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Canisius University Athletics

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Jaela Johnson
Joe Lehrman
47
Saint Peter's SP 11-18,9-11 MAAC
50
Winner Canisius Canis 10-20,9-11 MAAC
Saint Peter's SP
11-18,9-11 MAAC
47
Final
50
Canisius Canis
10-20,9-11 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Saint Peter's SP 10 15 13 9 47
Canisius Canis 8 18 9 15 50

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Closes Regular Season With Win Over Saint Peter’s

Trailing by one late in regulation, buckets from sophomore Mary Copple and junior Franka Wittenberg propelled Canisius to a 50-47 victory over Saint Peter's in MAAC women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo.  

In the regular-season finale for both programs, the Golden Griffins picked up their third consecutive win as they improved to 10-20 overall and 9-11 in MAAC play. The Peacocks closed their regular season with an 11-18 overall ledger with an identical 9-11 conference record. Both teams will play next week at the 2025 MAAC Championships in Atlantic City, N.J. 

Graduate student Jaela Johnson paced the Griffs with 17 points and a career-high eight rebounds in the contest. Copple continued her hot three-point shooting, posting her second straight game with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from deep. Wittenberg totaled six points for the Griffs to go along with a game-high seven assists and junior Mariam Sanogo scored six points and nabbed seven rebounds. As a team, Canisius shot 38.0 percent from the field, while going 6-for-21 from three-point land and securing 38 rebounds.

For Saint Peter's, De'Naya Rippey posted a game-high 22 points and teammate Fatmata Janneh added 11 points and 13 rebounds. The Peacocks committed just eight turnovers on the game but shot 29.7 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from three.

In a tightly-contested matchup that featured a total of 16 lead changes, 12 ties and no team gaining a lead larger than five points, Saint Peter's held a 46-45 lead with less than three minutes to play in the fourth when Copple nailed her fourth three of the contest to give the Griffs a two-point advantage. 

After the Peacocks were unable to convert on their next possession, a driving lay-up from Wittenberg stretched the Griffs lead to 50-46 with 1:07 remaining. Saint Peter's went one-of-two at the free-throw line during its next trip down the floor to trim the deficit to three before earned an opportunity to tie the game moments later it forced a Canisius turnover, getting possession with 29 seconds on the clock. The Peacocks could not find the equalizer, however, missing a pair of three-point attempts before freshman Jasmine D'Jibril grabbed the rebound, allowing the Griffs to hold on for the three-point victory.

Earlier in the contest, Canisius held an 18-14 edge before the Peacocks used an 8-0 spurt to grab a 22-18 lead with two minutes remaining in the first half. The Griffs regained the lead before the break, taking advantage of a pair of threes from Copple buzzer beating fade-away from Wittenberg to carry a 26-25 edge heading into the locker room.

Saint Peter's outscored the Griffs, 13-9, during the third quarter and notched the opening basket of the fourth to take its largest lead of the game, 40-35. The Griffs battled back, scoring eight of the next 11 points to edge back in front, before a layup by Allana with 2:27 on the clock gave the Peacocks a 46-45 edge, setting the stage for the Griffs' late-game surge. 

GAME NOTES
• Canisius now leads the all-time series 40-37 over Saint Peter's after the 77th meeting between the two programs on Saturday.
• The Griffs celebrated senior day prior to the contest where the honored graduating student-athletes Xanthippi Karatasiou, Cory Santoro, Sara Carvajal Caro and Johnson
• Canisius tallied their second game in-a-row where they held their opponent to less than 10 percent shooting from beyond the arc. On Thursday, they held Rider to just 7.7 percent from three.
• Johnson's career-high eight rebounds on Saturday marked the sixth time in her career she tallied seven or more rebounds.
• Wittenberg's seven assists was the second highest total of the season for her. She had eight assists in her performance against Binghamton on Nov. 11, 2024.
• Copple scored in double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. She has scored 10 or more points five times this season.

UP NEXT
Canisius is the No. 9 seed for the 2025 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, scheduled for March 11-15 at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

The Griffs will face No. 8 seed Manhattan in a first-round contest Tuesday at noon. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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