Defense Leads Women's Basketball to Win Over Youngstown State

Forcing 33 turnovers to overcome a 3-for-22 shooting performance on 3-pointers, the Canisius College women's basketball team defeated Youngstown State 56-38 in the Koessler Athletic Center on Wednesday night. The Golden Griffins have now won four of their last five games.

Senior Marie Warner led all players with 18 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Junior Brittan? Russell had 13 points while sophomore Micayla Drysdale had seven points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

“We didn't make shots tonight, even with a lot of them being wide open. That's going to happen. I thought we got a little tentative, but then we worked the ball closer to the basket to get good looks,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “When you aren't hitting your shots, the defense has to step up and I felt we did that tonight.”

Canisius (5-4) held Youngstown State (1-8) to five field goals and forced 19 turnovers in the first half in building a 13-point halftime lead. The Griffs went up 11-5 on a jumper by Warner with 11:59 remaining. After the Penguins cut the lead to 13-10, Canisius closed the half on a 13-3 run, holding Youngstown State to one field goal during the final 7:48 of the half.

The Griffs extended the lead to 17 in the opening 90 seconds of the second half, getting a 3-pointer from Russell and a free-throw make from JJ Williams. The Penguins would get as close as eight, on two free throws from Tiara Scott with 7:51 remaining. Canisius would close the game by scoring 15 of the final 20 points.

Camisha Alexander led the Penguins with 11 points while Nikita LaFleur pulled down nine rebounds. The Penguins shot 31.8 percent from the field, while Canisius shot 29.0 percent from the field.

Canisius hits the road for a two-game road trip before Christmas. The Golden Griffins play at New Hampshire on Saturday, with game time set for 7 p.m.

Match Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 430 games on a 3-pointer by Russell at the 15:38 mark of the first half... Canisius has now won 14 of its last 18 home games... The 33 turnovers were the most forced by Canisius since 34 against Colgate on Dec. 30, 1998... Canisius and Youngstown State played for the first time since Feb. 10, 1990, and for the fifth time overall... The 19 offensive rebounds were the most by the Griffs since they had 19 against Fairfield Jan. 10, 2008... The 56 points were the fewest by the Griffs in a win since a 51-48 win over Manhattan Jan. 25, 2008... The 17 steals by the Griffs were the most since they had 18 against Colgate Nov. 12, 2007... The 13 first-half points allowed by the Griffs were the fewest since allowing 12 to Colgate Nov. 12, 2007... Freshman Katie Hart had eight rebounds in 17 minutes... The seven assists by Drysdale matched a career high while her three steals set a career high... Warner had a career-high five steals while Williams had a career-high four steals.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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