Women's Basketball Loses at St. Bonaventure

OLEAN, N.Y. ? The Canisius College women's basketball team had its second-half comeback fall short as the Golden Griffins lost 60-56 to St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center on Wednesday night.

Junior Brittan? Russell and senior Marie Warner led the Canisius offense with 16 points apiece. Warner added 10 rebounds for her first double-double as a Golden Griffin. Russell also had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in 33 minutes.

“We didn't come out with enough energy in the first half. It's very difficult to make shots when you don't have energy, and that carried over to the defensive end,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “St. Bonaventure would be one of the top teams in our league. To get a win, especially a road win, we need to have the focus and intensity we showed in the second half for the full 40 minutes.”

St. Bonaventure (3-0) jumped out to an early lead, scoring nine of the game's first 11 points to build a 9-2 lead on layup by Dana Mitchell. The Griffs would battle their way back into the game by scoring six consecutive points to get within one when Warner made a jumper from the right wing to make the score 15-14.

The Bonnies regained their cushion when Katelyn Murray hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give St. Bonaventure a 21-14 lead. Murray would score 13 points in the first half, as St. Bonaventure went into the locker room up 29-19.

Canisius (1-1) got the lead down quickly in the second half, cutting it to four at 34-30 on a 3-pointer by Warner with 16:19 remaining. The Bonnies would keep their lead between four and nine points, until the final minute of the game.

The Griffs forced a miss by Mitchell and after a field-goal miss by Warner, Ellie Radke drew a foul attempting to grab the rebound. The junior knocked down two free throws to make the score 54-52 with 54 seconds remaining. The teams traded free throws, with two from Warner making it 56-54 with 30.1 seconds remaining. The Griffs would force a turnover and called timeout with 27.1 seconds left.

Amanda Cavo put up a runner in the lane, but it rimmed out with the Bonnies getting the rebound. Priscilla Edwards made the first free throw, but missed the second. However, the Bonnies would get the offensive rebound and put the game away with two more free throws.

Mitchell led all players with 22 points while Murray finished with 18. Canisius held St. Bonaventure, who shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, to 31 percent in the second half.
Canisius returns to the court on Sunday, when the Golden Griffins travel to the University of Wisconsin. Game time in Madison is set for 2:30 p.m.

Game Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of games with a 3-pointer to 423 games on a 3-pointer by Warner late in the first half... St. Bonaventure has now won the last three in the series and five of the last six... Canisius started 1-1 for the third consecutive season... Russell has had three steals in 29 of the last 47 games... The Griffs were 19-of-22 from the free throw line, going 13-of-14 in the second half... Warner's double-double is the first by a Golden Griffin since Laura Buetow in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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