Senior Marie Warner scored five points in the final two minutes and junior Brittan? Russell made two free throws with 36 seconds left to give the Canisius College women's basketball team a 67-64 victory over Saint Louis at the Koessler Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.
Warner led all players with 20 points while Amanda Cavo had 13 points, including three 3-point field goals. Russell had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes.
“Down the stretch, we wanted to get the ball into Marie in the post and we were able to do that.” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “Saint Louis likes to press and that results in open 3-point field goals, which is good for our team.
“We're continuing to learn how to win and close out games. This result was a positive step in that direction.”
Canisius (4-4) continued its hot starts, jumping out to a 21-5 lead, making nine of their opening 12 shots in the game. The Griffs closed out that run with 3-pointers from sophomore Micayla Drysdale and Warner.
The Billikens scored 12 consecutive points to make it 21-17 on a jumper by Kaelin Reid. A jumper by Stephanie MacDonald ended a six-minute scoreless drought for the Griffs, who were up 29-22 at halftime.
Canisius pushed its lead to 16 points twice in the second half, getting a layup from Warner with 8:01 left that made the score 58-42. The Billikens would go on an 18-2 run that tied the game at 60-60 after two free throws from Theresa Lisch with 2:05 remaining.
Warner would then take over, making a turnaround jumper in the paint to give Canisius the two-point lead. Lisch answered with a layup to tie the game at 62-62. Warner responded with a three-point play, making it 65-62.
A jumper from Janisha Gearlds brought the Billikens within one but Russell would make two free throws with 36.1 seconds remaining to give Canisius the 67-64 lead.
Saint Louis tried to get a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, but the Canisius defense pressured Saint Louis toward half court. A desperation 3-point attempt from Katie Paganelli hit the rim and the rebound went out of bounds.
Russell would miss the front of the one-and-one but a three-quarters court shot by the Billikens sailed out of bounds.
Lisch and Paganelli led Saint Louis (3-6) with 14 points apiece. Saint Louis shot 46.8 percent from the field, including 50 percent in the second half.
Canisius closes out its four-game homestand on Wednesday, when the Golden Griffins host Youngstown State. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Match Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 429 games on a 3-pointer by MacDonald at the 13:39 mark of the first half... Canisius has now won 13 of its last 17 home games... Canisius and Saint Louis met for just the second time, the first time in Buffalo... Russell had two steals, giving her multiple steals in all eight games this season... Warner led Canisius in scoring for the seventh time this season... Russell has six assists in three of the last four games... Canisius committed 20 turnovers, 13 of them in the first half... Canisius improved to 22-15 under Zeh in games decided by five points or less.
