KENT, Ohio — Canisius
used 20-3 run midway through the second half to take control of the game en
route to a 81-64 victory at Kent State University in the M.A.C. Center on
Sunday afternoon. The Griffs improve to 4-5 with the win.
Four
Golden Griffins scored at least 15 points in the game, led by 16 points from
sophomore Jen Morabito, who went
4-for-8 from behind the arc. The trio of junior Ashley Durham, sophomore Jamie
Ruttle and freshman Kayla Hoohuli
each scored 15 points. Durham added a career-high eight assists, Ruttle had a
season-high nine rebounds and Hoohuli went 3-for-5 from behind the arc.
"We
had to score in the post quick because they brought a lot of help, so that
created some outside looks. And I thought we really posted hard today," Canisius
coach Terry Zeh said. "We're going
to enjoy this win, but we'll get back to work in practice this week and keep
striving to get better."
Canisius
scored the first five points of the game - a 3-pointer from Hoohuli and a layup
from sophomore Courtney VandeBovenkamp
- to take a quick 5-0 lead. Kent State came right back and went on a 12-2 run
to go up by five on the second 3-pointer of the opening five minutes from
Itziar Llobet. Canisius held Kent State to three field
goals during the final 10-plus minutes of the half and built a 36-26 halftime
lead. Morabito made all three of her 3-pointers in the final seven minutes of
the half, with her basket in the final minute giving Canisius the 10-point
halftime lead.
Kent
State (1-7) scored the first seven points of the second half, a run that was
stopped by a pull-up jumper from Durham, to make it 38-33. Kent State kept
pushing, with a three-point play from Jamie Hutcheson cutting the Canisius lead
to 41-40. The Griffs then scored 10 of the next 12 points, including a
3-pointer from Durham, a baseline jumper from Braun and back-to-back
three-point plays from Ruttle, to put Canisius ahead 50-42. The Griffs
continued their spurt, extending it to a 20-3 run, capped by a 3-pointer from
Hoohuli, to go up 61-44 with 9:15 left. The Golden Flashes never cut the lead
to single digits the rest of the way.
Llobet led all palyers with 19 points while Hutcheson had 13 points and seven
assists.
Canisius
plays its final two non-conference games in the Koessler Athletic Center, both
doubleheaders with the Golden Griffin men's team. Canisius plays Albany on
Thursday, with tipoff scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
Notes: Canisius
and Kent State met for the second consecutive season... The Griffs and Golden
Flashes met at Kent, Ohio for the first time since Nov. 26, 1988... VandeBovenkamp made her first
start of the season... Durham's previous career high for assists were seven at
Binghamton at Nov. 16, 2010... Canisius topped the 80-point mark for the first time
since an 85-72 win at Niagara on Jan. 4, 2009... Canisius owned a 43-24 rebounding margin, with the +19
margin the biggest of the Zeh era and biggest since Dec. 2, 2001, when the
Griffs out-rebounded Mount St. Mary's 58-36... Ruttle set a career high with
three blocks... Canisius made a season-high nine 3-pointers and 22 free throws,
while shooting a season-best 51 percent from the floor... It was the first time Canisius had four players with 15 or more points in a game since Dec. 11, 2001, in a 100-89 win over Bucknell... Canisius had 17 assists on 25 made baskets... The Griffs had 16 or more assists for the fourth time this season.
