Team Effort Leads Women's Basketball to 20th Win

Getting scoring from 10 players, the Canisius College women's basketball team cruised to a 61-44 victory over Loyola at the Koessler Athletic Center on Friday. The Golden Griffins improve to 20-7 overall, marking the third time since the program went to the Division I level in 1986-87 that Canisius has won 20 games. Canisius is also 12-4 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings, staying in a tie with Fairfield for second place.

Senior Marie Warner led the team in scoring, with 17 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. Junior Brittan? Russell had eight points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals as eight players scored between four and eight points. Freshman Katie Hart led the team with seven rebounds in 15 minutes.

“Sometimes you get caught up in the one-game mentality, but it's good to take a step back and recognize what this team has accomplished by winning its 20th game. The coaching staff is really proud of them,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “We executed our game plan and did what we wanted to do. Now we have to focus on a very good Iona team on Sunday.”

The Griffs broke open a 16-13 game with 20-5 run to close the first half, holding Loyola to two field goals over the final nine minutes. Seven different Griffs scored during the run, which was started by a jumper from Amanda Cavo and capped by two free throws from Tasia Lee.

Loyola cut the Canisius lead to 13 points early in the second half on a layup by Melissa Bangay before the Griffs scored six consecutive points to make the score 46-27. Canisius kept the lead above 15 points the rest of the way.

Kaitlin Grant led Loyola (9-17, 4-12 MAAC) with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Siobhan Prior had 12 points while Candice Walker had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Canisius plays the middle contest of its three-game homestand on Sunday, when the Golden Griffins host Iona at 2 p.m. in the Koessler Athletic Center. The game will be played in the WBCA “Pink Zone” to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Game Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 448 games on a 3-pointer by Russell in the first half... Canisius held its opponent to under 50 points for the third time this season and improved to 15-0 in the five years under Zeh when holding the opposition to under 50... The Division I program record for wins is 21, which also happened 2004-05 and 1989-90... Canisius committed 10 or fewer turnovers for the seventh time this season... Warner led Canisius in scoring for the 18th time on the season... Canisius made 80 percent or better from the free-throw line for the 10th time this season.

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Players Mentioned

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

#3 Tasia Lee: G; 5' 8"; Junior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#3 Tasia Lee
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

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

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