The Canisius College women's basketball team used an 8-0 run late in the game to take the lead and hang on for a 59-54 win over Saint Peter's College in the Koessler Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Griffins even their record at 7-7 and are now 1-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Sophomore Courtney VandeBovenkamp led Canisius with 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Junior Ashley Durham had 11 points and six assists while sophomore Jen Morabito had 11 points. Junior Ashley Wilkes had seven points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.

Canisius shot 43.5 percent in the game, its sixth straight game over 40 percent. The Golden Griffins were 3-for-20 (15 percent) from behind the arc and shot 17-for-26 (65.3 percent) on two-point shots.

"It's no big secret that we haven't been playing well or practicing well, and it's great to get a win today. You have to be able to win that way, grinding out a win by getting stops and key rebounds," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "You can't simulate Saint Peter's length in practice. After a tough start, I felt we adjusted and then down the stretch, we stayed calm and that allowed us to make some key plays."

Both teams struggled to score in the opening minutes, but Canisius took command of the game early on back-to-back 3-pointers from Hoohuli, going up 10-0 five minutes into the game. The Griffs started 6-of-9 from the field, but had six turnovers in the opening eight minutes as they built a 14-2 lead. The Peahens held Canisius to one field goal for the next seven-plus minutes, and Saint Peter's wouldn't let the Griffs pull away as the Peahens cut the Canisius lead to three points on three separate occasions. Canisius would score the final six points of the half, capped by a jumper from junior Allison Braun, to hold a nine-point halftime lead.

Saint Peter's (0-14, 0-3 MAAC) would take its first lead of the game with 14 minutes remaining, on a 3-pointer from Khadijah Young to put the Peahens up 38-37. With Saint Peter's ahead 41-39, a three-point play from VandeBovenkamp allowed Canisius to regain a one-point lead as the Griffs scored six straight points to take a four-point advantage. Saint Peter's came back and scored seven straight to go up 48-45 with just under five minutes remaining.

Canisius then scored eight straight points in just over two and a half minutes to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Griffs got layups from VandeBovenkamp and Morabito along with free throws from Durham and VandeBovenkamp to go up 53-48. Saint Peter's made it a 53-52 game after free throws from Adenike Oyesile and Jynae Judson.

Out of a Canisius timeout, sophomore Jamie Ruttle got the ball in the corner near the Griffs' bench and Saint Peter's brought a double team. She found Durham in the middle of the court, who drove the lane, broke down the Saint Peter's defense and found VandeBovenkamp on the left block for an uncontested layup. A layup from Aziza May would make it a one-point game again. Canisius then attempted to run an inbounds play where the Griffs threw the ball across the baseline to a different inbounder. The Peahens reached across the baseline, hit the ball and committed a technical foul. Durham knocked down the two technical free throws and VandeBovenkamp made two free throws on the ensuing Saint Peter's foul to put the game away.

Judson led Saint Peter's with 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting. Saint Peter's shot 32.3 percent on the day and had 19 offensive rebounds leading to 14 second-chance points.

Canisius concludes its two-game home set against Iona College on Monday, on Kid's Day in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff in the KAC is set for 11 a.m.

Notes: Canisius defeated Saint Peter's for the fifth consecutive meeting overall and ninth straight meeting in the Koessler Athletic Center... Canisius won its third consecutive MAAC home game... Canisius has won four straight in the KAC for the first time since Dec. 14-30, 2008... Canisius shot over 40 percent for the sixth consecutive game, matching a six-game streak from the 2008-09 season (Dec. 22, 2008 to Jan. 11, 2009)... Canisius had 16 assists on 20 made baskets... Canisius shot 16-for-19 (84.2 percent) from the free-throw line, shooting over 80 percent on free throws for the fifth time in the last six games... Morabito scored in double figures for a team-best ninth time this season... Durham now has 30 assists in the last six games and reached double figures for the third time in four games... Durham saw her streak of consecutive made free throws end at 19 straight. The junior has made 43 of her last 45 and came into the game ranked 12th in the country... Wilkes went 3-for-4 from the floor and is now shooting 61.1 percent in six home games this season... VandeBovenkamp scored in double figures for the second time this season and has six or more rebounds in four straight games.