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Dani Haskell attempts a three-pointer at Buffalo
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54
Canisius Canis 4-23,2-16 MAAC
56
Winner Siena Siena 8-17,8-9 MAAC
Canisius Canis
4-23,2-16 MAAC
54
Final
56
Siena Siena
8-17,8-9 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius Canis 15 8 18 13 54
Siena Siena 18 9 10 19 56

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Loses Heartbreaker to Siena

A 7-3 run over the final 3:12 helped Siena to a nail-biting 56-54 victory over Canisius in MAAC women's basketball action Thursday at the UHY Center in Loudonville, N.Y.
 
Siena's Ahniysha Jackson scored all 21 of her points from beyond the arc and Rayshel Brown chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds for her second career double-double for the Saints (8-17, 8-9 MAAC).
 
Sophomore Dani Haskell scored a team-high 14 points for the Golden Griffins and senior Erika Joseph added 10 points for Canisius (4-23, 2-16 MAAC).
 
GAME RECAP
Siena attacked the interior throughout the first quarter scoring 14 of its 18 first-quarter points inside the paint.
 
An 8-2 spurt late in the quarter — capped by a corner 3-pointer by Ella Väätänen — trimmed Siena's lead to 16-15. Siena made a layup late in the quarter, taking a three-point lead into the second quarter.
 
Athina Lexa drove the lane and drew an and-one to tie the game just 24 seconds into the second quarter, 18-18.
 
Siena used a different offensive approach to open the stanza, making its first three shots from beyond the arc as a part of a 9-0 Saints run, opening a 27-18.
 
Following a Shaunae Brown 3-pointer, both teams were held scoreless for five-plus minutes before Cheyenne Stubbs made a layup with 1:01 left in the opening half to break the scoring drought. Canisius ended the second quarter on a 5-0 run, trailing 27-23 at halftime.
 
The Griffs played stifling defense, holding the Saints scoreless for over nine minutes forcing 10 straight missed field goal attempts spanning the second and third quarters.
 
Kayla Jackson and Väätänen netted back-to-back layups to tie the game, 27-27, early in the second half. Väätänen's layup was the first of four ties in the quarter as the teams engaged in a seesaw battle, swapping the lead seven times in the 10-minute period.
 
A Stubbs 3-pointer as time expired put the Blue and Gold ahead, 41-37, heading into the final quarter.
 
Siena tied the game at 41-41 after scoring the first four points of the final frame. Back-to-back baskets by Joseph put Canisius ahead by four again. The Griffs held the lead until 4:33 left in regulation as a 3-pointer by Jackson tied the game at 49-49.
 
Jackson's seventh 3-pointer of the night to put Siena ahead for good, 52-51, coming out of a timeout following a Lydia Gattozzi layup.
 
Haskell hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 47 seconds left to make it a one-point game.
 
Siena's Margo Peterson was fouled with four seconds left and went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. Peterson made the first shot, but the Griffs secured the rebound on the missed attempt.
 
Canisius called a timeout to establish an inbounds play, but the pass was fumbled and the Griffs could not get a shot off before the buzzer.
 
Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh's Postgame Comments
"It's hard to beat a team when you get as many offensive rebounds and second-chance points as we gave Siena. We could have fought harder. It's hard to win a game when you give them as many second-chance opportunities."
 
"We did a good job preparing for Siena's personnel and that's all Krista [Krista Beechy] and Jared [Jared Zeidman]. They did a good job preparing our team and our players had a good couple of prep days. They were locked in and it was effective."
 
GAME NOTES
• Thursday was the 81st all-time meeting between the two Empire State schools. Siena improved to 55-26 all-time over the Griffs with the victory.
• Canisius made six 3-pointers Thursday, increasing its season total to 214 made shots from beyond the arc. That total is the third-most in program history since the NCAA instituted the 3-point line before the 1987-88 season.
• With her 14 points, Haskell now 367 points this season, the sixth-most points scored by a sophomore in the program's Division I era. She surpassed Megan Lyte (354 in 2004-05), Becky Zak (356 in 2003-04), Anne Brocker (364 in 1990-91) and Jénel Stevens (366 in 2001-02).
•Freshman Rhay Porter recorded her 38th block of the season with her third-quarter rejection. She matched Cindy Ulreich (38 in 1988-89) for the fourth-most blocks by a Canisius player in the Division I era.
• Porter hauled three rebounds in the contest, giving her 131 on the season. Her total ranks as the ninth-most by a first-year player in the Division I era.
• Väätänen recorded her seventh multi-block performance of the season on Thursday. Along with Porter's 11 multi-block games, it is the first time Canisius has had two players with at least seven games with two-plus blocks in the same season since Ashley Wilkes (10) and Jen Lennox (7) in 2012-13.
• Lexa had a team-high seven rebounds, matching her season-high set against Monmouth on Feb. 10. She also matched her single-game high for assists for a fourth time, dishing out a trio of helpers.
• Stubbs recorded her eighth multi-steal performance of the season. It is the most games with two-plus steals by a first-year Canisius player since Kayla Hoohuli (11 in 2011-12).
 
UP NEXT
Canisius returns to Western New York for its final two regular season games. The Griffs will head to "Battle of the Bridge" rival Niagara on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
 
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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