Women's Basketball 1/26/2008 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Grinds Out Win Over Manhattan

Box Score

The Canisius College women's basketball team made all eight of its free throws in the final three minutes to hang on for a 51-48 victory over the Manhattan Lady Jaspers from the Koessler Athletic Center Friday night. The “Pack the House” game featured an attendance 1,245, which ranks as the largest non-Kid's Day crowd in program history and as the fifth-largest crowd overall in program history.

Senior Laura Buetow reached double figures for the fourth straight game with a game-high 14 points for the Griffs to go along with a career-high six blocks. The six blocks by Buetow match a record with the program at the Division I level, as Cindy Ulerich had six blocked shots against Colgate Feb. 14, 1987, and against Queens Jan. 15, 1987.

Junior Amanda Cavo had 10 points while Brittan? Russell had seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The Griffs also set a NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a made 3-pointer, extending their streak to 409 games on a make by Micayla Drysdale in the first half. Canisius broke the record of 408 games previously held by Cleveland State.

“That was a typical Canisius-Manhattan MAAC game. It was definitely a tale of two halves,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “While our offense dropped off in the second half, I was proud of the way we continued to guard in the second half, as we carried that over from the first half.”

Canisius (9-10, 4-4 MAAC) jumped to a 17-point lead in the first half, leading 24-7 on a layup by Ellie Radke with 8:37 remaining in the half. During the run, Canisius went 10-of-17 while holding the Lady Jaspers to a 3-of-20 start from the floor, which included nine misses to begin the game.

Manhattan (11-8, 6-2) was unable to take advantage of a field-goal drought of nine minutes by the Griffs, which ended at the 14:56 mark of the second half on a make by Buetow to put Canisius up 32-21.

The Griffs made their last field goal of the contest, which came from Russell, with 5:46 left to go up 43-33. After a layup by Joann Nwafili, Buetow and Caitlin Flood exchanged free throws to make it 45-37. Flood split her next set of free throws while a layup by Nicole Harrison and two free throws by Abby Wentworth made it 45-42 with 1:51 left.

Cavo made two free throws but a 3-pointer by Gabrielle Cottrell cut the lead to two. Russell then made a pair from the line, but a 3-pointer by Abby Wentworth made it 49-48 with 13 seconds remaining. Cavo pushed the lead back to three points with two more free throws, and a 3-pointer by Cottrell fell short in the final seconds.

Cottrell led the Lady Jaspers with 12 points while Fllod and Wentworth each scored 10. Flood, Cottrell and Dellinger, who came into the game each shooting a combined 46.2 percent, went 9-of-37 (24.3 percent) against the Griffs.

Canisius closes out the month of January by hosting Saint Peter's on Sunday. Game time from the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 2 p.m. At halftime of the game, the Canisius athletic department will honor the 2007 Golden Griffin softball team for its MAAC Championship and appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Game Notes: Buetow's previous career high in blocks was five, which happened Dec. 29, 2006 against Idaho... The Griffs have won 9 of the last 10 against Manhattan... Of those nine wins, six have been by four points or fewer... Canisius improves to 19-11 in games decided by five points or fewer under Zeh and to 21-10 in home conference games under the fourth-year coach... Canisius didn't trail at the half for the first time since Dec. 21, against Missouri State, and for the first time in a victory since Dec. 7, at Rider... Canisius has held Manhattan to 20 points or fewer in a half four times in the last five games... Canisius improves to 6-2 at home, the best home start since 2003-04, when the Griffs also started 6-2 in their first eight home games... Russell had at least eight rebounds for the fourth time in the last nine games... Buetow now has 114 career blocks at Canisius, moving to within five of third place on the Golden Griffin all-time list. Buetow also has 36 on the season, which ranks as the seventh-most in a single season in program history... Canisius improved to 31-4 under Zeh when holding its opponent to under 35 percent from the field.

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Players Mentioned

#53 Laura Buetow: C; 6' 3"; Redshirt

#12 Amanda Cavo: G; 5' 9"; Junior

#23 Micayla Drysdale: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#35 Ellie Radke: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#1 Brittan? Russell: G; 5' 5"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#53 Laura Buetow
: 6' 3"; Redshirt
: C

#12 Amanda Cavo
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

#23 Micayla Drysdale
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#35 Ellie Radke
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F

#1 Brittan? Russell
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: G