The Canisius College basketball team built a 21-point first-half lead and held off Colgate University for a 70-65 win at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Griffins improve to 1-2 on the season

Senior Micayla Drysdale led Canisius with 15 points, going 4-for-8 on 3-pointers, while also pulling down six rebounds. Sophomore Ashley Durham had 12 points while freshman Jen Lennox had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman Coutrney VandeBovenkamp had 10 points while junior Steph MacDonald had eight points and seven rebounds.

"It's always big to get your first win of the season. We did some really good things today. We made a bunch of shots in the first half and got the ball where we wanted to. We came out and played aggressive and spirited," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "When Colgate made its run, we got back on our heels a little bit, and we have to learn from that. We made enough shots and got enough stops down the stretch to get a road win."

Canisius broke open the game early as Colgate scored the first three points of the contest, but the Griffs used a 14-2 run, featuring five points from freshman Jamie Ruttle, to go up by nine points. The Griffs would extend their lead with nine straight points, pushing a 17-10 advantage into a 26-10 lead. VandeBovenkamp had four points while Durham had a 3-pointer during the two-minute spurt. The Griffs pushed their lead to as many as 21 points at 35-14 after a 3-pointer from Drysdale and two free throws from Lennox. The Raiders would cut the Canisius lead in half, closing the first half on a 15-4 run, as Canisius took a 39-29 lead into the locker room.

A 3-pointer from Durham and jumper from sophomore Allison Braun let Canisius push its lead to 44-29 early in the second half. The Raiders then used a 14-2 run to get within three points at 46-43 on a jumper from Krista Moser. The Griffs pushed their lead back to double digits, capped by a 3-pointer from Lennox to go up 62-52.

The Raiders made one final run, making it a two-point game on a 3-pointer from Kendra Brim with 1:36 left. The Griffs responded with a left-handed scoop shot from VandeBovenkamp to make the score 66-62 with just under a minute remaining.

Canisius forced three defensive stops and made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to close out its first victory of the season.

Moser led Colgate (2-2) with 15 points while Jhazmine Lynch had 13 points. Kendra Brim also had 11 points for the Raiders.

Canisius begins a three-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 27, when the Golden Griffins host Towson. Game time is set for 2 p.m. in the Koessler Athletic Center.