LORETTO, Pa. – The Canisius women’s basketball team fended off a late St. Francis rally to prevail 48-46 at DeGol Arena Friday morning.
A kids day crowd of 1,418 attended the game.
Yanessa Boyd (12 points), Natalie Johnson (12) and Marissa Shelton (10) each recorded double-digit points for 0-4 St. Francis. The nine steals recorded by the team is the most in a game this season. Eight different players registered a steal, with Marina Artero tallying two.
Canisius (1-2) outscored St. Francis 21-12 between the second and third quarters. Franka Wittenberg led the Golden Griffins with 10 points.
Canisius started off the game with a quick seven-point run in the first 2:06 of the first quarter. After a timeout, the Red Flash went on a 13-5 spurt to take a 13-12 lead. Canisius’ Jaela Johnson responded with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Canisius a 15-13 lead after the first.
The Golden Griffins carried the momentum into the second quarter, outscoring the Red Flash 9-4 to go up 24-17 at halftime. They proceeded to extend their lead to 36-25 after a 12-8 third-quarter edge.
At the 6:11 mark in the fourth quarter, Canisius held a 44-33 lead. St. Francis proceeded to make a furious comeback with a 13-2 run that was capped off by two Alary Bell free throws to tie the game at 46-all. The rally fell short when Wittenberg sank two free throws with three seconds left that proved to be the game-deciding points. St. Francis’ Harris Robinson had her 3-pointer blocked before the buzzer.
Shelton scored the first eight points for the Red Flash in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers. Johnson’s and-one jumper followed by a Boyd jumper rounded out the run that gave the team a slight lead going into the closing moments.
Artero and Boyd were responsible for the four points in the second quarter. Boyd knocked down two free throws before time expired to cut into the deficit.
Johnson racked up four points in the third quarter. Her jumper at the 1:35 mark cut the deficit to 34-25.
During the 13-2 St. Francis run in the fourth, the team went 5 of 5 from the field. Johnson, Boyd and Bell combined for all 13 points. Overall in the quarter, the Red Flash made 8 of 15 (53.3%) field goals.
Boyd has notched double-digit points in back-to-back games after posting 10 at Coppin State. It is the sophomore’s 11th career game of scoring 10 or more points.
Johnson’s 12 points (5 of 10 from the field) marks the ninth time she hit 10 or more in a game in her career. Shelton’s 10 points is her third career double-digit scoring game.
Shelton, Artero and Julianna Gibson each accumulated a team-high four rebounds. Shelton tied her career high with her first game of four rebounds coming Nov. 29, 2023, at Pittsburgh.
The Red Flash went a season-high 12 of 13 (92.3%) from the free-throw line. Bell and Boyd were both 4 of 4 from the line.
The Red Flash will be back at DeGol Arena when they take on Loyola Maryland at 2 p.m. Sunday.
