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Brooklyn Thrash shoots a 3-pointer against Siena on Feb. 17, 2024
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64
Siena Siena 13-10,10-5 MAAC
71
Winner Canisius Canis 14-10,9-6 MAAC
Siena Siena
13-10,10-5 MAAC
64
Final
71
Canisius Canis
14-10,9-6 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Siena Siena 17 9 19 19 64
Canisius Canis 18 12 25 16 71

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Defeats Siena in Crucial MAAC Match-Up

Canisius sophomore Sisi Eleko scored 14 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 71-64 victory over Siena in MAAC women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center.
 
The win, Canisius' second straight and third in its last four outings, improved the Blue and Gold to 14-10 overall and 9-6 in league play. The victory also gives Canisius the regular-season sweep of Siena, the Griffs' first since the 2013-14 campaign. Siena fell to 13-10 overall and 10-5 in league action with its second-straight loss.

Eleko ended the day with her MAAC-leading 13th double-double of the season after she added 15 rebounds to her 21-point effort. She went 9-for-16 from the floor in the win and six of her 15 boards came off the offensive glass. Senior Mackenzie Amalia added 16 points and matched a career-high with eight assists, while sophomore Brooklyn Thrash chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. For the game, Canisius shot 45.5 percent from the field and ended up outscoring the Saints by a 34-28 clip in the paint.
 
Siena, which used just eight players on Saturday, was led by guard Teresa Seppala, who posted a team-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds. Elisa Mevius and Alden Yergey each had 13 points in the losing cause for the Saints, which shot 41.0 percent from the floor for the contest.

GAME RECAP
Leading 18-17 after one quarter of play, the Canisius offense found its rhythm in the second quarter, using an 11-4 run over the first 5:37 of the second quarter to take a 29-21 lead over Siena. Amalia fueled that run for the Blue and Gold scoring five of the Griffs' 11 points, including a 3-point make off a pass from teammate Grace Heeps with 4:23 left in the opening half. The Saints battled back by scoring five of the final six points before intermission to trim Canisius' lead to 30-26 at halftime.
 
In the opening moments of the third quarter, Siena got within two at 34-32 after Mevius drilled one of her team-leading three 3-point field goals on the day. But that would be as close as the Saints would get to the Griffs for the remainder of the game, as the Blue and Gold outscored Siena 14-6 over the contest's next 5:07, with Eleko accounting for 10 of Canisius' 14 points in the surge. The Griffs took their largest lead of the day at 11 points with 55 seconds left in the third quarter after Amalia made 1-of-2 chances from the free-throw line, and later, a pair of free-throws from Heeps in the closing seconds of the frame put the home team up 10 at 50-40.

In the final quarter, Siena pulled with five points at 55-50 with 8:49 remaining, but the Blue and Gold responded with eight of the game's next 11 points, highlighted by a 3-point make by Amalia with 5:05 left to play, that pushed Canisius' margin back to 10 at 63-53. Despite turning the ball over 11 times in the game's final 10:00 of play, the Griffs shot 62.5 percent from the field and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to secure the win, the team's seventh victory at home this season.  
POSTGAME COMMENTS:   GAME NOTES:
• Saturday marked the 85th all-time meeting between the two long-time MAAC rivals. Siena leads the series 57-28.
• Canisius' 71 points on Saturday are the most for the team since the Blue and Gold beat Binghamton 71-64 back on Dec. 8.
• The win on Saturday gives Canisius nine MAAC wins this year. The last time Canisius won nine league games in a season was when the team went 9-9 in conference action during the 2018-19 campaign.
• Each team made five 3-pointers on the day. This marks the sixth time under head coach Sahar Nusseibeh and the second time this season where the Griffs and their opponent had the same number of 3-point makes in a game.
• Canisius out-rebounded Siena by a 40-29 count. The Griffs have had 40-or more boards in back-to-back games and now for the sixth time this season.
• Eleko notched consecutive double-dobules for the third time this season, and first instance since Dec. 18 through Dec. 21.
• Eleko now has 255 rebounds this season. She needs 30 more boards this year to pass Shauna Gernonzin for the most all-time by a Canisius sophomore in a single season.
• Amalia finished in double-figures for the eighth time this season, and she has dished out eight assists on three different occasions.
• Canisius is now 2-0 this season when wearing their pink jerseys. The Griffs will wear the pink jerseys for all remaining home games and select road games for the rest of February.

UP NEXT:
The Blue and Gold will return to the road next week for a pair of league games, starting at Manhattan on Feb. 22. Game time in Riverdale, N.Y., is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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