YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Getting 25 assists on 30 made baskets and scoring contributions from 10 players, the Canisius College women's basketball team defeated Youngstown State 74-52 in the Beeghly Center on Sunday afternoon to pick up its first win of the season.
Senior Ellie Radke matched her career high with 19 points, 15 coming in the first half and 11 of those points scored in the opening five minutes of the contest. Senior Tasia Lee had a career-high 12 points on 6-of--9 shooting. Freshman Ashley Durham had 11 points and six assists. Durham and junior Micayla Drysdale each had three 3-pointers as Canisius made nine in the game. Freshman Melissa Gardner made her first career start and had a game-high 10 rebounds.
“This was a good game for us in the fact that we need to build confidence. You can work hard, but when you get a win, that's a positive, tangible result,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “We talked to the team about being confident and I felt we played that way today.”
Canisius (1-2) broke open the game with lengthy dominant stretches during each half. Youngstown State held a 23-19 lead with 9:08 remaining in the first half. Canisius closed the half on a 21-5 run, holding the Penguins to two field goals during that span. Eight Canisius players scored during the run, capped by 3-pointers from Durham and Drysdale on the final two possessions of the half for the Griffs to give Canisius a 40-28 halftime lead.
Youngstown State (0-4) made the score 48-35 on a layup from Makala Gasparek with 15:36 remaining, the Griffs broke the game open by holding the Penguins to one field goal during the next eight minutes and scoring 12 consecutive points to go up 66-39 with 8:25 remaining. Durham had back-to-back 3-pointers during the run, which also included three baseline jumpers from Lee.
Canisius wraps up its two-game road trip on Tuesday, when the Golden Griffins play at Detroit. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 457 games on a 3-pointer by Radke early in the first half… Canisius and Youngstown State met for the sixth time and the Griffs have won the last five meetings… Canisius played at Youngstown State for the first time since Jan. 29, 1990… Gardner took the opening tip for the Griffs in her first collegiate start… The 12-point halftime lead was the biggest for Canisius in a road game since a 18-point lead at New Hampshire on Dec. 20… The 15 points by Radke were the most by the Griffs since Marie Warner had 18 against Loyola on Jan. 25… The 40 first-half points were the most by Canisius since it had 40 at Rider on Jan. 23… Caitlin Krull made her Canisius debut late in the first half and grabbed a defensive rebound on her first possession… Monica Kosior also made her Canisius debut, with her first career basket coming on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc... Canisius had 25 assists in the game, the most since the Griffs had 28 against Rider on Feb. 19, 2006... Drysdale has six baskets on the season, all 3-pointers… The 10 rebounds by Gardner are the most by a Canisius freshman since Brittané Russell had 10 against Niagara on Feb. 25, 2007... The six blocked shots by Canisius are the most since Jan. 25, 2008, when the Griffs had seven against Manahttan... Canisius took three charges in the contest.
