The women's basketball team has not had much success against Canisius lately. The Golden Griffins, one of the top women's basketball programs in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, entered Saturday's Big Four rivalry game on a six-game winning streak over their opponents from Amherst.
Despite having a late lead, the trend continued as the Griffs again topped the Bulls at Alumni Arena.
Down 56-54 with less than a minute left, Canisius guard Micayla Drysdale scored the last five points of the game to secure a 59-56 win over Buffalo.
'Any time you can win a cross-town rivalry game, it's a little extra special,' said Canisius head coach Terry Zeh in a press release. 'We struggled a little bit early to get into our flow, but we dug it out and our upperclassmen stepped up down the stretch to give us a great win.'
Buffalo was in a solid position to win before Drysdale's clutch display. With a two-point lead and the ball in their hands with 1:12 left, junior forward Jessica Fortman was called for a charging foul that negated a Buffalo basket.
With a window of opportunity open, Drysdale drained a three-pointer to put the Griffs (5-2) ahead with 47 seconds. After failing to regain the lead on their next possession, the Bulls (1-6) found themselves trailing by three after Drysdale hit on two free throws. A failed three-point attempt by freshman guard Nicki Hopkins in the final seconds sealed the win for the Griffs.
'To me, the game didn't come down to that final shot, but it came down to us giving them 29 open looks from behind the arc,' said Buffalo head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald in a press release. 'Nicki had a great look in the closing minutes of the game, but that wasn't the game. It was our defense unable to stop those open looks from three. I am proud of our effort and our execution at the end of the game. We were able to get the ball to Nicki, who is going to make a lot of those shots during her career here.'
Shortly after tip-off, it appeared as though the Bulls would put a halt to the team's five-game skid.
Buffalo jumped out to an early 20-10 lead after going on a 15-0 run midway through the first half. Led by two Hopkins three-pointers and six points from Fortman, the Bulls set an up-beat tempo behind the home crowd.
But Canisius would not be on the back of its heels for long. The Griffs ended the first half on a 14-8 run to cut Buffalo's lead to just four points before entering the locker room.
With momentum on its side, Canisius started the second half by scoring five straight points to take a 29-28 lead. In a second half that saw 15 lead changes of no more than three points, the two teams battled down to the final seconds before the Griffs took the final lead of the evening.
Junior forward Kourtney Brown continued to make her presence felt this season after recording another double-double. Brown led the Bulls with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards. She also added four blocks and three steals on the night.
Two freshmen came through for the Bulls as well. Hopkins had her best performance, recording a career-high 15 points on five 3-pointers in 32 minutes of action. Guard Abby Dowd tied her career-high with nine points in 40 minutes of play. She also set new career marks with six rebounds and four assists.
Current MAAC player of the week, Brittane Russell, led Canisius with 19 points, eight rebounds and six turnovers in 38 minutes. Forward Ellie Radke added 14 points, including four of the Golden Griffs' 13 three-pointers.
After opening the season with a win, the Bulls have dropped six-straight contests. Dating back to last season, Buffalo has lost 17 of its last 20 regular season games.
A Big Four rival will once again test the Bulls on Wednesday night as they travel to play St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies defeated Buffalo at Alumni Arena last season 77-58. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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