Cavo Reaches 1,000 Points Women?s Basketball Opens With Win

Women's Basketball 1/28/2008 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Hangs On for Win Over Saint Peter's

Box Score

For the second consecutive game, the Canisius College women's basketball team held a double-digit second-half lead and made enough free throws down the stretch as the Golden Griffins defeated Saint Peter's 73-68 at the Koessler Athletic Center Sunday afternoon.

Junior Amanda Cavo led all scorers with 20 points, connecting on 5-of-10 3-pointers, while senior Laura Buetow had 14 points and seven rebounds, reaching double figures in points for the fifth consecutive game. Sophomore Ellie Radke had 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench while Brittan? Russell had seven points, 11 rebounds and five steals.

“We battled through some adversity today in what was a physical game. We responded by continuing to play aggressively,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “There's never an easy win in this league.”

Canisius (10-10, 5-4 MAAC) took the lead for good with a seven-point run midway through the first half, turning a 14-13 deficit into a 20-14 advantage. JJ Williams started the run with a layup while Buetow made two free throws and Cavo nailed a 3-pointer. The Griffs extended their lead to 10 points on a trey by Cavo, which she got off just before the buzzer at the end of the first half.

The Griffs extended the lead to 16 points on another 3-pointer by Cavo, which made the score 41-25 with 13:50 remaining in the half. Saint Peter's (13-7, 5-4) started to make its run after a layup by Buetow pushed the Canisius lead to nine points, making it 63-54 with 1:27 remaining.

A 3-pointer by Natasha Morris cut the lead to six points. After Micayla Drysdale and Morris both made two throws, Cavo split her pair from the line to make it 66-59 with 50 seconds remaining. Kennedy converted a layup to make it a five-point game. After Saint Peter's forced a turnover, a 3-pointer by Johnell Burts made the score 66-64 with 35 seconds remaining.

The Peahens wouldn't get any closer as a layup by Russell off an in-bounds play extended the lead back to four points. Canisius then made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out its seventh home win of the season.

Kennedy led Saint Peter's with 16 points, going 5-of-20 from the field as four Peahens reached double figures. Lauma Reke had 14 points and six rebounds while Morris had 15 points and Burs had 11.

Canisius returns to the road next weekend for its first two-game MAAC road trip since December. The Griffs start the road swing at Manhattan on Friday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes: The Griffs extended their NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a made 3-pointer, to 410 games on a make by Cavo in the first half... Canisius improves to 20-11 in games decided by five points or fewer under Zeh and to 22-10 in home conference games under the fourth-year coach...The Griffs improve to 7-2 at home and win back-to-back MAAC games for the first time this season... Canisius is now 7-0 when outrebounding its opponent... Russell had double-figure rebounds for the fifth time in her career is averaging 7.5 boards in the last 10 games. The 5-foot-5 guard had at least five steals for the fifth time this season... Cavo made her first five throws to extend her consecutive made free throw streak to 20 before missing her sixth attempt of the day... At halftime, the Canisius athletic department honored the 2007 Golden Griffin softball team for its MAAC Championship and appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season.

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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

#31 JJ Williams: C; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

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

#31 JJ Williams
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: C