Getting 35 points in bench production, the Canisius women's basketball team defeated Manhattan College 63-47 at the Koessler Athletic Center on Friday night. The Golden Griffins improve to 10-16 overall and 7-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Junior Jen Lennox led Canisius with 15 points and five rebounds to go along with two blocks while senior Ashley Wilkes had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 20 minutes apiece. Sophomore Kayla Hoohuli scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, while senior Ashley Durham had seven points, eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Brooke Angelos recorded five assists and zero turnovers in 12 minutes.  

"I have always felt one of the strengths of this team is its depth, and I thought we were able to display that tonight," Canisius coach Terry Zeh said. "We played some really good defense tonight, especially in the first half, that we built off to get a good team win."

Canisius limited Manhattan to 18 percent from the field in the first half, building a 28-16 halftime advantage. After Toni-Ann Lawrence gave the Jaspers a 10-9 lead with 8:30 left in the first half, the Griffs allowed Manhattan to one field goal the rest of the half as Canisius went on a 19-6 run. Hoohuli and Durham drained 3-pointers to start a 10-2 spurt. Later in the half, Wilkes had a three-point play and freshman Tiahana Mills made a 3-pointer to help the Griffs build the 12-point halftime lead, their largest halftime lead of the season.

The Jaspers scored the first seven points of the second half to get within five, but Manhattan would never get closer than five points throughout the entire second half. Leading 35-30 with 14:05 left, Canisius took control by scoring six straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from junior Jen Morabito. Manhattan would get within seven points with five minutes left, but Canisius closed the game with a 15-6 stretch.

Monica Roeder led Manhattan (6-20, 3-12 MAAC) with 16 points while Lawrence had 13 points, and Allison Skrec had 10 points and six assists. All five Manhattan starters played 30 or more minutes with the Griffs holding a 35-1 lead in bench points.

Canisius closes out its 2012-13 home schedule against Fairfield University on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2:10 p.m. with Senior Day ceremonies set to begin at 1:55 p.m.

Notes: The Griffs snapped a six-game losing streak to the Jaspers... Canisius defeated Manhattan for the ninth time in the last 11 years in the Koessler Athletic Center... Canisius had 17 assists on 22 baskets, recording an assist on more than 75 percent of its baskets for the ninth time this season... The 35 bench points were the most since the Griffs had 42 bench points in the season-opening win over Buffalo... Durham didn't score eight or more points for the first time in the last 16 games... Wilkes scored in double figures for the ninth time this season... The 15 points for Lennox were a season high and one off her career high of 16 points against Rider on Feb. 20, 2011... Lennox also moved into fourth place on the career blocks list and now has 75 blocks in her career.