BUFFALO, N.Y. ? Getting its most complete team effort of the 2008-09 season, the Canisius College women's basketball team defeated Siena 78-60 at the Koessler Athletic Center on Friday, in a Kid's Day contest that served as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener for both schools.
Senior Marie Warner led all players with 20 points to go along with six rebounds and a career-high six assists. Junior Brittan? Russell had 13 points, five rebounds, six assists and a season-high six steals to go along with just one turnover. Two freshmen led the Canisius production from the bench as Stephanie MacDonald had 14 points, her second straight game in double figures, and Katie Hart had seven points and a game-high nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
“Our team moved the ball very well today, making the extra pass to get the best shot,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “When Siena made its run in the second half, I felt the way we handled that was the best we've handled an opposing team's run this season.
Canisius (3-3, 1-0 MAAC) was hot from the floor early, making seven of its first eight shots to go up 17-7 on a jumper by Warner just over five minutes into the contest. The Golden Griffins held a 24-13 lead with 10:23 remaining in the half as Siena's Heather Stec picked up her second foul, after scoring eight points in nine minutes. Canisius would go on an 11-3 run, capped by 3-pointers from Micayla Drysdale and Brianna Lucas to push its lead to 35-16.
Siena (0-7, 0-1) made its run midway through the second half. The Saints were down 51-37 after two free throws from JJ Williams with 12:11 left in the game. The Saints used a 10-3 run to cut the Canisius lead in half, getting as close as 54-47 on a jumper by Merrick Volpe with 9:20 remaining. Canisius responded with five straight points to get the lead back into double digits and used a 21-7 stretch to go up by as many as 21 points on two free throws from Warner with just under two minutes remaining.
Stec and Allie Lindemann led the Saints with 14 points apiece. Cristina Centeno had 11 points and six assists.
Canisius concludes its MAAC home weekend on Sunday, when the Golden Griffins host Marst. Tipoff at the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 2 p.m.
Match Notes: Friday's game can be seen on tape delay in Buffalo on Time Warner SportsNet Channel 13 at 12 p.m. on Saturday... Canisius extended its NCAA record of games with a 3-pointer to 427 games on a 3-pointer by Warner in the second minute of the game... Tauralee Tenn made her first career appearance as a Golden Griffin, entering the game in the final minutes... Canisius has held a double-digit halftime lead in each of the last three games... The 15-point halftime lead was the biggest since Nov. 20, 2007, when the Griffs held a 37-22 halftime lead over Binghamton... Canisius has made 39 3-pointers during the last four games, shooting 54 percent from behind the arc during that stretch... The Griffs defeated Siena for the first time in five games... Russell had six assists for the second consecutive game and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.92 on the season... Warner has led Canisius in scoring in five of six games this season... Canisius had a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, the most in a regulation game since recording 19 against Fairfield Jan. 10, 2008... The 10 Canisius turnovers were the fewest since recording nine against Siena Feb. 8, 2008... Canisius had a season-high 19 assists, the most since posting 22 against Colgate Nov. 12, 2007... Warner missed her final free-throw attempt of the game, ending her consecutive free-throw streak at 22, the sixth-longest in program history and matching Russell's streak of 22 from last season... Canisius improved to 6-1 in its last seven Kid's Day games... The attendance of 1,624 ranks as the second-biggest in program history... Canisius hasn't trailed in the last two games... Canisius is 3-3 through six games for the fourth time in five years under Zeh... Canisius is 2-0 at home for the third consecutive season... Canisius opens MAAC play with a win for the second consecutive season... Canisius starts its MAAC home schedule with a win for the third time in four seasons... Canisius has won four straight at home and 12 of 15 since the start of the 2007-08 season.
