SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Canisius College women's basketball team saw its 2011-12 season come to an end in the first round of the MAAC Championship in a 62-57 loss to Saint Peter's at the MassMutual Center on Thursday afternoon. The Golden Griffins end the season with a 12-18 overall record.
Freshman Kayla Hoohuli and junior Ashley Durham led Canisius with 11 points apiece on the day. Sophomore Jamie Ruttle had 10 points in 21 minutes after being plagued by first-half foul trouble. Junior Ashley Wilkes had a game-high 16 rebounds while freshman Brooke Angelos had five assists in 22 minutes.
"It has been a problem that has affected us all season, and we are not going to win a game with 26 turnovers," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "In the first half, we did a good job on the glass, but throughout the game I thought we looked young and nervous in key situations.
"We did have a bunch of injuries that affected our progress this season, but I don't think we did as good of a good job as we could have in terms of controlling some of the controllables."
The Griffs took a 14-10 lead after a 3-pointer from Durham with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. The Peahens then scored seven straight points, holding Canisius scoreless for a span of more than three and a half minutes, and eventually went up 19-15 after a jumper from Lauren Morris with 8:18 remaining. The Griffs battled back, taking the lead when Wilkes stole the ball in the backcourt and completed a three-point play to go up 24-22 with 4:30 left. The Peahens scored six straight points, taking advantage of three straight Canisius turnovers, to go up 28-24. Canisius overcame a stretch at the end of the half where it turned the ball over on six of seven possessions to score the final seven points and take a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
Saint Peter's (5-25) scored the first five points of the second half to take the early lead, but Ruttle scored eight straight for the Griffs, with her second 3-pointer giving Canisius a 39-37 lead. Both teams would struggle to score from the field, with the Griffs holding the Peahens without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. Canisius couldn't take advantage and extended its lead to six points at 45-39. The Griffs then went scoreless for more than five and a half minutes as Saint Peter's took a 46-45 lead.
Canisius came down and used a 3-pointer from sophomore Jen Morabito to take a 48-46 lead. The teams would combine to score on seven straight possessions, and Saint Peter's tied the game at 53-53 after a putback with 3:27 left. The teams traded baskets and then a 3-pointer from the corner from Morris gave Saint Peter's a 58-55 lead. Canisius came back with a pull-up jumper from Hoohuli to make it a one-point game. Jynae Judson got the basket and pushed Saint Peter's lead back to three at 60-57 with 1:20 left. The Griffs then turned the ball over on three straight possessions and Saint Peter's made two free throws with nine seconds left to put the game away.
Morris and Quiana Porter led Saint Peter's with 13 points with Porter pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Jynae Judson had 12 points.
Notes: Morabito did not start for the first time this season after starting all 29 regular-season games... Canisius and Saint Peter's met for the fourth time in the postseason. The Griffs had won two of the previous three meetings... Junior Allison Braun played three minutes, her first game action since Jan. 15, against Fairfield... Canisius didn't win a MAAC Tournament game for the first time since the 2006-07 season... Canisius lost in the first round for the first time since the 1998 MAAC Championship... The 16 rebounds from Wilkes were the most by a Golden Griffin in a tournament game since Jénel Stevens had 18 rebounds against Manhattan on March 8, 2003.
