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Canisius University Athletics

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Sara Hinriksdottir
Stockton Photo, Inc.
61
Winner Monmouth MONW 10-20
58
Canisius CAN 10-20
Winner
Monmouth MONW
10-20
61
Final
58
Canisius CAN
10-20
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Monmouth MONW 11 15 15 20 61
Canisius CAN 17 16 19 6 58

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Falls to Monmouth to End Season

Game Recap
ALBANY, N.Y. – Junior Sara Hinriksdottir scored a team-high 18 points to lead a trio of Canisius Golden Griffins in double-figures, but it was not enough, as Monmouth posted a 61-58 win over the Blue and Gold Thursday morning in the first game of the 2018 MAAC Women's Basketball Champion in Times Union Center. The Griffs see their season end with a 10-20 record, while Monmouth (10-20) advances to the MAAC Championship quarterfinal round where the Hawks will face top-seeded Quinnipiac on Friday.
 
Hinriksdottir added five rebounds, three assists and three steals to go along with her 18 points, while freshman Danielle Sanderlin scored 16 points to go along with seven boards, four assists and a blocked shot. Fellow freshman Anndea Zeigler chipped in 11 points off the bench in the losing effort for Canisius, which ended the game shooting 41.1 percent from the field, just 13.3 percent from 3-point land and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.
 
For Monmouth, Rhaiah Spooner-Knight posted a game-high 22 points in the win for the Hawks, while Kayla Shaw was good for 13 points. The Hawks shot 49 percent from the field in the win, highlighted by a 58.3 percent clip from the floor in the game's fourth quarter. In that final frame, four of Monmouth's seven field goals were from behind the three-point arc, including a triple by Shaw with 1:57 left on the game clock that put the Hawks up for good at 59-56.
 
Canisius came out of the gates red-hot, and led Monmouth 17-11 after one quarter of play. In the opening stanza, Canisius shot 46.7 percent from the floor and forced seven Monmouth turnovers, which the Blue and Gold turned into six points. Hinriksdottir had eight points in the opening frame, while senior Margaret Haldanardottir added five points.
 
Canisius took a 33-26 lead into the locker room at halftime and led 52-41 after three quarters of action. In the fourth quarter, however, Monmouth outscored Canisius 20-6, with Spooner-Knight and Shaw accounting for 11 of Monmouth's points in the quarter.
 
The Griffs got the score to 61-58 with nine seconds left on a bucket by Hinriksdottir, and Canisius had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation after forcing a Monmouth turnover at mid-court. However, the Griffs' last-second 3-point shot banged off the back iron as the final horn sounded.
 
Head Coach Terry Zeh's Postgame Comments
"I thought we were really good for the first 33 minutes, and then we got a little tight. We were feeling really comfortable for long stretches, but then when they starting making a run, we got uncomfortable and we could not get back to a comfortable place. They made some pretty big threes. I thought we played pretty well for most of the game, unfortunately, you have to do it for 40 minutes.
 
"We were flowing so well to start, the ball was moving and we had such great looks at the basket. We were attacking the rim and we were turning them over to get easy baskets for long stretches. And then we didn't get those turnovers, and they started to get into a rhythm and we were not able to get into a good offensive rhythm the rest of the way."
 
Game Notes
• This was the 12th all-time meeting between these two programs and it marks the second since 2013-14 where the Griffs and Hawks met in the MAAC Championship. The series is tied at 6-6.
• Canisius freshman has a penchant for big performances at MAAC tournament time, as Danielle Sanderlin came close to tying the freshman scoring record for a rookie in the postseason, set by Maria Welch (20 points) in 2015, as she tallied 16 points.
• Sanderlin and Anndea Zeigler became the first freshman duo to score 10-or-more points in a MAAC tournament game in the Terry Zeh era.
• Sanderlin's ascent as offensive leader continued into the MAAC tournament as she averaged 10.5 points per game over her final nine contests.
 
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