Box Score BUFFALO, N.Y. – All she was thinking was to pull down the rebound and get a shot up. She did and after a few spins around the rim to set up a dramatic hush, it went down.
Kristin Schatzlein grabbed an offensive rebound in the lane and was able to connect on a runner with 1.4 seconds left to overturn a one-point deficit to give the Stags a 51-50 win to start their Western New York trip. The Griffins were able to get a good look at the basket as the buzzer sounded but Crystal Porter's fade away fell short.
“That's exactly how we planned it,” Head Coach Joe Frager joked with a smile. “It wasn't but to our credit, the kids did execute and Canisius (7-5, 2-1 MAAC) guarded it. Schatz had a great rebound and put back…It looked like they had it for the first five or six minutes of the fourth quarter but this is a huge win for us.”
In this contest, the Stags (6-6, 1-2 MAAC) had to persevere through many obstacles. Namely, a very slow start and their leading scorer not recording a point. But for the first time this season, the Stags showed they have what it takes to overcome all those factors and pull out a close victory.
The game could not have started much worse on the offensive side for the Stags as they connected on just one of their first 14 shots with their only field goal coming at the 7:10 mark in the first quarter. Samantha Cooper was actually the only Stag to get on the scoreboard, with a 3-pointer and two free throws. Credit the Canisius defense who came into the contest with the best statistical defense in the conference, holding their opponents to just a 35 percent shooting percentage from the floor.
On the other end, Canisius started the game 1-for-7 from the field but then got hot to end the first quarter. Also coming in as the 11th most accurate team in the country in 3-pointers, the home side knocked down three of their four attempts from behind the arc to take a 13-5 first quarter lead.
The second quarter, the Stags came alive.
Offensively, the Stags hit eight of their 12 shots and Schatzlein knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, as well as a jumper that gave the Stags a 18-17 lead with 3:07 left in the half. Kristine Miller, who was the only Canisius opponent not to miss a shot last year (12-for-12) added six points on 3-for-4 shooting under the hoop. Cooper and Casey Smith completed the offense by recording a 3-pointer each.
Defensively, the Stags held a Griffs offense that was ranked second in the MAAC entering today, to six points in the second frame including an 0-for-7 clip from deep.
The Stags were able to keep that lead until the 6:46 mark in the fourth quarter when Canisius made their run. Lauren D'Hont and Porter made acrobatic layups through defenders to give the Griffins a three point lead, but the Stags were able to tie up the game with three Smith free throws. Sarah Cooley, however, swished a 3-pointer to break up the tied score and Porter made a fade away jumper to extend the advantage to three.
Schatzlein would score the last four points of the game with a layup with 47 seconds left and then of course her dramatic put back as the clock ticked down.
Smith led three Stags in double figures with 16 points, all coming in crucial situations. Cooper, playing in front of her family and friends who made the trip from Canada totaled 14 points and Schatzlein finished with the same number.
Tiahana Mills led all scorers with 17 points and eight rebounds.
“They did find a way to win and that is what a basketball team has to do,” Frager said. “Kelsey had a massive game for us against Harvard and they did a really good job guarding her and other kids stepped up and that's what you have to do.”
The Stags will try and sweep their Buffalo trip for the 11th time in program history when they take on Niagara on Monday at 7pm.
