Comeback Falls Short for Women's Basketball

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The Canisius College women's basketball team was able to cut Siena's second-half lead to one point, but could never get all the way back as the Golden Griffins lost 64-57 at the Alumni Recreation Center on Tuesday night. The Golden Griffins fall to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, losing their sixth straight game.

Senior Brittané Russell led the Golden Griffins with a career-high 27 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 5-for-10 on 3-pointers. Senior Tasia Lee had eight points and six rebounds while freshmen Ashley Durham had eight points and Allison Braun had seven rebounds.

“We dug down hard to make that comeback in the second half, but Siena made a couple of tough shots late in the shot clock,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “We have to take the positives from this game as we did play better and use that continue to get better.”

Canisius came out hot, scoring the first five points of the game. Siena matched the hot Canisius start four of its first five shots to take a 15-12 lead on a layup from Cathy Cockrum. The Griffs responded with a 7-0 run and eventually built a 22-16 lead on a 3-pointer from Russell. Siena held Canisius scoreless for the final 5:15 of the half to take a 26-24 halftime lead.

Siena (4-7, 2-0 MAAC) built a 13-point lead early in the second half, scoring eight straight points to go up 42-29 on a jumper by Sarah Fullmer. The Griffs would battle back into the game, going on a 20-8 run during the next eight and a half minutes. Siena kept Canisius from taking the lead with Allie Lindemann nailing some 3-pointers to weather the Canisius run. An eight-point Siena run during a four-minute stretch where Canisius couldn't score broke the game back open. The Saints made 8-for-10 free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure the win.

Lindemann led Siena with 19 points, including 4-for-5 shooting from behind the arc. Fullmer had 18 points while Serena Moore had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Canisius returns to the Koessler Athletic Center for two home games next weekend. The Griffs play Iona on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m.

Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 466 games on a 3-pointer by Brianna Lucas early in the first half… Canisius lost for the first time in its last three games at the ARC and for the first time in the last three meetings… Russell's previous career high was 25 points against Missouri State on Dec. 22, 2007… The Griffs won the rebounding battle for the first time since Nov. 24, against Detroit, including 16 offensive rebounds… Braun made her first career start while Lee also moved into the starting lineup… Junior Micayla Drysdale came off the bench for the first time in 69 games, with her last non-start coming Dec. 15, 2007, against St. Bonaventure.

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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

#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

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

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

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