Women's Basketball 2/13/2010 9:06:00 PM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Basketball Falls at Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Canisius College women's basketball team cut the Fairfield lead to one point on three occasions in the final 70 seconds but could never come all the way back as the Golden Griffins lost 66-61 to the Stags in Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon. Canisius drops to 10-14 overall and 5-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Senior Ellie Radke had 16 points and nine rebounds while senior Brittané Russell had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists with zero turnovers. Freshman Ashley Durham had eight points in 14 minutes off the bench.

With the five assists, Russell became the first player in MAAC history with 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals as the senior now has 401 assists in her career.

“We struggled offensively for a 10-minute stretch of the second half and weren't aggressive enough at the basket,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “That's a tough hole to dig out of on the road. We showed some grit in not letting Fairfield pull away, but it's hard to battle back late in games and get wins."

Fairfield (12-12, 6-7 MAAC) used three 3-pointers early in the first half from Katelyn Linney to build a 17-12 lead. Canisius then climbed back into the game by holding the Stags to one field goal during the next seven minutes, tying the game at 19-19 on a 3-pointer from Russell at 6:04. Canisius would take a two-point lead into the locker room as Radke scored the final seven points of the half to give Canisius a 33-31 halftime lead.

Canisius went up by as many as five in the second half, taking a 45-40 lead after four straight points from Tauralee Tenn. The Stags responded with eight straight points to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Linney hit another 3-pointer and Taryn Johnson had five straight points to go up 48-45.

Fairfield pushed its lead to as much as eight at 56-48 on back-to-back baskets from Stephanie Geehan. Canisius started its comeback with six straight points from Durham, with the last two free throws making it 57-54. Russell picked Desiree Pina and the uncontested layup cut the lead to 57-56. Johnson made two free throws and Russell responded with a layup to make it 59-58. Canisius forced a turnover and kept possession on the jump ball.

Russell was able to get to the basket and draw the foul, but Russell couldn't convert either free-throw attempt. Geehan split two free throws to put Fairfield up 60-58 with 18.6 seconds left. The Griffs set up a play in the frontcourt but Radke was called for a moving screen at the top of the key with 12.6 seconds left to give the ball back to Fairfield.

Pina would make two free throws to push the lead back to 62-58. Russell connected on a 3-pointer with under five seconds left to cut the lead to 62-61. Johnson made two more free throws as the Stags were 7-for-8 from the line in the final minute. A last-second attempt by the Griffs went out of bounds.

Geehan had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Linney led all players with 19 points. Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds while Pina had 11 ponts and six boards.

Canisius returns to the court on Monday, when the Golden Griffins play at Iona. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 478 games on a 3-pointer by Radke in the first minute… Canisius loses for the second consecutive meeting between the teams in Alumni Hall… The Griffs drop their third straight MAAC road game… Tenn played a career-high 15 minutes and had a season-high six points… Canisius held a 20-12 rebounding margin at the half, but Fairfield held a 30-14 rebounding edge in the second half… Canisius had 19 bench points and have at least 10 bench points in the last nine games… Russell moved into eighth place on the career scoring list with 1,338 points, passing Amanda Cavo (1,329)… Russell also moved into a tie for first place on the career minutes played list as the senior is tied with Heather Fiore at 3,904 minutes.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Amanda Cavo: G; 5' 9"; Senior

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

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

#11 Tauralee Tenn: G; 5' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Amanda Cavo
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

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

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

#11 Tauralee Tenn
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G