Women's Basketball 2/7/2010 12:22:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Grant?s Last-Second Layup Thwarts Comeback by Women's Basketball

Kaitlin Grant's layup with 4.8 seconds proved to be the game-winning basket as the Canisius College women's basketball team fell 72-71 in overtime to Loyola in the Koessler Athletic Center on Saturday. The Golden Griffins fall to 9-13 overall and 4-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Senior Ellie Radke had her second double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds — tying career highs in both catgories. Senior Brittané Russell had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. Freshman Whitney Ellenor added a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

“We put ourselves in a deep hole in the first half and showed a lot of character and determination to get out of it,” Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. “We can't wait that long to play hard and expect to get conference wins.”

Loyola (10-12, 5-6 MAAC) broke the game open with 20 unanswered points in the first half, turning a 16-12 Canisius lead into a 32-16 lead for the Greyhounds. The Griffs missed 10 shots and had seven turnovers during the scoreless stretch of nearly nine minutes. Canisius scored the final six points of the half to make it 32-22 at halftime.

The Griffs opened the second half on a 9-3 run, making it 35-31 on a jumper by Ellenor. The Greyhounds pushed their lead back to 42-32 with a 7-1 run. Canisius would make its run with five minutes remaining. The Griffs scored eight straight points to tie the game at 54-54 on four consecutive free throws from Radke.

Canisius took its first lead of the second half after back-to-back layups from Ellenor, with the second basket putting Canisius up 58-56. The Greyhounds scored the next four points to take a 60-58 lead on a jumper from Miriam McKenzie. Russell turned the corner on a dribble-handoff with senior Brianna Lucas, drawing a foul on her layup attempt with 17 seconds remaining. Russell made both free throws to tie the game at 60-60. McKenzie's 3-point attempt from the wing in the final seconds of regulation hit the back of the rim.

Loyola took a 66-63 lead in overtime on a layup from Erica DiClemente, but Lucas drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 66-66. After DiClemente split two free throws, Russell drained a deep 3-pointer to put Canisius up 69-67. McKenzie answered with her own 3-pointer to give the lead back to Loyola at 70-69. Freshman Ashley Durham was able to draw a foul and made both free throws to give Canisius a 71-70 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

Out of a timeout, Loyola isolated McKenzie and Grant on the right wing. With the clock winding down, Grant slipped the screen, rolling to the basket and McKenzie fed Grant with a bounce pass. Grant's layup put Loyola up 72-71 with 4.8 seconds left. Russell's running 3-pointer at the buzzer went wide right.

McKenzie and Grant each had a double-double with McKenzie recording 20 points and 10 rebounds while Grant had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Canisius concludes its stretch of games in Western New York on Monday, when the Golden Griffins host Rider. Game time in the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 7 p.m.

Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 476 games on a 3-pointer by Lee in the first half… Loyola won in the Koessler Athletic Center for the first time since Dec. 3, 2004, ending a four-game losing streak in Buffalo… The teams split the season series for the sixth time in the last eight seasons… Radke's other double-double this season also came against Loyola (18 points, 11 rebounds)… Junior Tauralee Tenn played 11 minutes, making all four of her free-throw attempts… Canisius outrebounded Loyola 45-35, the largest rebounding advantage of the season for the Griffs.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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