St. Bonaventure Holds Off Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball 2/23/2008 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Pulls Away From Rider in Second Half

Box Score

A career-high 18 points from sophomore Ellie Radke combined with holding Rider to 22 second-half points led the Canisius College women's basketball team to a 64-51 victory at the Koessler Athletic Center Friday night. The win snapped a six-game losing streak for Canisius (11-16, 6-10 MAAC) and a two-game home losing streak.

Radke matched her career high of 18 points by making 7-of-11 shots, including going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, in 27 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Brittan? Russell had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals while senior Laura Buetow had 11 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.

Rider (7-20, 2-14) scored 18 of its 29 points in the first half by making six 3-pointers, which included a 4-for-4 effort by Amanda Sepulveda whose 19 points all came in the first half. With the Broncs up 8-6, Canisius went on an 11-5 run, getting seven points from Radke and four points from Buetow. Rider responded with an 11-2 run as Sepulveda had nine points and Cintella Spotwood added a jumper. Canisius closed the half by scoring 10 of the last 15 points, capped by a buzzer-beating bank shot by Radke.

The teams stayed close during the early part of the second half, with the score 41-39 after a layup by Rider's Tammy Myers with 14:57 remaining. Canisius then took control of the game with a 17-3 run, holding Rider without a field goal for a stretch of 8:34. During the run, Russell, Amanda Cavo and Micayla Drysdale each made a 3-pointer while Buetow had a conventional 3-point play. In the half, the Griffs shot 7-for-10 from behind the arc.

“Our defensive intensity was there the entire night. Sepulveda made some 3-pointers in the first half, and a couple of those were contested,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “We made an adjustment at halftime, and I'm proud of the way our team followed that adjustment and executed it.”

Sepulveda led Rider with 19 points, and Janele Henderson had 18 points while shooting 6-for-17 from the field.

Canisius closes out its home schedule against Loyola on Sunday afternoon with game time set for 2 p.m. The team will honor its senior class prior to the game, with Senior Day festivities scheduled to start at 1:45 p.m.

Game Notes: The Griffs extended their NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 417 games on a make by Radke early in the first half... Radke also had 18 points earlier this season against St. Bonaventure... No team was called for a foul until 8:09 was left in the first half with Canisius not picking up its first foul until 5:34 remained in the half... Russell had four steals for the second consecutive game... Radke had two 3-pointers in a game for the first time in her career and has made at least one in the last three games, the longest stretch of her career... Buetow had at least five rebounds in a game for the 23rd time this season... Drysdale has 17 assists and six turnovers in the last four games for an assist-turnover ratio of 2.83... The 32 bench points are a season high for the Griffs... The seven 3-pointers were the most by the Griffs in the second half this season and match their seven 3-pointers from the first half against Buffalo as the most in a half by the team this season... Canisius has won 16 straight over Rider and now own a 20-5 advantage in the series... Canisius used its fourth starting lineup in the past four games... Canisius wore white jerseys for just the second time this season.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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