Women's Basketball 1/18/2010 11:00:00 PM Canisius College Athletics

Lucas Nails Gamewinner as Women's Basketball Wins Third Straight

BALTIMORE – The Canisius College women's basketball team likes players hitting big shots in their hometown. This time, it was senior Brianna Lucas' turn.

Lucas — from nearby New Freedom, Pa. — drained the game-winning 3-pointer from the corner with 32 seconds left as the Golden Griffins scored the final seven points to defeat Loyola 73-67 in Reitz Arena on Monday afternoon. Canisius has now won three straight, improving to 8-9 overall and evening its record at 3-3 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

The win was also the 100th in the career of Canisius coach Terry Zeh.

Senior Ellie Radke had her second career double-double with 18 points (13 in the first half) and 11 rebounds. Senior Brittané Russell had 16 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals while going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers. Freshmen Allison Braun and Ashley Durham each set a career high as Braun had 14 points and Durham had 12 points as the duo shot a combined 11-for-16 from the floor. Lucas had six points – hitting two key 3-pointers in the second half – to go along with five assists.

“Conference road games, especially at Loyola, are games that you have to grind out to get the victory,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “We went up big in the first half, got a little loose with the ball and squandered some of that lead. We had a number of players step up today, giving us a great team effort to get a big road win.”

A Russell 3-pointer tied the game at 64-64 with 3:03 left before Meredith Tolley drained two free throws to put Loyola ahead 66-64. Braun then got the shooter's roll on a jumper in the key to tie the game at 66-66. Katie Sheahin split two free throws to put the Greyhounds back up 67-66.

The Griffs came out of a timeout with six seconds on the shot clock and down by one. Micayla Drysdale threw the ball in, which was barely tipped by Sheahin before getting to Radke at the top of the key. Radke found Lucas in the far corner and the senior drained the 3-pointer to put Canisius up 69-67. The Griffs forced Miriam McKenzie to miss the tying shot. Radke grabbed the rebound and the Griffs made four free throws in the final 11 seconds to seal their third straight win.

McKenzie led all players with 22 points to go along with nine points while Kaitlin Grant had 14 points and seven rebounds and Sheahin had 15 points.

The teams started the game at a frantic pace. Canisius took an 11-5 lead on a jumper from Braun. Loyola responded by scoring 10 straight points, capped on a 3-pointer from McKenzie to make the score 15-11. Canisius came right back with an 11-point run of its own, going up 22-15 on a 3-pointer from Russell.

Canisius broke open the game with a 15-7 run, going up 44-31 on a 3-pointer from Durham. Loyola (9-8, 4-2 MAAC) switched to a zone defense out of a timeout and scored seven points in the final 67 second to cut the Canisius lead to 44-38 at the half.

The pace slowed in the second half, with Canisius holding Loyola without a field goal during the opening five minutes. Loyola trimmed the Canisius lead throughout the half and used an eight-point run to turn a 61-56 Canisius lead into a 64-61 Loyola advantage — setting the stage for the Griffs' comeback.

Canisius returns to the road next weekend for one game when the Golden Grifins take on Saint Peter's on Sunday. Game time in the Yanitelli Center is set for 2 p.m.

Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 471 games on a 3-pointer by Russell midway through the first half… Canisius has now won four straight over Loyola… The Griffs have won two straight in Baltimore and three of the last four… Canisius swept a conference road weekend for the fourth time in the six opportunities… Radke's other double-double came against Siena during the 2007-08 season… Radke has scored at least 12 first-half points in four games this season… The Griffs are 10-3 in their last 13 MAAC road games… Russell moves into ninth place on the career scoring list and now has 1,241 career points. The senior also moves into second place on the minutes played list.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Allison Braun: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

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

#22 Ashley Durham: G; 5' 5"; Freshman

#13 Brianna Lucas: G; 5' 8"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

#15 Allison Braun
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

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

#22 Ashley Durham
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: G

#13 Brianna Lucas
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

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