Women's Basketball 1/31/2010 9:54:00 PM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Rallies Past Siena

Down 36-28 with eight minutes remaining, the Canisius College women's basketball team closed the game on a 23-5 run to earn a 51-41 win over Siena in the Koessler Athletic Center on Sunday. The Golden Griffins improve to 9-11 overall and 4-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, a half-game out of third place.

Senior Brittané Russell led the Golden Griffins with 13 points and seven steals in 28 minutes. Junior Micayla Drysdale had nine points and four rebounds. Freshman Whitney Ellenor had four blocks in her first career start while fellow freshman Allison Braun had six points and six rebounds. Junior Caitlin Krull added six rebounds in a career-high 21 minutes.

“We were able to get some good looks inside against the zone in the second half, which loosened some things up and gave us a little bit of confidence,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “Our veterans also made some big shots during that run, which is what a team needs when it's struggling offensively. This is a great win for us to take into the game against Niagara.”

Canisius took a 19-17 lead into the locker room, as each team made seven field goals in the opening 20 minutes. Siena (7-12, 5-5 MAAC) scored the first six points of the second half, take a quick 23-19 lead. The Saints made eight of their first 13 shots in the second half, with Serena Moore scoring six points and Sarah Fullmer adding five points while a layup by Brittany Wilwohl made it 36-28 with 8:19 remaining.

After Russell split two free throws, senior Brianna Lucas nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and Drysdale was fouled on a 3-pointer – making all three free throws to cut the Siena lead to 36-35. Another layup from Moore – the only Siena field goal in the final eight minutes of the game – pushed Siena's lead back to 38-35.

Russell hit a runner and Lucas drained two free throws to give Canisius the lead at 39-38. Fullmer responded with two free throws to let Siena regain a 40-39 lead. Russell hit a 3-pointer to spark a 9-0 Canisius run, giving the Griffs a 42-40 lead. The senior then picked Merrick Volpe, leading to an uncontested layup and a four-point advantage with 44 seconds remaining.

The Griffs went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to put the game away.

Moore led all players with 14 points and eight rebounds. Fullmer had nine points and seven rebounds while Volpe scored 10 points. Canisius held Allie Lindemann scorless, the first time in conference play this season that Siena's top 3-point threat didn't connect on a 3-pointer.

Canisius heads up to Niagara on Wednesday, with the Kid's Day and Battle of the Bridge contest scheduled for 11 a.m.

Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 474 games on a 3-pointer by Tasia Lee in the first half… Russell's seven steals gave her five or more steals in back-to-back games, five games on the season and 15 times in her career. Russell now has 308 steals in her career, 39 steals away from tying the program record of 347 held by Mimi LaMagna… Canisius defeated Siena for the fifth time in the last seven meetings… The Griffs and Saints split the season series for the first time since the 2004-05 season… The four blocks by Ellenor were the most by a Griff since Laura Buetow had six against Manhattan on Jan. 25, 2008… Russell played the entire second half for the 11th time in 20 games this season… Canisius improves to 21-1 under Zeh when holding its opponent to fewer than 50 points.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#12 Whitney Ellenor: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

#24 Caitlin Krull: F; 6' 0"; Junior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#12 Whitney Ellenor
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F

#24 Caitlin Krull
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

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

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