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Canisius University Athletics

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Franka Wittenberg sets the offense against Penn State (11/7/24)
Joe Lehrman
57
Canisius Canis 0-2,0-0 MAAC
89
Winner Penn St. PSU 2-0,0-0 Big Ten
Canisius Canis
0-2,0-0 MAAC
57
Final
89
Penn St. PSU
2-0,0-0 Big Ten
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius Canis 6 15 26 10 57
Penn St. PSU 31 18 17 23 89

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Falls at Penn State

Redshirt sophomore Gracie Merkle recorded a game-high 20 points and grabbed six boards to lift Penn State to a 89-57 win over Canisius in non-conference collegiate women's basketball action Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

Merkle was one of three players to reach double figures for the Lady Lions, who improved to 2-0 on the young season with the win. Jayla Oden notched 12 points while Cam Rust finished with 10 points and a team-best 10 rebounds to record the double-double. Seven Penn State players tallied multiple assists as the Lady Lions combined to record an assist on 24 of their 38 made field goals. 

Graduate student Jaela Johnson scored a team-season high 11 points and added four assists in the losing effort for the Golden Griffins, who moved to 0-2 on the campaign with Thursday's setback. Junior Franka Wittenberg chipped in 10 points and three assists and sophomore Shariah Gailes scored nine points and grabbed eight boards. 

The Griffs' bench contributed significant minutes as freshman Yasmine Djibril scored six points and pitched in eight rebounds while sophomore guard Mary Copple scored seven points of her own.

The Blue and Gold shot 33.7 percent from the field for the game, highlighted by a 9-for-18 performance in the third quarter. After going down 49-21 in the first half, the Griffs came out of the break on fire in third third, out-scoring the Lady Lions by a 26-17 margin during the frame while causing six turnovers.

GAME NOTES
• Thursday marked the first meeting between the two women's basketball programs. 
• Canisius opened the season with back-to-back contests against power conference opponents for just the second time in program history The Griffs faced Syracuse and Wake Forest to open up the 1991-92 season.
• Prior to the start of the game, head coach Tiffany Swoffard and assistant coach Courtney Roman were honored by the Lady Lions for their contributions to the women's basketball program. Swoffard and Roman were part of the Penn State coaching staff for the 2023-24 season.
• The 26 points scored in the third quarter marked the highest scoring frame for the Griffs this season.
• Johnson reached the 10-point threshold for the 28th time of her collegiate career with her 11-point performance on Thursday. 
•The Griffs shot 5-for-22 from three-point range, led by Johnson, who went 3-for-5 behind the arc.
• For the second straight game, all 13 active players received minutes in the contest.
• Johnson and Wittenberg each had positive assist-to-turnover ratios in the contest. Wittenberg recorded three assists and one turnover and Johnson finishing with four assists and three turnovers.
• Sophomore guard Saige Randolph tallied the first points of her collegiate career on a buzzer-beating layup to close out the fourth quarter. 

UP NEXT
The Griffs take a short break before hitting the road to face NEC opponent Saint Francis (Pa.) Nov. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. and will be streamed live on NEC Front Row.

SUPPORT THE GRIFFS
Support the Canisius women's basketball team in conjunction with the "More Than A Game" campaign. Your donation to the women's basketball program helps our student-athletes continue to be champions in the community, in the classroom and in competition. To donate, CLICK HERE.

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