ITHACA, N.Y. - Four
Golden Griffins scored in double figures, led by a career-high 24 points from
freshman Jen Morabito, as the
Canisius College women's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with
a 66-58 win over Cornell University at Newman Arena on Sunday afternoon. The
Golden Griffins improve to 3-6 on the season.
Morabito
had 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-8 from behind the arc, in
36 minutes. Sophomore Melissa Gardner
had a career-high 11 points to go along with six rebounds and three blocks.
Freshman Jamie Ruttle had 12 points
and five rebounds in 18 minutes while senior Micayla Drysdale had 11 points as well.
"The
nice thing is Jen did it in the flow of the game and also handled the pressure
well," Canisius coach Terry Zeh
said. "We came out and started the second half really well, which has been a
point of emphasis for us. We showed our youth a little bit at times, but
getting road wins always helps with a team's development."
Cornell
(1-7) scored the first five points before Morabito made two 3-pointers early in
the game to make it 7-6 in favor of Cornell. The Griffs held the Big Red
without a field goal for the next six-and-a-half minutes and went up 13-7 after
five straight from Ruttle (including a three-point play) and Morabito split two
free throws.
Late
in the half, Cornell would get hot from behind the arc, making four 3-pointers
in less than a three-minute span. Canisius answered with a four-point play from
Morabito and 3-pointer from Drysdale, but the Big Red took a 30-28 lead at the
half.
Canisius
scored the first eight points in the second half to take a 36-30 lead after a
three-point play from Morabito. The Big Red made a run, taking a 39-38 lead on
a jumper from Clare Fitzpatrick. After another jumper from Morabito, the Griffs
would never relinquish the lead. Canisius would extend its lead to as many as 11
points, holding Cornell to three field goals during a stretch of more than 10
minutes and taking a 59-48 lead on a layup from junior Steph MacDonald. Canisius made 7-of-11 free throws down the stretch
to close out the win.
Stephanie
Long led Cornell with 17 points while Fitzpatrick had 15. Allyson DiMagno also
had 10 points.
Canisius
plays its final game before the Christmas break on Tuesday, when the Golden
Griffins wrap up their four-game road trip at Bowling Green. Game time in set
for 7 p.m.
Notes:
Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 494
games on a 3-pointer by Morabito on the team's first made field goal, just
under two minutes into the contest... Two Canisius players did not play due to a
violation of team rules - Allison Braun
and Caitlin Krull. Combined with Whitney Ellenor leaving the team at the
end of the fall semester and the knee injury to sophomore Ashley Durham, Canisius had eight players available for the second
straight game. All eight played at least 18 minutes... Canisius and Cornell met for the seventh time and for the first
time in Ithaca since Nov. 29, 2004. The Griffs now own a 6-1 lead in the
all-time series... Canisius held a 43-32 advantage in rebounding... The 24 points
from Morabito are the most by a Canisius freshman since Amanda Cavo had 28 at
Niagara on Feb. 26, 2006... Canisius won for the first time this season when
trailing at the half... MacDonald now has a steal in eight of the nine games this
season and has nine steals in the last four games... Canisius is 31-11 under Zeh
when four or more Griffs score in double figures and 95-7 when leading or tied
with five minutes remaining.
