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Sisi Eleko drives to the basket in the first half of a MAAC Tournament quarterfinal game against Manhattan on March 14, 2024 in Atlantic City, N.J.
Anthony Militello
58
Winner Canisius Canis 17-13,11-9 MAAC
55
Manhattan MC 18-12,11-9 MAAC
Winner
Canisius Canis
17-13,11-9 MAAC
58
Final
55
Manhattan MC
18-12,11-9 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius Canis 12 11 20 15 58
Manhattan MC 11 12 18 14 55

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Beats Manhattan to Advance to MAAC Tournament Semifinals

Canisius sophomore Sisi Eleko recorded a double-double with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds while junior Athina Lexa and sophomore Brooklyn Thrash added 14 points, apiece, to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 58-55 win over fourth-seeded Manhattan in the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinal round game Thursday afternoon at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
 
The win moved Canisius to 17-13 on the year, and it allows the Blue and Gold to advance to the MAAC Tournament semifinal round, where the Griffs will meet top-seeded and nationally-ranked Fairfield on Friday. This marks the first time Canisius has moved on to the MAAC Tournament semifinal round since 2009.
 
For Manhattan, which beat Canisius twice during the regular season by a total of six points, three players scored in double-figures, led by Nitzan Amar, who posted a team-high 11 points. Jade Blagrove and Ines Gimenez Monserrat chipped in 10 points each for the Jaspers, who saw their season end with an 18-12 record.
 
GAME RECAP
The first half ended with the two teams knotted at 23-23, as Canisius and Manhattan combined to make 18 field goals in the contest's first 20 minutes of play. Eleko led all scorers at the intermission with 17 points, 10 of which came in the opening quarter of play, where she accounted for five of the Griffs' first six baskets in the game. Canisius' defense clamped down on Manhattan as well, as the Japers shot just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from the floor through the first two quarters, with five of those eight baskets coming from behind the 3-point line.
 
In the third quarter, Canisius took a seven-point lead at 34-27 with 6:20 left in the frame thanks to an 8-2 scoring spurt that was fueled by a pair of 3-point makes from Thrash. Moments later, Thrash extended the Griffs' lead to nine at 36-27 after she knocked down a pair from the free-throw line. Manhattan was finally able to trim the Griffs' cushion to four points at 40-36 with 1:29 left in the third quarter after mar hit a 3-pointer, and then 46 seconds later, Gimenez Monserrat drilled a 3-point field goal of her own to make the score 40-39 with 47 seconds remaining in the third. Canisius' Mackenzie Amalia's 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in the frame gave Canisius a four-point lead at 43-39, but she was called for a technical foul after the basket was made, and Manhattan hit both free-throws to make the score 43-41 in favor of the Griffs heading into the final quarter of play.
 
In the final frame, Canisius scored seven of the first nine points in the quarter's opening 2:04, capped by a driving lay-up by Eleko, to push the Griffs' lead to 50-43. Moments later, Canisius took its first double-digit lead at 53-43 thanks to a 3-pointer from Grace Heeps, but the Jaspers responded with the game's next four points to make the score 53-47 with 3:17 remaining. Trailing by eight at 55-47 with 2:57 left, Manhattan scored five-straight points to get within three at 55-52 with 2:10 left to play, and with eight seconds remaining, Manhattan cut the Griffs lead to just one at 56-55 following an Amar triple. However, Eleko answered by making a pair at the free-throw line with 5.1 seconds remaining to give Canisius the 58-55 advantage.

Out of their final timeout, the Jaspers had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime, but Amar's 3-point shot fell well short of the rim and the final horn sounded, sending the Griffs on the semifinals.
 
HEAD COACH SAHAR NUSSEIBEH'S POSTGAME COMMENTS
"I am really, really proud of our team's effort today. I think the thing that I am most proud of has nothing to do with the X's and O's, and it has everything to do with the togetherness we played with. I know we had a 10-point lead in the second half and Manhattan came at us with a really strong run to cut it to three, and we stayed together. For me, that's probably the thing I am most proud of as a coach, is that on March, whatever today is, when we are hitting and faced with adversity, we are at our tightest."
 
"I am really proud that we were able to withstand that run from Manhattan. Manhattan is a really disciplined team. I know their head coach, I worked for her for three years, so I know how good of a coach she is and how good of a program she runs. So for us to have beaten them today, it really means a lot to us."
 
GAME NOTES
• Thursday was the 71st all-time meeting between these two schools. Canisius leads the all-time series 36-35.
• The victory over Manhattan in the MAAC Tournament is Canisius' second in eight games, and the first since the Griffs defeated the Jaspers in the 2005 tournament en route to the program's first and only MAAC women's basketball tournament title.
• Canisius was tied with an opponent at halftime for the second time this season and the fourth time under Nusseibeh, and Thursday's game marked the first win in one of those games for the Griffs.
• Canisius improved to 11-1 this season in the game immediately following a loss.
• Eleko's 24-point effort marks the third time this season where she has scored 24 points in a game. It also serves as her eighth game of 20-or more points scored this season.
• Eleko now has 18 double-doubles this season, and she is 11 rebounds shy of passing former Griff Mary Achramovich for the school's single-season rebounding record.
• Amalia's six assists gives her multiple assists in 27-straight games, dating back to Nov. 20 against D'Youville.
• Thrash's 14 points are a season high, and she has now made multiple 3-point field goals eight times this season.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will meet Fairfield in the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Women's Basketball Championship semifinal round o Friday, with tip-off at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall set for 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Canisius radio call will be available for free through the Golden Griffin Broadcast Network at GoGriffs.com and the Varsity Network app. The M&T Bank Pregame Show will start at 10:40 a.m.

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