BUFFALO, N.Y. – A 13-6 run over the final 5:13 of the fourth quarter secured the Canisius College women's basketball team an 80-73 exhibition victory over upset-minded Daemen College tonight at the Koessler Athletic Center on the Canisius campus.
It marked the second-straight year Daemen has prepped for the regular-season with an exhibition game against a NCAA Division I opponent. Last year the Wildcats suffered a 79-56 loss at the University at Buffalo in an exhibition game.
Three players reached double figures in points for Daemen. Junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) scored 15 first-half points and finished with 19 points, four assists and three blocks. Freshman guard Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) played 30 minutes, drilled five three-pointers and finished with 18 points, two assists and two steals. Senior Jesse DeWaters (Lockport, N.Y./Niagara CC) connected on 4-of-7 shots and totaled 10 points and four boards off the bench, while classmate Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) played 33 minutes and totaled seven points and a team-high seven assists.
Rookies Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) and Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) both had impressive debuts. Heinold started and finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists, while Pringle chipped in eight points in 12 minutes. Junior Liz Miles (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) hauled in a team-high seven rebounds.
Canisius, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), had all five starters score in double figures. Sophomore Maria Welch (Erie, Pa.) finished with a team-high 15 points and also contributed seven rebounds and four assists.
Daemen connected on 5-of-10 three-pointers during the first quarter and the Wildcats took a 27-24 lead into the second frame. Daemen outscored the Golden Griffins 9-5 over the first 3:27 of the second quarter and a pull up jumper by Saba with 6:23 left in the frame gave the visitors a 36-29 lead. Neither team scored for the next two minutes before a bucket by senior Lauren D'Hont (Pittsford, N.Y.) sparked the hosts on a 10-0 run. A layup by junior Saliah Serrette (Natick, Mass.) with 1:38 left before halftime capped the spurt and gave the Golden Griffins a 39-36 lead. Canisius scored the final five points of the half and took a 44-36 lead into halftime.
Daemen, which held the lead for 12 minutes during the first half, misfired on its final nine field goal attempts of the half, while Canisius went 6-for-12 from the field down the stretch.
Canisius took its largest lead of the game, 46-36, early in the third quarter, but the Wildcats put together a 13-5 run and tied the game at 49-49 following a steal and layup by McDonell with 4:46 left in the quarter. Canisius scored the next four points, before a triple by Jones sparked the Wildcats on an 8-0 run that gave the visitors a 57-53 lead.
Daemen took a 57-56 lead into the final quarter and took a 62-58 lead following a three-pointer by Heinold two minutes into the fourth quarter. Canisius scored the next four points and the hosts later tied the game at 65-65 after junior Sarah Cooley (Lexington, Ky.) drained a three-pointer with 6:26 left. Heinold gave the Wildcats their final lead of the game, 67-65, with 6:12 left, but Canisius got a bucket by Serrette and another triple from Cooley for a 70-67 lead. Pringle hit a clutch jumper just before the shot clock expired at the other end, but the Griffs scored the next nine points to secure the win.
Daemen shot 43-percent (27-63) from the field overall and canned 13-of-31 three-point attempts. Six different players hit at least one triple in the game for Daemen. Canisius also shot 43-percent from the field overall (28-65), but the hosts made just 8-of-23 from downtown. Canisius finished with a 43-34 advantage in rebounds.
Daemen tips off the 2016-17 season this weekend by taking part in the ECC / CACC Challenge hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y. The tournament will feature teams from the East Coast Conference (ECC) and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). Daemen will face Felician University during opening night action on Friday (Nov. 11) and then square off against Nyack College in the second round on Saturday (Nov. 12) afternoon.
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