The Canisius women’s basketball team held the Manhattan Jaspers to under 10 points in two of the four quarters of play on Thursday, and completed the season sweep with a 58-48 win at the Koessler Athletic Center.
The Griffs battled through a tough offensive night of their own, led by the offensive efforts of their sophomore star, Sara Hinriksdottir, who led all scorers with 20 points. With the win the Blue and Gold improved to 7-15 overall and 6-7 in MAAC play, while Manhattan dropped to 7-15 and 3-10 in conference action.
The Griffs used a strong third-quarter, where the squad stymied the Manhattan offense, holding the team to just eight points and 23 percent shooting (4-of-17), while notching 14 points of its own, to take control of the contest, 40-27 at the end of three quarters of action.
Hinriksdottir started strong in the game, scoring all of the Griffs 11 points in the first quarter, and finishing 7-of-12 from the field, and chipping in seven rebounds and two assists
Also having a strong game was Lauren D’Hont, who was a jack-of-all trades in the contest, scoring 15 points, securing seven rebounds, dishing out three assists and recording one block and two steals.
Maria Welch also flirted with double-figures in the contest, scoring nine and coming away with three boards
The Griffs controlled the glass in the contest, outrebounding the Jaspers 42-36, while the team limited its turnovers to just 12, while Manhattan coughed it up 13 times.
“We defended the way we wanted and we rebounded the way we wanted to,” head coach Terry Zeh said. “Offensively we had a bunch of shots that we normally make that didn’t go in. So that’s a gritty win when you play like that.”
With the win the Griffs improve its all-time series lead over Manhattan to 33-27. The home team continues to dominate the series with Canisius extending its lead at the Koessler Athletic Center to 21-7. It was also the second time in three years the Blue and Gold have earned the series sweep of Manhattan doing it this season as well as the 2014-15 season. Sara Hinriksdottir continues to be the driving force of the offense, hitting double-digits for the 19th time this season. She has only missed that feat three times during the 2016-17 campaign. The Griffs earned its first win when shooting under 40 percent, and under 37 percent from beyond the arc. Canisius is also now 4-2 when taking down more rebounds than their opponent.
Canisius attempts the weekend sweep as it continues its three-game homestand with a Saturday matinee against Iona. Game time is set for 2 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Following that game Canisius will host Niagara in a women/men doubleheader beginning at 5:30 on Feb. 10.
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