Five Things to Know: Women’s Basketball Heads East on I-90 to Face Siena

Game No. 27
Canisius (4-22, 2-15 MAAC) at Siena (7-17, 7-9 MAAC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 24
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Loudonville, N.Y. | UHY Center
Broadcast: ESPN+
Talent: Kelly O'Connell (play-by-play) and Tehresa Coles-Massena (analyst)
Live Stats: Via SienaSaints.com
Twitter: @GriffsWBB | #Griffs | #MAACHoops
Instagram: @GriffsWBB | #Griffs | #MAACHoops

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. Opening Tip
On Thursday, the Canisius women's basketball team heads east on Interstate 90 for an Empire State battle against Siena at the UHY Center. Tipoff between the Golden Griffins and Saints is scheduled for 7 p.m. and game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.

2. New Role, No Problems
Freshman Athina Lexa has stepped up offensively over her last 12 games, earning a start in each of the last 11 contests.

Over her last 12 appearances, Lexa has netted at least eight points in all but one game and has posted a double-digit point total in nine contests. She is averaging 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals in just over 28 minutes of action per game. The Thessaloniki, Greece, native is also shooting 41.7 percent from the floor (58-of-139) and 30.4 percent from 3-point range (17-of-56) during the span.

3. No Sophomore Slump
Sophomore guard Dani Haskell has had the polar opposite of a sophomore slump this season. Haskell currently has the 10th-most points by a second-year player in Canisius' Division I era. She is one point away from tying Megan Lyte for 9th place, three points shy of Becky Zak for 8th place and 11 points from matching Anne Brocker for 7th place.

Haskell has also made 55 3-pointers this season, ranking as the fifth-most by a sophomore in the Division I era. Heather Fiore currently has the record with 76, while Jen Morabito (65), Amanda Cavo (64) and Cheri Wittlieb (62) round out those ahead of Haskell.

4. Protecting the Rim
Freshman Rhay Porter has 37 blocks this season, ranking as the ninth-most rejections by a Canisius player in a single season. Her block total also ranks as the fifth-most in the Division I era.

With two blocks against Rider last Saturday, Porter recorded her 11th multi-block performance of the season. The 11 games with two-plus blocks are the most by a Golden Griffin since Laura (Granzow) Buetow logged 15 games with multiple rejections during the 2007-08 season.

5. Three-Point Reliance
Canisius has scored 624 of its 1470 points (42.4 percent) this season from beyond the 3-point line, ranking as the 2nd-highest among Division I programs, trailing only Florida Gulf Coast (789 of 1776 - 44.4 percent).

Monmouth is second in the MAAC and 60th nationally with 33.3 percent of its points (492 of 1477) from 3-pointers.

Dating back to the beginning of the 2020-21 season, the Griffs have had a reliance on the 3-pointer, scoring 42.2 percent of its 1713 points (723) from 3-point field goals. That total ranks as the second-highest percentage for a Division I program, also trailing FGCU (43.9 percent).

Rider is the closest MAAC program to the Griffs, ranking 98th with 30.7 percent (837 of 2730 points).

For complete coverage of Canisius women's basketball, follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffsWBB on Instagram and Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Dani Haskell: G; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#12 Athina Lexa: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#33 Rhay Porter: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#14 Dani Haskell
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: G

#12 Athina Lexa
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#33 Rhay Porter
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

Players Mentioned

#14 Dani Haskell

#12 Athina Lexa

#33 Rhay Porter

Players Mentioned

#14 Dani Haskell

#12 Athina Lexa

#33 Rhay Porter