Canisius 58, Niagara 57
How Canisius Won: The Griffs were down 10 and squandering possessions en masse before righting their wrongs midway through the second half. They turned up the defense, limiting to Niagara to one field goal the rest of the way. They cut down on the turnovers. And they got a highlight film of a drive from Ashley Durham to win it a hair before the buzzer.
Player of the Game: Having chastized herself for missing two FTs (she shoots 90% from the stripe in the MAAC), Durham drove the length of the floor on the final Canisius possession and banked home a wide layup over center Lauren Gatto. That more than offset Durham's five turnovers. She finished with nine points and seven assists.
Best Supporting Role: Jamie Ruttle owned the paint, scoring 17 points in 34 minutes. She also helped limit Gatto to six points. Gatto had 15 in the first meeting.
Stat of the Game: Niagara shot 9 of 19 from three against a team that had limited its last 16 conference foes to a cumulative 24.9%. Freshman Meghan McGuinness had three of them.
What It Means: Canisius improved to 11-12 overall and 5-7 in conference in winning their first conference road game and notching their third victory in the last four starts. Niagara (8-16 5-7) has yet to string together consecutive victories.
They Said It . . .
Niagara coach Kendra Faustin (a former Canisius assistant): "A traditional Canisius-Niagara game. It'll always be a good game."
Canisius Coach Terry Zeh: "I'm not going to lie to you. I hate Kendra coaching here. I hate it. She's a very, very good friend of mine and I think it's the most difficult thing in the world."
In the House: 287 at the Taps.
Next Up: Niagara swings through Manhattan and Iona next weekend. Canisius travels to Rider and Saint Peter's.
Bob DiCesare
