JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Kickstarted by an 8-2 run to end the first half, the Canisius College women's basketball outscored Saint Peter's College 44-19 in the second half en route to a 69-50 win over the Peahens in the Yanitelli Center on Friday night. Canisius snaps a four-game losing streak to improve to 7-15 overall and 3-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Freshman Jen Morabito led Canisius with 17 points while junior Steph MacDonald and senior Micayla Drysdale each had 16 points apiece with the duo combining for 16 rebounds and seven assists with no turnovers. Canisius rebounded from a 21.9 percent shooting performance in the first half to shoot 63.6 percent (14-for-22) in the second half.
"We challenged our team at halftime. We shot poorly in the first half and were trailing because we didn't want to make Saint Peter's play defense," Canisius Terry Zeh said. "I'm proud of our team. They responded and answered the bell."
Canisius got a number of looks inside the paint in the first portion of the first half, but couldn't capitalize to build the early lead. The teams were tied at 17-17 apiece when the Peahens scored 12 straight points to build a 29-17 lead. Canisius had one made field goal in an 11-minute span before scoring eight straight points to cut into the lead. MacDonald made a 3-pointer from the corner and drove to the basket for a layup while Morabito converted a three-point play as the Griffs trailed 31-25 at the break.
The Griffs then outscored Saint Peter's 29-8 in the first 14 minutes of the second half to take control of the game. Canisius opened the half by limiting the Peahens to two field goals during the first 12 minutes of the half as Canisius built a 16-point lead. The Griffs shot 8-for-11 to open the half, capped by a deep 3-pointer from Morabito to go up 45-35. The Peahens wouldn't get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Jynae Judson led Saint Peter's (3-19, 3-8 MAAC) with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Aziza May had 13 points. The Peahens shot 50 percent in the first half and 23.3 percent in the second half.
Canisius continues its four-game road stretch on Sunday, when the Golden Griffins play at Manhattan. Game time in the Draddy Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.
Notes: Canisius extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 507 games on a 3-pointer by Morabito in the first minute... Canisius snapped a three-game losing streak in the Yanitelli Center, winning for the first time since a 71-61 win on Jan. 8, 2007... Canisius has now won four straight in the series with the Peahens... Canisius swept Saint Peter's for the first time since the 2006-07 season... Morabito scored 17 points or more for the fourth time this season, all coming in starts... Morabito started for the first time since Jan. 8, while Melissa Gardner started for the first time since Jan. 8 as well... Drysdale scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half... Canisius scored 40 points in a half for the first time this season... Canisius won for the 10th time under Zeh when trailing by five or more points at the half... Canisius scored 60 points in back-to-back games for the first time all year... The 19-point win was the biggest of the season and biggest MAAC road win since a 78-48 win at Rider on Jan. 16, 2010 ... Canisius snapped a nine-game MAAC road losing streak... The 19-point win is the biggest in program history in 23 all-time games in the Yanitelli Center.
