Women's Basketball Starts Weekend Road Swing at Iona Friday

Women's Basketball 2/6/2009 5:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Knocks Off Marist

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Getting 20 points from senior Amanda Cavo, making 11 3-pointers overall and closing the game on a 13-4 run, the Canisius College women's basketball team defeated Marist 68-60 in a sold-out McCann Center on Friday night. Canisius improves to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in the MAAC while tying a program-record with its ninth consecutive road win.

Cavo shot 7-for-9 overall and 4-for-4 from behind the arc to lead the Griffs in scoring. Senior Marie Warner had 13 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double in the last nine games. Junior Brittan? Russell had 14 points and six assists as Canisius shot 41.8 percent from the field and 55 percent from behind the arc (11-for-20).

“To beat a team like Marist, a team must make shots, and that's what we did in the first half to give us the lead,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “A number of players hit big shots in the second half as well. We stuck to our defensive game plan and picked up a great win.”

Canisius built a 10-point lead in the first half as the Griffs made seven 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. After two free throws from Rachele Fitz cut the Canisius lead to 14-13, the Griffs went on a 15-6 run to go up 29-19. During the run, Cavo had eight points and sophomore Micayla Drysdale had five points.

Holding a 31-27 lead at the half, Canisius kept a comfortable margin for the first five minutes, going up 39-33 on a layup from Russell at 14:45. Marist scored nine consecutive points to take a 42-39 advantage on a jumper from Maria Laterza.

The Griffs responded with an 11-3 run, as a 3-pointer from freshman Stephanie MacDonald giving Canisius a 47-44 lead. Cavo carried the Griffs during the next Marist run as the senior scored eight consecutive Canisius points as Marist took a 56-55 lead with a 12-8 run.

That was the last Marist lead as the Griffs closed the game by scoring 13 of the final 17 points. A layup from junior Ellie Radke gave Canisius the lead for good to make it 57-56. After Warner made two free throws, Russell nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:27 left to make it 62-56. Canisius went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 76 seconds to close out the victory.

Fitz led all players with 21 points as she was the only Marist player in double figures. Marist shot 4-for-20 from behind the arc but shot 43.6 percent from the field in the game, including 57.7 percent in the second half.

Canisius continues its road swing on Sunday, when the Golden Griffins take on Siena. Game time in Loudonville is set for 2 p.m.

Game Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 444 games on a 3-pointer by Warner early in the first half... Canisius ended an eight-game losing streak to Marist, with the last Golden Griffin win coming in the 2005 MAAC Championship game... Cavo made four or more 3-pointers in a game for the fifth time this season and 16th time in her career... Canisius tied the program record for consecutive road wins, which also happened during the 1982-83 season... Canisius is 6-0 in MAAC road games for the first time in program history... Canisius made double-digit 3-pointers for the eighth time this season... Cavo moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list and now has 1,227 career points... Cavo set the Division I program record for consecutive free throws made with her two made free throws with 45 seconds remaining. Cavo has made her last 28 free throws.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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