QUICK HITTERS

• The No. 8 seed Canisius College Golden Griffins open up play in the 2012 MAAC Championship against No. 9 seed Saint Peter's College in the first round on Thursday.
• The 2012 MAAC Championship will be at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. It is the first neutral-site tournament sicne Canisius joined the MAAC in 1989-90.
• Canisius and Saint Peter's are meeting in the first round of the tournament for the second time in the last three seasons. Canisius won 65-57 on March 4, 2010.
• Canisius and Saint Peter's split the two regular-season meetings. Canisius won 59-54 in Buffalo on Jan. 7, while Saint Peter's won 66-51 in Jersey City, N.J. on Feb. 12.
• Sophomore Jamie Ruttle was named to the All-MAAC Third Team on Monday - the first Golden Griffin sophomore to earn All-MAAC honors since Megan Lyte in 2004-05.
• Freshman Kayla Hoohuli was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team on Monday. Hoohuli is the seventh Golden Griffin under eighth-year coach Terry Zeh to earn MAAC All-Rookie honors and gives Canisius a member of the team for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Both of those are the most in the MAAC.
• Under Zeh, Canisius is 9-6 in the MAAC Tournament. The Griffs won the 2005 MAAC Championship and have won a postseason game each of the last four seasons.
• The 2011-12 Golden Griffin roster features zero seniors for the first time since the 2004-05 team. Every other roster in the MAAC features at least two seniors.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFS

• Sophomore Jamie Ruttle, the 2011 MAAC Rookie of the Year, leads Canisius in scoring (11.8) and rebounding (5.3). She has scored in double figures 22 times in her career against MAAC opponents. Ruttle has shot 40 percent on 3-pointers in the last 11 games and averaged 15.0 points in the eight games during the month of February.
• Sophomore Jen Morabito, a 2011 MAAC All-Rookie Team selection, has made 63 3-point field goals this season, accounting for 75 percent of her made field goals. Morabito, who ranks 31st in the country in 3-point field goal percentage, has made three or more 3-pointers in 13 games and has scored in double figures 15 times.
• Freshman Kayla Hoohuli, a 2012 MAAC All-Rookie Team selection, shot 40.4 percent on 3-pointers in MAAC play, which is fifh in the conference, and has made 52 3-pointers on the season — the most among MAAC freshmen and fourth-most by a Canisius freshman in program history. Hoohuli has drawn a team-high 12 charges on the season, including one in each game last weekend.
• Junior Ashley Wilkes ranks second in the MAAC in field goal percentage (49.7) and is shooting 66.7 percent from the floor in the last three games. Wilkes has grabbed at least five rebounds in 13 games this season and has recorded at least one steal in 18 games. 
• Freshman Brooke Angelos has started the last two games and has played at least 21 minutes in each of the last four games. She set a career high in assists twice in the last three games, including seven against Siena on Sunday, and is averaging 5.7 assists per 40 minutes.
• Junior Allison Braun, the team's captain for the 2011-12 season, missed the last 12 games of the regular season with a leg injury. Braun is shooting 50.7 percent from the field in her last 14 appearances and has at least one steal in 14 of her last 16 appearances.
• Junior Ashley Durham is second in the MAAC in assists per game (4.3). Durham leads the MAAC and ranks 10th in the country in free throw percentage at 88.9 percent, which ranks as the highest single-season percentage in program history.
• Sophomore Courtney VandeBovenkamp is averaging 5.1 rebounds in her last 10 appearances.  VandeBovenkamp has made 31 of her last 35 free throws (88.6 percent). 
• Sophomore Jen Lennox has scored six or more points in eight games this season, including a season-high 11 points against Fairfield on Feb. 26. The 6-foot-3 forward has a block in 31 career games, including eight blocks in the last 12 games.
• Junior Melissa Gardner is averaging 10.8 minutes in her last 12 appearances and 8.4 rebounds per 40 minutes this season.

SAINT PETER'S SCOUT

• Saint Peter's enters the MAAC Championship with a 4-25 record, with all four of those wins coming in conference play.
• The Peahens defeated Rider 65-64 on Friday. Saint Peter's outscored the Broncs 11-2 during the final five minutes to win on Senior Day.
• The Peahens defeated Rider 57-47 in the first round of the MAAC Championship last season.
• Senior Jynae Judson ranks seventh in the conference in scoring (13.5). She led the team in scoring in 16 games this season.
• Senior Quiana Porter made a team-high 28 starts and averaged 7.5 points per game to go along with a 7.6 rebounds per game average in conference play, which ranked fifth in the MAAC. 
• Saint Peter's was 4-1 this season when scoring 60 or more points. 
• In MAAC play, Saint Peter's averaged 54.3 points and allowed 62.2 points. The Peahens shot 34.5 percent and allowed 39 percent. The Peahens were ninth in turnover margin (-2.6), first in rebounding margin (+5.7), fourth in defensive rebounding percentage (67.2) and first in offensive rebounding percentage (42.0).
• Stephanie DeWolfe is in her eighth season at her alma mater (class of 1997). DeWolfe has an 89-146 all-time record with the Peahens. 

SERIES AND POSTSEASON HISTORY VS. SAINT PETER'S

• Canisius and Saint Peter's are meeting for the 50th time, with the Peahens leading the all-time series 28-21.
• Canisius saw its five-game winning streak in the series snapped in the last meeting. The Golden Griffins have won 16 of the last 21 meetings between the teams.  
• Canisius and Saint Peter's are meeting for the fourth time in the postseason. The most recent meeting in the MAAC Championship came on March 4, 2010, a 65-57 win for the Golden Griffins in Albany.

RECAP OF THE SEASON SERIES

• Each team won on its home court, with the schools splitting the season series for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
• Canisius won 59-54 in the KAC on Jan. 7. The Griffs overcame a 3-for-20 shooting performance from behind the arc by going 17-for-26 on two-point shots. Sophomore Courtney VandeBovenkamp had 13 points and seven rebounds.
• Canisius jumped out to a 14-2 lead and Saint Peter's battled back, eventually leading 48-45. The Griffs scored eight straight to build a lead it wouldn't relinquish in picking up its first league win of the season. 
• Saint Peter's won 66-51 in the Yanitelli Center on Feb. 12. Canisius tied the game at 28-28 when Kayla Hoohuli made five straight free throws (fouled on 3-pointer, Saint Peter's technical) late in the first half.  The Peahens held Canisius scoreless for a stretch of 7 minutes, 25 seconds, scored 24 second-chance points off 22 offensive rebounds and had 23 points off 24 Canisius turnovers.