BRIDGEPORT, Conn. ­- Loyola's Miriam McKenzie made a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game and the Greyhounds carried that momentum into overtime to defeat the Canisius College women's basketball team 68-53 in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Spark Energy MAAC Championship at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard on Friday.  Canisius sees its season come to an end with an 11-20 record.

Senior Micayla Drysdale led Canisius with 12 points while freshman Jen Lennox had 11 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Melissa Gardner had seven points, a career-high 11 rebounds and two blocks while freshmen Jamie Ruttle and Jen Morabito each had eight points.

"I feel bad because our team did everything they should have to win that basketball game and we should be playing on Saturday, but I made the wrong decision at the end of the game," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "Give credit to Loyola for making that shot, but we should have fouled in that situation and it's my fault.

"In both games of this tournament, we got a number of contributions from different players. Our girls stepped up and performed their roles, and we were in a position to win that basketball game."

The Griffs took an early 8-5 lead after two free throws from junior Steph MacDonald. The Greyhounds would score five straight to take a 10-8 lead after McKenzie split two free throws. A 3-pointer from Morabito gave Canisius a 13-10 lead, but Meredith Tolley answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 13-13. Katie Sheahin then made a basket on three straight possessions to give Loyola a 20-15 lead.

Canisius answered with three straight baskets from Lennox, including an offensive rebound putback to give the Griffs a 21-20 lead. Loyola then used a 6-1 run to take a 26-22 lead. The Griffs then made three straight shots — a 3-pointer from the corner Morabito, a three-point play from sophomore Ashley Durham and a baseline jumper from Gardner to give Canisius a 30-28 halftime lead.

Canisius started the second half by scoring on four of its first six possessions, building a 38-30 lead on a layup from Drysdale. The Greyhounds responded by scoring nine straight points to take a 39-38 lead after Sheahin split two free throws. Loyola took a 43-40 lead after a layup from McKenzie, and the Griffs answered with a free throw from Gardner and a jumper from Ruttle to tie the game at 43-43.

Canisius held Loyola without a field goal for the next seven minutes and tied the game at 45-45 after a layup from Lennox with 3:55 left. McKenzie split two free throws to give Loyola a 46-45 lead with 2:19 left. Neither team would score on its next two possessions, giving Canisius the ball, down one point with the shot clock off.

Drysdale drove down the left-side of the lane and was fouled. The senior made both of her free throws to give Canisius the one-point lead with 13.7 seconds remaining. After Sheahin missed the go-ahead basket, Drysdale corralled the rebound and was fouled. The senior made both free throws again, to put Canisius up 49-46 with 3.7 seconds remaining.

Loyola, who had to go the length of the court, threw the ball into McKenzie, who caught the ball just before the halfcourt circle. McKenzie split the Canisius defense and took three dribbles into the frontcourt. The All-MAAC First-Team selection gathered the ball, set her feet and swished the 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to tie the game at 49-49.

In overtime, Loyola made four free throws in the first minute and Alyssa Sutherland nailed a 3-pointer to put Loyola up 56-49 just 90 seconds into the extra session. Trying to score quickly, Canisius missed all seven of its 3-point attempts in overtime as Loyola made 16 free throws to put the game away.

McKenzie led Loyola (19-11) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Sheahin had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and four steals. Erica DiClemente had 13 points while Meredith Tolley had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Notes: Friday was the first overtime game of the season for the Griffs and was the third overtime game in postseason history... Canisius falls in the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Championship for the fourth time in the last five years... Canisius has lost to Loyola in seven of the eight all-time meetings in the postseason... Either Marist (2004, 2008, 2009, 2010) or Loyola (2006, 2006, 2011) has ended the Griffs' season in seven of the last eight years, with the Griffs winning the MAAC Championship in 2005... Drysdale tied the program record for career games played, appearing in her 125^th game... The senior, who scored in double figures in eight of her last 10 games, ends her career with 991 points and 189 3-point field goals... Gardner had double-digit rebounds for the second time in her career (10 vs. Youngstown State on Dec. 17, 2009) and had five blocks in the MAAC Championship. The sophomore also played a career-high 35 minutes... Ruttle scored eight points or more for the 16^th time in the last 21 games... Lennox scored in double figures for the third time this season... In the final five games, Lennox averaged 9.0 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor... Canisius had 16 bench points while Loyola had zero bench points in the game. The Greyhound bench played a combined 22 minutes.