Canisius outscored Marist, 26-14, in the third quarter to take control of the contest and record its fourth straight victory with a 67-62 triumph in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's basketball action Monday at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Sophomore Sisi Eleko paced the Golden Griffins (6-3, 2-0 MAAC) offense with her league-leading sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Graduate student Grace Heeps and junior Athina Lexa joined Eleko in double figures, tallying 14 points apiece. Heeps and fellow graduate student Bri Rozzi would also help on the glass, grabbing six boards each. Senior Mackenzie Amalia dished out a game-high eight assists, tying her career-high which she set earlier this year against Buffalo.
Kiara Fisher paced the Red Foxes (2-9, 0-2 MAAC) with 21 points and six assists while Zaria Shazer and Julia Corsentino added in 15 and 12, respectively. On the glass, Catie Cunningham grabbed a team-best nine boards.
Caught in a back-and-forth contest to start, Canisius' offense would heat up in the final 3:02 of the first quarter, closing the stanza on a 7-3 stretch, capped by a pull-up jumper from Heeps to put the Griffs ahead, 18-16.
The Marist defense would take over in the second quarter, limiting Canisius to just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting (.200) from the field while putting up 10 points of their own to enter the locker room ahead by one, 26-25.
After a Shazer bucket began the third frame, the Griffs would use an Eleko basket to spark a 12-2 run that allowed them to reclaim the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter, 37-31, with 6:30 left in the frame.
Out of the whistle, the Red Foxes would respond, scoring seven of the next 10 points across a 2:17 span to trim the Canisius lead to just two, 40-38, with 4:13 to play.
The Griffs responded to the Marist salvo, ending the quarter on an 11-3 spurt highlighted by a 3-of-4 effort from deep to enter the fourth quarter ahead by 10, 51-40.
After trading baskets to begin the final frame, the Red Foxes attempted to mount one last comeback, using a 12-3 stretch to trim the Canisius lead to five, 63-58, with just 40 seconds left.
Canisius would weather the Marist late-game surge, using four makes from the free-throw line in the final minute of play to offset a pair of late Marist baskets to leave with a five-point victory.
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH SAHAR NUSSEIBEH
GAME NOTES
• The four-game winning streak is the longest since a stretch of five straight wins during the 2015-16 season (Feb. 12-22).
• Canisius has started consecutive seasons 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons after finishing off the weekend sweep of Siena and Marist.
• The Griffs four-game road winning streak is their longest since a stretch of five straight spanning from Dec. 20, 2008 through Jan. 11, 2009.
• Canisius has now won four straight against the Red Foxes, tying the longest winning streak against Marist in program history (March 1, 2001-Jan. 24, 2003).
• The win was only the Griffs eighth ever win while facing Marist on the road.
• Today marked only the third time all season Canisius was losing at halftime. The Griffs are now 2-1 this season when trailing at the start of the second half.
• Heeps established a season-high for 3-point field goals as she finished with four makes from beyond the arc.
• Every player who checked into the game today for Canisius registered at least two points.
• Lexa has finished in double-digits for the third consecutive game and fourth time this season.
UP NEXT
Canisius completes its six-game road swing Thursday with a non-conference contest at Youngstown State. Tip-off against the Penguins is set for 11 a.m., with the game airing on ESPN+.
