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Franka Wittenberg drives to the basket versus Saint Peter's
Joe Lehrman
55
Canisius Canis 2-13,1-4 MAAC
61
Winner Saint Peter's SP 5-9,3-2 MAAC
Canisius Canis
2-13,1-4 MAAC
55
Final
61
Saint Peter's SP
5-9,3-2 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius Canis 8 11 12 24 55
Saint Peter's SP 10 9 27 15 61

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Three-Point Shooting Lifts Saint Peter’s Over Women’s Basketball

Junior Franka Wittenberg scored a season-high 26 points, highlighted by a 12-point fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome Saint Peter's hot shooting from beyond the arc as the Peacocks defeated Canisius 61-55 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, N.J.

The Peacocks improved to 3-2 in league play and 5-9 on the season, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 1-4 in conference play and 2-13 overall.

Saint Peter's was led offensively by Fatmata Janneh, who scored 23 points and posted a game-high 10 rebounds. Nikola Zdenkova and Laila Grant also posted double-figure scoring efforts and combined for 7-for-16 shooting from behind the arc. For the game, Saint Peter's shot 38.9 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from 3-point land (12-for-33) and went 7-for-11 from the free-throw line.

For Canisius, Wittenberg was highly efficient from the field, shooting 66.7 percent on the day (10-for-15) and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe (6-for-7). She also tied the team-high in rebounds with freshman Yasmine Djibril, who both had eight in the contest. Graduate student Jaela Johnson scored 13 points and went 2-for-8 from distance and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

After a highly physical and defensive first half, both teams were knotted up at 19-19 at the halftime break. Saint Peter's began the third quarter with a 10-0 run over a stretch of 3:00 before going on a separate 15-5 run from 4:41 to the end of the third frame to take a 46-31 lead. The Peacocks went 6-for-8 from three in during these two scoring runs.

In the fourth, Canisius made their offensive push, outscoring the Peacocks 24-15 in the quarter. Until the 4:46 media timeout, Canisius was on a 14-9 run and cut the Saint Peter's lead to 10 points, bolstered by shot making from both Johnson and Wittenberg. The rally was not enough, however, and the Griffs were able to cut the lead down to six points before the time expired.

Overall, the Griffs shot 37.7 percent from the field, 22.7 percent from distance (5-for-22) and went 10-for-13 from the free-throw line.

GAME NOTES
• Saturday's contest marked the 75th meeting between the two programs and the 37th win for Saint Peter's. Canisius leads 38-37 in the all-time series.
• Wittenberg's 26 points was not only a career-high for the junior, but the most points scored by any Canisius player since Danielle Sanderlin scored 30 points at Saint Peters on Feb. 15, 2020.
• Wittenberg made the most field goals (10) and free-throws (6) by any Canisius player this season. Her 10 free-throws marked the most since Sisi Eleko made 10 charity tosses at Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 24, 2024.
• Wittenberg has scored in double-figures in six of her last eight games.
• Johnson recorded her 31st double-figure scoring night of her career.
• Freshman Alex Moses recorded the first points of her collegiate career with a 3-point field goal in the second quarter. 

UP NEXT
The Griffs return home to the Koessler Athletic Center for a two-game homestand, beginning with Iona on Jan.16. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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