. 11, in the Koessler Athletic Center. The Blue and Gold have won three straight over the Peahens, the first the time that has happened since the series started during the 1986-87 season.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#32 Lonnie Brown: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#11 Abby Radunske: G/F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#25 Jackie Richards: F/C; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Jess Starkey: G; 5' 5"; Freshman

#24 Cheri Wittlieb: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#32 Lonnie Brown
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#11 Abby Radunske
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G/F

#25 Jackie Richards
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F/C

#15 Jess Starkey
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: G

#24 Cheri Wittlieb
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G