Canisius University Athletics

Game No. 31
Canisius (10-20, 8-12 MAAC) at Quinnipiac (24-6, 17-3 MAAC)
Date: Friday, March 3, 2017
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Albany, N.Y. | Times Union Center
Online: MAAC.TV
Live Stats: GoGriffs.com
Twitter: @CanisiusWBB | #Griffs; #DefendMainSt

QUICK HITTERS
• The Canisius women's basketball extended its season on Thursday, as the squad defeated rival Niagara, in the first round of the MAAC tournament, 80-74, in overtime. +"
• With the win Canisius moves on to play No. 1 Quinnipiac on Friday at 1 p.m.
• This was the third time the Blue and Gold entered the No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed game, and the second-straight season facing Niagara in the game, however it was the first win in that span.
• Despite Niagara tying the game on a last-second trey by Tiffany Corselli, the Griffs pulled away in OT, outscoring Niagara 11-5.
• Maria Welch had her best game of the season and arguably of her career, notching a career-best 25 points (5-of-7 from 3-point land) to lead the team.
• The Griffs had four players in double-figures and two players with 20-or-more points.
• Lauren D'Hont had a strong effort as well, as she was the other player in 20 points for Canisius, scoring 20 with six rebounds.
• On the season overall, Hinriksdottir is Leading the team offensively, and averages 14.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per contest.
• She also shoots near 50 percent with a mark of 46.7 percent from the field.
• Lauren D'Hont is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game, to go along with a 3.9 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 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Blue and Gold is averaging 59.3 points per game, while opponents are tallying 64.4 points per contest.• As a team the Griffs are averaging 32.4 rebounds per game, while opponents are bringing down 37.4 for a -5.1 rebounding margin.

SERIES HISTORY VS. QUINNIPIAC
• The series history between the Bobcats and Griffs is a relatively short one, with Quinnipiac having won all nine meetings between the two squads.
• All eight nine have come from 2013 to 2017.
• Quinnipiac holds a 4-0 record at home, 4-0 on the road, while boasting a 1-0 record in the two team's only meeting in the MAAC tournament.
•Canisius has never had a meeting with Quinnipiac before the 2013 season, as Terry Zeh is 0-9 against the Bobcats.
• In the last tournament matchup the Bobcats on March 7, 2014, Quinnipiac came away with the victory 72-61.
• It was a tale of two halves as the Bobcats went up 44-21 at haftime, but the Griffs stormed back in the second half, scoring 40 points but coming up short.
• Kayla Hoohuli had 23 points in the effort, while Camryn Warner had 17 for the Bobcats. 

WELCH JUICED UP FOR TOURNAMENT
• Sophomore Maria Welch seems to love playing at the Times Union Center.
• In both games she's played, she has hit 20-or-more points and led the team in scoring in both.
• Between the two games she has shot 9-of-13 from 3-point land, with four in her first game and five yesterday.
• Welch also set a career-best with 25 points and it was two points shy of the program record for points in a tournament gae, held by Shauna Geronzin who scored 27 against Fairfield in 2002.
• Welch was aslo the third Griff in program history to hit five 3-pointers in a MAAC Tournament game. The last Canisius player to make five triples in a conference postseason contest was former Griff Amanda Cavo, who had five treys against Fairfield March 7, 2009.

20-20 VISION
• In the Grifs win on Thursday against the Purple Eagles, Canisius got strong offensive performances from a number of players but none better than that of Maria Welch (25 points) and Lauren D'Hont (20 points).
• The performances proved to be historic in MAAC tournament lore for the Blue and Gold as it was the first time Canisius has had two 20-point scorers in a MAAC tournament game. 

EXTRA TIME IN CRUNCH TIME
• Thursday's win was just the fourth time in the program's history that a game was decided with extram time in the MAAC tournament.
• It was also just the second time Canisius has won a MAAC tournament overtime game, having gone 2-2 when leaving it to the extra frame.
• The last overtime game for the Griffs in postseason play came on March 4, 2011, when the team fell to Loyola, 68-53.
• Their last win in overtime is back on Feb. 25, 1999, when the squad defeated Fairfield, 96-90, then played downtown in Buffalo, N.Y. 

10-OR-MORE SCORES
• Sara Hinriksdottir has been far and away the Griffs best player all season and the most consistent.+
• Through 30 games, the Keflavik Iceland, native has hit double-digit points in 26 games.
• Her 26 games with 10-or-more points is the most since Brittnae Russel had 10-or-more points in 25 contests in 2009-10.
• The program record for most 10-or-more games is held by Marie Warner who notched 29 double-figure contests during the 2007-08 season, nine seasons ago.