Women's Basketball Falls to Marist

Marist recovered from a 13-0 Canisius lead to start the game and defeated the Golden Griffin women's basketball team 54-45 in the Koessler Athletic Center on Friday. The Golden Griffins drop their second straight and fall to 8-11 overall and 3-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Junior Micayla Drysdale led Canisius with 13 points – going 4-for-7 on 3-pointers. Senior Brittané Russell had 10 points and six steals, giving her 301 steals for her career. Senior Tasia Lee added 11 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes as Canisius shot 28.1 percent from the floor in the game.

“We saw flashes tonight of what it takes to play with the top team in our league,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “It can't be flashes, but a consistent 40-minute effort to get this type of win.”

The Griffs held the Red Foxes scoreless for more than eight minutes to start the game, building that 13-0 lead on two 3-pointers from Drysdale, a trey from Russell and jumpers from senior Brianna Lucas and freshman Ashley Durham.

Marist (17-4, 9-0 MAAC) responded with nine straight points and cut the Canisius lead to 16-12 at 3:40 on two free throws from Emily Stallings. Canisius then scored seven straight points to go up 23-12 on a 3-pointer from Lee. The Griffs held Marist to three first-half field goals en route to the nine-point halftime advantage.

Marist opened the second half by scoring six of the first seven points, with a layup from Kate Oliver making it 24-20. Russell responded with a 3-pointer to put Canisius back up by seven.

Marist would hold Canisius to just three field goals during the next 13 minutes but the Red Foxes couldn't pull away as the Griffs made one final run. A 3-pointer from Drysdale made the score 43-39 with three minutes left. Russell picked Kristine Best near midcourt – the 300th steal of Russell's career – but wasn't able to convert the layup that would have made it a one-possession game. The Red Foxes then scored six straight points to put the game away.

Rachele Fitz led all players with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Corielle yarde had 11 points and six rebounds as the Red Foxes shot 60 percent in the second half after shooting 13 percent in the first half.

Canisius concludes the weekend homestand against Siena on Sunday, with game time set for 2 p.m.

Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 473 games on a 3-pointer by Drysdale early in the game… Russell's six steals gave her five or more steals in her fourth game of the season and 14th time in her career… Canisius lost for the sixth consecutive season to Marist in the Koessler Athletic Center… Lee averaged 14 points in the two games against Marist this season… Senior Ellie Radke had a career-high five assists in the game… Russell had five assists in the game and is now 12 assists away from 400 for her career… Russell also made her 100th career start.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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