Making a MAAC Championship record 12 3-pointers and holding Niagara to 46 points, the fewest by a Canisius opponent in postseason history, the Canisius College women's basketball team defeated Niagara University 71-46 to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 Citizens Bank MAAC Championship.
The No. 2 seed Golden Griffins (23-7) will play the winner of the quarterfinal game between No. 3 Fairfield-No. 6 Siena at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.
Junior Ellie Radke led Canisius with 14 points and nine rebounds. Junior Brianna Lucas had a career-high 13 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from behind the arc. Sophomore Micayla Drysdale had 12 points and six assists with just one turnover.
Eleven Golden Griffins played in the game, with no Canisius player seeing more than 24 minutes of playing time. Nine Golden Griffins scored in the contest. Canisius has now held its last 16 opponents to 60 points or fewer at the end of regulation and has allowed an average of 50.3 points in the last six games.
"At this time of year, it's about surviving and advancing. I thought Niagara spent a lot of energy physically and emotionally in its win against Rider," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "We struggled from the floor early, but got into a groove with our 3-point shooting and played solid defense."
The teams were tied at 2-2 at the 15:42 mark after a backdoor layup from Drysdale. Canisius then made three 3-pointers in the span of 45 seconds, getting one from Marie Warner and two from Drysdale. That started a 28-4 run for Canisius during which the Griffs made eight 3-point field goals.
Kristina Walton had Ali Morris led Niagara (3-28) with nine points as Canisius defeated the Purple Eagles in the postseason for the second consecutive season
Game Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 451 games on a 3-pointer by Drysdale in the first half... Three teams had previously made 10 3-point field goals in a MAAC Championship game, most recently Fairfield in 2008... Senior Amanda Cavo had two 3-pointers in the game and now has 260 in her career, tying the program record by Heather Fiore... Canisius and Niagara met in the MAAC Championship for the second consecutive season and third time overall... The 19-point halftime lead was the biggest by Canisius in a MAAC Championship game, and the 25-point margin of victory was the biggest by Canisius in the postseason... The 19 points allowed by the Griffs in the first half tied for the fewest allowed in the first half of a MAAC Championship game, matching the 19 allowed against Iona in the 2003 Championship... Canisius advances to the semifinals for the third time in five years under Zeh and has won a postseason game for the sixth time in seven seasons... Canisius made double-digit 3-pointers for the 11th time this season... In the last 19 games, Drysdale has an assist-turnover ratio of 2.16 (54 assists, 25 turnovers)... Lucas had scored in double figures for the second time in her career... Radke is now 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the field in the last four games... Canisius had a season-high 39 bench points.
