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The Canisius bench celebrates after a Jaela Johnson made three versus Niagara
Joe Lehrman
70
Winner Canisius Canis 5-15,4-6 MAAC
53
Niagara Niag 1-17,0-10 MAAC
Winner
Canisius Canis
5-15,4-6 MAAC
70
Final
53
Niagara Niag
1-17,0-10 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius Canis 21 18 15 16 70
Niagara Niag 8 17 15 13 53

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Rolls Past Niagara

Graduate student Jaela Johnson tallied a game-high 16 points and sophomore Shariah Gailes recorded her fourth double-double of the season as Canisius cruised to a 70-53 victory over Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara Thursday in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the Gallagher Center in Lewiston, N.Y.

The win moved the Golden Griffins to 5-15 overall and 4-6 in MAAC play while the Purple Eagles slipped to 1-17 on the season and 0-10 in league action. Thursday's victory also marked the first win in the last seven tries for the Blue and Gold over their long-time rival.

Johnson and Gailes highlighted a Canisius attack that established a season high for points with the victory as the duo went a combined 17-for-18 from the charity stripe. Gailes also dominated on the board, posting a career-high 13 rebounds in the winning effort. Freshman Irene Rey Pineda tallied a career-high eight points while going 4-for-4 from the floor.

All 12 active players saw the floor in the contest and 11 scored a point for Canisius, who shot a season-best 52.6 from the field, made a season-best 23-of-29 free-throws and posted their fourth 40-plus rebound performance of the season with 41 boards.

For Niagara, Safiatu Kolliegbo led the scoring with 12 points while Lore Porter and Talia Dial each chipped in 11 points. The Purple Eagles caused havoc with their full court press, recording 34 turnovers, but were only able to score 20 points with those opportunities. Overall, Niagara shot 31.7 percent from the floor, made 7-of-22 shots from long range and hit 54.5 (6-for-11) percent of its tosses at the line.

The Griffs claimed their first wire-to-wire win of the season as their hot three-point shooting in the first quarter allowed them to take an early 18-3 lead. Junior Franka Wittenberg, senior Cory Santoro and Johnson went 4-for-5 combined from three-point land before the first media timeout. Santoro led all scorers in the first half, posting nine points and four assists before the break.

Up by 14 after halftime, the Griffs opened the third quarter with an 11-5 run, punctuated by a three-ball from sophomore Mary Copple that gave the Griffs a 50-30 lead. From there, Johnson sealed the game, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES
• After the 105th addition of the Battle of the Bridge, Canisius now holds a 61-44 edge over Niagara as it claimed its first win over the Purple Eagles since Feb. 24, 2020
• Johnson's 10-for-10 performance from the charity stripe was the first 100 percent free-throw performance with 10 or more attempts for the Griffs since Jan. 21, 2015, when Kayla Hoohuli went 13-for-13 at Niagara.
• Gailes' career-high 13 rebound night was the most for a Griff since Sisi Eleko had 13 against Rider on March 4, 2024
• Santoro tied her career-high with four assists in the contest.
• Canisius out-rebounded Niagara 41-26. Wittenberg and junior Mariam Sanogo both had six in the contest while freshman Yasmine Djibril had seven.
• The Griffs tied their season high by generating 22 turnovers. 
• Djibril played a career-high 29 minutes off the bench.
• This is the Griffs first wire-to-wire win since Feb. 24, 2024 when they beat Quinnipiac at home.
• Canisius is now 5-1 under head coach Tiffany Swoffard when leading after halftime.

UP NEXT
Canisius opens a three-game homestand Feb. 8 when it welcomes Quinnipiac to the Koessler Athletic Center for a 6 p.m. contest. The game will serve as Female Student-Athlete recognition night and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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