BUFFALO — After spending much of the season on the road in 2016-17, the Blue and Gold get a chance to settle into a month that features five of its eight games to be played, at the Koessler Athletic Center.
It comes at a critical time of the season as well, as the Griffs enter the contest with a 8-16 overall mark and a 7-8 MAAC record. Canisius enters the final game of the week, coming off a dominating performance over the Niagara Purple Eagles at home on Friday. The Blue and Gold completed the season-sweep of Niagara with a 52-41 victory as part of the annual, men’s and women’s doubleheader. Sara Hinriksdottir and Lauren D’Hont led the way offensively as the Icelandic sophomore scored 16 points, while D’Hont did it all on Friday, scoring 14 points, and adding four rebounds and three assists.
The team defensively smothered the Purple Eagle attack, holding the team to just three points in first quarter and 29 percent shooting for the game. On the season overall, Hinriksidottir is Leading the team offensively, and averages 14.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest. She also shoots near 50 percent with a mark of 46.9 percent from the field. D’Hont is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.5 points per game, to go along with a 4.2 rebound per contest mark. Also flirting with a double-digit average is Margret Halfdanardottir, who averages 9.3 per contest. The long-range specialist is shooting 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. Tamara Miskovic is the team’s assist leader, averaging 3.0 helpers per contest this season. The Blue and Gold is averaging 59.3 points per game, while opponents are tallying 64.4 points per contest.
Rider is having a season to remember in 2016-17 as the squad sits second in the MAAC with an 18-6 record and a 12-3 conference mark. The squad is on a five-game winning streak and hasn’t lost back-to-back contests since Nov. 26 and Nov. 27. The Broncs have three players averaging double-digits, with Robin Perkins, the third-leading scorer in the MAAC, leading the way with 16.2 points per game. The Broncs also have three players in the top-21 scorers in the conference with Kamila Hoskova (12.0) and Julia Duggan (11.0) also slotting in at the 15th and 21st places, respectively. Rider is currently ranked second in the conference in scoring offense, notching 66.5 points per game, and is also second in coring margin, with a +4.3 per contest average. The Broncs are also first in the MAAC in field goal percentage, averaging a 41.4 percent shooting clip. Defense has also been a area of strength for the Broncs, ranking fourth in scoring defense (62.2) and third in opponent field goal percentage with a 38.0 mark.
This will be the 43rd edition of the Canisius vs. Rider series match up, as the Blue and Gold have dominated the history, going 32-10 all-time against the Broncs. In the latest match up, the Broncs tallied its first win in four tries, edging the Griffs 71-70 at the Koessler Athletic Center. One of Rider’s nine victories against Canisius came in the very first contest, played during the 1981-82 season, as the Broncs upended Canisius, 75-73 in the EAIWA Regional tournament. The Griffs at one point had a 17-game winning streak spanning from Jan. 1 2001 to Jan. 23, 2009. Rider has had several two-game winning streaks with its latest coming two seasons ago when the squad defeated Canisius on Feb. 1 and on Feb. 20. Head coach Terry Zeh has been quite successful against the Broncs, going 20-5 all-time against Rider since his first season in 2004-05.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
