Women's Basketball 11/14/2008 5:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

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

Senior Amanda Cavo became the 18th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and senior Marie Warner scored 22 points in her Canisius debut as the Golden Griffin women's basketball team defeated the University at Buffalo 69-56 in the Koessler Athletic Center on Friday night.

Cavo tallied her 1,000th point by making the second free throw with 8:19 remaining in the second half. Warner, plagued with foul trouble that allowed her only to play 21 minutes, shot 9-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-4 on 3-poitners, in her first game in a Golden Griffin uniform.

“It's always good to win the opener. We came out hot and then lost a little energy in the first half. In the second half, our team dug in defensively to get us the win,” Canisius Terry Zeh said. “I'm proud of Amanda's accomplishment and was glad to see her reach 1,000 points in a win for our team.”

Canisius came out on fire, scoring the first 11 points of the game in the opening 2:41. The Bulls would respond with an 11-2 run, making it 13-11 on a 3-pointer by Jamie Schiebner. Canisius would push its lead to six points at 26-20 on a layup by Micayla Drysdale. Buffalo came right back with a six-point run to tie the game at 26-26. Two free throws by JJ Williams with 26 seconds remaining in the half gave Canisius a 32-30 halftime advantage.

Buffalo went on a 10-5 run to take a 40-37 lead early in the second half, getting five straight points from Rachelle Matthys. The Griffs responded with their own six-point run to go up 43-40 on a layup by Ellie Radke. Buffalo would take its final lead of the game on a jumper by Brittany Henderson with 9:13 to make the score 49-48.

Cavo's free throw, which doubled as her 1,000th career point, tied the game at 49-49 before a runner by the New Hartford, N.Y. native made the score 51-49. Buffalo would tie it on a layup by Dortae Freeman before Canisius went on an 8-2 run to build a six-point cushion, capped with two free throws by Stephanie MacDonald.

Canisius would make 9-of-11 free throws in the final four minutes to put the game away.

Matthys led Buffalo with 13 points while Jessica Fortman led all players with 14 points.

Canisius plays its first road game of the season on Wednesday, when the Golden Griffins face St. Bonaventure. Game time in Olean, N.Y. is set for 7 p.m.

Match Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of games with a 3-pointer to 422 games on a 3-pointer by Drysdale 28 seconds into the game... Buffalo outscored Canisius 20-4 in points off turnovers in the game, including 15-0 in the first half... Canisius held Buffalo to 26.2 percent shooting in the second half... Canisius is now 35-4 when holding its opponent to under 35 percent shooting in the Zeh era... Brittan? Russell had five steals, the 13th time in her career the junior had at least five steals in the game... Canisius has now won six straight against Buffalo and won the home opener for the fourth consecutive season... Warner made the fifth start of her career and first since Nov. 10, 2006, against Gonzaga... The 22 points by Warner were the most by a Canisius player in her Golden Griffin debut since Shauna Geronzin had 25 against Buffalo Nov. 14, 1998, in the Koessler Athletic Center.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

#24 Marie Warner: F; 5' 11"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

#24 Marie Warner
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

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