Game No. 9: Canisius College (5-3) vs. Bowling Green (6-3)
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2009
Time: 2 p.m.
Site: Koessler Athletic Center — Buffalo, N.Y.

Video Webstream: GoGriffs.com
Audio Broadcast: GoGriffs.com
      Talent: Mike Scott (p-x-p)

QUICK HITTERS

• The Canisius College women’s basketball team continues its stretch of three consecutive games against fellow teams who played in the 2009 postseason WNIT by hosting Bowling Green on Saturday.
• Canisius and Bowling Green are meeting for the first time.
• Canisius has won 23 of its last 30 games in the Koessler Athletic Center and is 47-23 under sixth-year coach Terry Zeh in home games.
• Canisius played the fourth double overtime game in program history on Wednesday, falling 72-70 at Duquesne.
• Senior Brittané Russell entered the week ranked ninth in the country in steals per game and has six steals in each of the past two games.
• Russell became the first player in program history to play 50 minutes in a game, going the distance at Duquesne on Wednesday.
• Canisius entered the week ranked 12th in the country in scoring defense and eighth in free-throw percentage.
• Canisius has allowed 28 points or fewer in 13 of 16 halves this season and has forced 20 or more turnovers in six of eight games.
• Canisius holds the NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a made 3-pointer, having made a 3-pointer in 462 consecutive games.

BOWLING GREEN SCOUT

• Bowling Green enters Saturday’s game with a 6-3 record after seeing its five-game winning streak come to an end at St. Bonaventure on Dec. 12.
• Canisius is the sixth team on Bowling Green’s non-conference schedule who played in the 2009 postseason.
• 2009 MAC Player of the Year Lauren Prochaska leads Bowling Green in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (5.9) and has been named MAC Player of the Week each of the past two weeks.
• Three Falcons are averaging 30-plus points per game with eight players averaging double-digit minutes.
• Bowling Green is 6-1 this season when leading at the half and holding an edge in rebounds.
• Bowling Green has a scoring margin of +7.9, rebounding margin of +2.1, is shooing 44.4 percent from the field and has a -0.7 turnover margin.
• Curt Miller is in his ninth season at Bowling Green, leading the Falcons to a 185-76 record, with 164 of those wins coming in the past six-plus seasons. Miller has led Bowling Green to the last five MAC championships.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFS

• Senior Brittané Russell is one of four players in program history with 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals. Russell has 1,122 points, 490 rebounds, 343 assists and 270 steals.
• Russell is the 19th player in program history to score 1,000 points and seventh to reach 1,000 before her senior season.
• Dating back to last season, Russell has two or more steals in 11 straight games, in 38 of the team’s last 47 games and in 74 games in her career.
• Senior Ellie Radke led Canisius in scoring in each of the first four games on the season.
• Radke scored at least 16 points in each of the first four games and ranks second on the team in scoring (12.9 points) and ninth in the MAAC in field goal percentage (44.0).
• Junior Micayla Drysdale is the program’s all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage, ranking first at 40.9 percent. Drysdale has made two or more 3-pointers in six games this season and in 37 games in her career.
• Entering the game against Bowling Green, Drysdale has made 64 consecutive starts, the longest streak on the team, which started against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 15, 2007.
• Senior Brianna Lucas moved into the starting lineup against Buffalo, making her 11th career start and first start since Feb. 17, 2008, at Iona.
• In the last three games, Lucas is averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting 55.6 percent (5-for-9) on 3-pointers.
• In the last six games, senior Tasia Lee is averaging 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 51.4 percent from the field in 17.0 minutes.
• Freshman Ashley Durham is third on the team in scoring (6.5 points) and second in free-throw percentage (82.4 percent).
• Durham made a 3-pointer in the first five games this season, the longest stretch by a Canisius player to start her career since Cheri Wittlieb had a streak of nine games during the 2002-03 season.
• Freshman Melissa Gardner made her first career start in at Youngstown State on Nov. 22, grabbing 10 rebounds in 16 minutes and has started the last six games.
• Freshman Allison Braun has played at least 20 minutes off the bench in each of the last five games. Braun leads the team in plus/minutes point differential (+9.3 points per 40 minutes).

CANISIUS VS. BOWLING GREEN

• Canisius and Bowling Green are meeting for the first time on Saturday.
• Bowling Green is the second Mid-American Conference team on the schedule this season, as the Griffs defeated Buffalo 59-56 on Dec. 5.
• Bowling Green is the first MAC opponent for Canisius, other than crosstown rival Buffalo, for the Golden Griffins since playing Eastern Michigan on Dec. 30, 2005.

DOUBLE OT THRILLER AT DUQUESNE

• The Griffs played the fourth double OT game in program history in the 72-70 loss at Duquesne on Dec. 16.
• It was the first double OT game for Canisius since Jan. 9, 2004, against Fairfield.
• Junior Micayla Drysdale forced a second overtime when she swished a 3-pointer from NBA range in the final seconds of the first overtime.
• Senior Brittané Russell became the first player in program history to play all 50 minutes in a double OT game. Russell played every minute in a game for the 10th time in her career.

MORE NOTES FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAME

• Senior Ellie Radke fouled out in the middle of the first overtime against Duquesne — the first time Radke has fouled out of a game since Nov. 25, 2008, a stretch of 33 games.
• Senior Brittané Russell had at least five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game for the fifth time in her career and for the second consecutive game.
• Senior Brianna Lucas scored 12 points — reaching double figures for the third time in her career.
• Canisius had a game decided by three points or fewer for the fourth time in the last five games, posting a 3-1 record in those contests.
• Freshman Allison Braun played a career-high 37 minutes, setting a career high with eight points and matching a career high with six rebounds.
• Freshman Melissa Gardner played a career-high 32 minutes.