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Franka Wittenberg dribbles against Mount St. Mary's at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Lindy Feider
63
Mount St. Mary's MSM 13-14,9-9 MAAC
68
Winner Canisius Canis 5-22,3-15 MAAC
Mount St. Mary's MSM
13-14,9-9 MAAC
63
Final
68
Canisius Canis
5-22,3-15 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Mount St. Mary's MSM 11 12 19 15 6 63
Canisius Canis 19 8 12 18 11 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Overtime Outburst Lifts Women's Basketball Past Mount St. Mary's

An 9-0 run by Canisius in overtime helped lift the Golden Griffins to a 68-63 victory over Mount St. Mary's in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Canisius improved to 5-22 overall and 3-15 in conference action with the win. The loss dropped the Mountaineers to 13-14 overall and 9-9 in conference play.

Junior Shariah Gailes led Canisius with a game-high 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while senior Franka Wittenberg and sophomore Yasmine Djibril each scored 12 points in the winning effort. Wittenberg also grabbed eight boards and matched a season-high with five assists, as the Griffs recorded 18 assists on 26-made field goals. As a team, Canisius shot 44.8 percent from the floor on the day and knocked down 11-of-16 chances from the free-throw line, with seven of those makes coming in the game's extra session.

Alana Powell scored a team-high 13 points in the loss for the Mount, while teammate Kayla Lindsey was good for 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Mount St. Mary's ended the day by shooting 42.6 percent from the field, but the Griffs' defense held the Mountaineers to just three makes on 10 shots in the overtime session.

Trailing 55-47 with 3:14 left to play in regulation time, Canisius outscored Mount St. Mary's 10-2 over the final 2:32 of the fourth quarter to force the game into overtime. In that 10-2 run, Canisius got Gailes scored four points and Wittenburg's lay-up with 16 seconds remaining knotted the contest at 57-57. Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation, but both teams came up empty, sending the Griffs to their second-straight overtime contest.

In the extra session, a lay-up by Gailes knotted the score at 61-61 with a lay-up with 2:30 showing on the clock to start the Griffs' 9-0 run. Seven of those nine points came from the free-throw line, and the Griffs' defense held the Mount without a point for 3:35 before Zaria Harleaux scored a lay-up with just five seconds remaining.

Canisius took and early 19-11 lead after the game's first 10 minutes, as five different Griffs scored in the opening frame. Three of Canisius' first six makes from the field came from behind the 3-point arc, with Mary Copple hitting to of those treys en route to her nine-point performance on the day. Canisius took a 27-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

In the third quarter, Mount St. Mary's shot 53.3 percent from the field and outscored the Griffs 19-12 to take a three-point lead at 42-39 into the fourth quarter. A lay-up by Lindsey with 59 seconds left in the third gave the Mount its first lead of the game at 39-37, but Canisius knotted the contest back up at 39-39 thanks to a bucket by Ileana Feliz. The Mountaineers took that three-point lead into the fourth quarter, however, as Berlynn Carlson drained a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the frame. That triple was one of just four makes from behind the arc on the day for the Mount.

GAME NOTES
• Canisius and Mount St. Mary's met for the 13th time in series history. The win snapped the Griffs' three-game losing skid against the Mountaineers.
• Canisius played back-to-back overtime games for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.
• Saturday serves as the Griffs' first overtime win since Feb. 27, 2023 at Saint Peter's. It marks the first time the Blue and Gold won an overtime game at the Koessler Athletic Center since Jan. 5, 2023.
• The Griffs forced the Mountaineers to turn over the ball 22 times, which they scored 17 points.
• Canisius has held its last 19 opponent to nine-or fewer 3-point makes, dating back to Dec. 12, against Wright State.
• Canisius, which leads the MAAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense, has now held opponents under 25 percent from behind the arc in four of the last six games.
• Saturday was the 15th time this season Gailes scored 10-or more points in a game.
• Wittenburg's five assists gives her multiple assists in 21 games this year.
• Prior to the game, the program honored seniors Wittenberg and Evie van der Woude on Senior Day.

UP NEXT
Canisius embarks on its final road trip of the season, beginning at Merrimack on Thursday. Game time inside Lawler Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will broadcast live on ESPN+.

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