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Jaela Johnson sizes up the court in Canisius win over Sacred Heart
Joe Lehrman
67
Winner Canisius Canis 4-14,3-5 MAAC
53
Sacred Heart SH 5-12,1-7 MAAC
Winner
Canisius Canis
4-14,3-5 MAAC
67
Final
53
Sacred Heart SH
5-12,1-7 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius Canis 24 10 15 18 67
Sacred Heart SH 12 9 14 18 53

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Johnson’s Season-High 20 points Lifts Women’s Basketball Over Sacred Heart

Graduate student Jaela Johnson recorded a season-high 20 points and junior Mariam Sanogo added 11 points to help lead Canisius to a 67-53 road victory over Sacred Heart Thursday in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn.

The Golden Griffins continue their recent road success with the win, and now hold a 3-5 conference record and 4-14 overall ledger. The Pioneers fall to 1-7 in MAAC play and 5-12 on the season.

Johnson posted her highest scoring night since Feb. 20, 2022 where she dropped 24 points against Jacksonville State while playing at Bellarmine. The Louisville, Ky. native finished the night going 7-for-11 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point land and racked up a game-high six assists. 14 of Johnson's points came in the first half, allowing the Griffs to take a 13-point lead at halftime.

Junior Franka Wittenberg also chipped in an efficient game, scoring nine points, adding five rebounds and five assists. On the boards, Sanogo collected six to go along with her 11 points and sophomore Shariah Gailes nabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Blue and Gold shot 46.4 percent from the floor in the win, 37.5 percent from long distance (6-for-16) and went 9-for-14 from the free-throw line. 

For Sacred Heart, Ny'Ceara Pryor led the team with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals. The Pioneers shot a 31.7 field-goal percentage in the loss, highlighted by a 1-for-16 shooting night from beyond the arc.

The Griffs were able to jump ahead of the Pioneers early in the contest, shooting 61.5 percent in the first quarter to take a 24-12 lead. The Canisius first quarter scoring outburst was bolstered by a 13-3 advantage on the boards and a 3-for-3 three-point shooting effort from Johnson, Wittenberg and senior Cory Santoro.

After the first quarter, Sacred Heart played the Griffs evenly with the Griffs out-scoring the Pioneers 43-41 the rest of the way. Sacred Heart cut the lead to nine points at the 8:33 mark of the fourth quarter, but a 13-9 run to close out the quarter allowed the Griffs to win with a comfortable 14-point cushion.

GAME NOTES
• With the win, Canisius evened the all-time series, 1-1, between after the two programs met for the first time on Jan. 5, with Sacred Heart beating the Griffs 70-63 at home.
• Canisius recorded a season-high 46 rebounds, beating the Pioneers 36-19 on the defensive glass. This is the first time since Feb. 15, 2024 at Marist where the Griffs posted 45 or more rebounds in a game.
• The +21 rebounding advantage for the Griffs is the largest since Nov. 21, 2015 when the Griffs out-rebounded Saint Francis (Pa.) by 21.
• Canisius has out-rebounded their opponent in their last five games.
• The win marked the highest scoring game of the season for the Griffs with 67 points and most field goals made of the season with 26.
• Johnson recorded her fifth game of the season where she had five or more assists.

UP NEXT
The Griffs travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Saturday to face the Marist Red Foxes in MAAC play. Tip-off is set for 2 P.M. and will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

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