JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Saint Peter's College held the Canisius College women's basketball team scoreless for a span of 7:25 and pulled away for a 66-51 victory over the Golden Griffins in the Yanitelli Center on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Golden Griffins fall to 12-13 overall and 6-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Freshman Kayla Hoohuli led Canisius with 15 points and seven rebounds to go along with four assists. Junior Ashley Durham had 13 points while sophomore Jamie Ruttle had 12 points. The Golden Griffins shot 35.3 percent from the floor and committed 24 turnovers in the game.
Kristal Edwards led Saint Peter's (2-23, 3-11 MAAC) with 16 points, five assists and seven steals. Quiana Porter had 15 points and 10 rebounds as Saint Peter's outrebounded Canisius 44-29, scoring 24 second-chance off 22 offensive rebounds and 23 points off the 24 Canisius turnovers.
"We turned the ball over too much in the second-half with the 16 turnovers and allowed Saint Peter's to totally control the glass," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "When things didn't go well for us, especially in the second half, we weren't able to get into any offensive flow and allowed Saint Peter's to build a lead that was too big to overcome."
The teams stayed close for the majority of the first half, but Saint Peter's built a 28-23 lead by scoring eight straight points, holding Canisius to one field goal during the last five minutes of the half. However, Canisius went into the locker room tied at 28-28 when Hoohuli made five free throws with 1.4 seconds on the clock. Saint Peter's inbounded the ball with 3.8 seconds left and Hoohuli stole the pass. Hoohuli was fouled on a 3-point field goal attempt and drained all three free throws. The Saint Peter's bench was issued a technical foul, and Hoohuli stayed on the line to make the two free throws and tie the game.
Canisius took a quick 30-28 lead to start the second half, but the Peahens would score on four straight possessions and go up 37-32 after a jumper from Jynae Judson. The Griffs got five straight points from Durham to tie the game and then took the lead on a 3-pointer from Hoohuli. The Peahens broke the game open with a 20-3 run, including 14 straight points, to build a 60-45 lead. A 3-pointer from Durham ended the run and then a layup from Hoohuli on the ensuing possession after a Saint Peter's turnover quickly cut the lead to 10. The Griffs held the Peahens scoreless on their next three possessions but weren't able to cut into the lead anymore.
Canisius returns to the Koessler Athletic Center for the final four games of the regular season. The four-game homestand starts on Friday night, when the Golden Griffins host first-place Marist College. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Notes: Sophomore Courtney VandeBovenkamp and freshman Amani Mostiller did not dress due to illness, leaving Canisius with eight available players... The Griffs lost for the fourth time in the last five seasons in the Yanitelli Center... The Griffs lost for the first time in six meetings overall with the Peahens... Hoohuli has now scored in double figures in five of the last seven games... The freshman matched her career high with the four assists and is now shooting 33-for-70 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc in MAAC play... Ruttle had a block for the fourth straight game.
