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Dani Haskell attempts a 3-pointer against Niagara
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78
Siena Siena 5-12,5-4 MAAC
81
Winner Canisius Canis 3-16,1-9 MAAC
Siena Siena
5-12,5-4 MAAC
78
Final
81
Canisius Canis
3-16,1-9 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Siena Siena 13 18 28 19 78
Canisius Canis 17 26 23 15 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Haskell’s 24 Points Aids Women’s Basketball to Record-Setting Victory over Siena

Sophomore Dani Haskell scored a team-high 24 points to pace Canisius in a nail-biting 81-78 victory over Siena in MAAC women's basketball action at the Koessler Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
 
As a team, Canisius (3-16, 1-9 MAAC) made 15 shots from beyond the arc, establishing a program record. The previous record was 14, set on Dec. 28, 2008, against Detroit Mercy.
 
Along with her 24 points, Haskell made five 3-pointers to match her career high in that category while adding a single-game best five assists. Freshmen Athina Lexa and Lydia Gattozzi chipped in with 12 points apiece for the Griffs.
 
Rayshel Brown matched Haskell with a 24-point performance and Selena Philoxy pitched in 20 points off the bench for Siena (5-12, 5-4 MAAC).
 
GAME RECAP
Canisius used a 10-2 run over a 3:33 span in the second quarter to put Canisius ahead, 27-17, just before the period's halfway point. Siena trimmed the Griffs' lead to as low as six on two occasions, but an Ella Väätänen 3-pointer with 10 seconds left put the Griffs ahead by 12 going into the halftime break, 43-31.
 
Both teams came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, combining to make nine of the first 14 shots. Siena shortened Canisius' lead to 55-49 halfway through the quarter behind an 8-1 run that took place over a little more than two minutes.
 
The Saints then held Canisius without a field goal for nearly four and a half minutes in the third quarter. During the scoreless drought for the Griffs, Siena used a 7-0 spurt to cut their deficit to 63-59 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter.
 
Siena and Canisius combined to score 51 points to open the second half, with the Saints outscoring the Griffs by three, 28-25.
 
After Gattozzi opened the fourth quarter with a layup, Siena went on a 9-1 surge to cut Canisius' lead to 70-68 with five minutes left. On the Griffs' next possession, Gattozzi converted a three-point play, putting the Griffs back ahead by five with 4:35 remaining.
 
Haskell hit her fourth 3-pointer of the contest with 2:58 left, pushing Canisius' lead to 76-70, but the Saints used a quick 7-0 run over 1:26 to put the Saints ahead, 77-76. The Griffs responded with its record-setting 3-pointer from Haskell that bounced off the rim four times before finding nylon, giving Canisius the advantage once again with 1:04 left.
 
Philoxy missed the latter of her two free throws with 46 seconds left to bring the Saints' deficit to one, but Brown brought down the offensive rebound before Siena called a 30-second timeout to regroup.
 
Out of the timeout, Philoxy traveled to turn the ball over to Canisius. Siena fouled twice, sending Lexa to the free-throw line, splitting her two attempts.
 
Following another Siena timeout, freshman Cheyenne Stubbs forced the first of two steals in the final 10 seconds to solidify the victory.
 
Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh's Postgame Comments
"Today was a victory. We are thrilled. I'm so happy for our young women who competed for 40 minutes. We've stayed committed to the process since the beginning of the season and it's tough when you're on a losing streak like we were and you're not meeting with success on paper. Our young women stayed committed to the process of progress and getting a little bit better every single day and they wanted this. They wanted this just like they wanted all the other games, but we're extremely proud as a staff. The fact that we were up, we hit adversity, Siena made a run — because Siena, they're a great team — and we were able to withhold the run and finish up the game with the win.
 
"Confidence and feel are a thing. We moved the ball tremendously today and we've done a lot in terms of our preparation in the last few weeks. It wasn't just for Siena; we've committed to how we do things every single day. We made some tweaks offensively in terms of our practice and our preparation a couple of weeks ago. The thing with our team is they are so locked in on everything we do. They were committed to it for two weeks and we finally shot the ball really well today. To finish with 15 made threes and to shoot 56 percent from beyond the arc, that's incredible. We're really happy that we finally met with some success."
 
Game Notes
• Saturday was the 80th all-time meeting between the two Empire State programs. Canisius snapped its five-game losing streak to the Saints with the victory and are now 26-54 all-time against Siena
• Canisius' 81 points are the most in a contest ending in regulation since an 84-82 victory over St. Bonaventure on Nov. 17, 2019.
• Of the team's 81 points, 26 came in the second quarter, which is the most in a single quarter since a 28-point third quarter against Marist on Feb. 13, 2020.
• The Griffs recorded 20 assists on its 25 made field goals, the most since having 23 against Monmouth on Dec. 4, 2016. Canisius' 80 percent assisted shot rate is the highest since recording an assist on all 13 of its made field goals against Middle Tennessee on Dec. 20, 2017.
• Canisius now has a double-digit steal total in consecutive games for the first time since recording 10 steals against Siena in the 2017-18 regular-season finale (Feb. 21, 2018) and 15 against Monmouth at the 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships (March 1, 2018).
• Rhay Porter recorded her lone blocked shot in the first quarter, placing her in sole possession of the Griffs' Division I freshman block record (29).
• Freshman Cheyenne Stubbs recorded four steals on Saturday. Following her eight-steal performance on Thursday against Quinnipiac, she is the first Canisius player to record consecutive four-steal games since Anna Sweny had four steals in two straight games against Marist and Monmouth in Feb. 2018.
• Senior Erika Joseph recorded a career-high four assists in the victory, her third consecutive multi-assist game.
 
Up Next
Canisius will travel to Iona to open a three-game, five-day road trip on Thursday. Tipoff between the Golden Griffins and Gaels from the Hynes Athletics Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+. 
 
For complete coverage of Canisius women's basketball, please follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffsWBB on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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