BUFFALO – The D'Youville University women's basketball team made a trip across town Monday night to face off against Canisius University in an exhibition game. The Saints fought hard the entire way, even holding a lead early in the fourth quarter, but Canisius pulled away late for a 67-59 victory.
 
Senior Brianne Moxley (Penfield, N.Y.) led the Saints in scoring with 17 points. Junior Anna Jankovic (Averill Park, N.Y.) also turned in a double-digit performance with 16 points. Junior Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott (Waterville, N.Y.) led DYU in rebounds with eight boards. Senior Carla Torrubia Cano (Melilla, Spain) also turned in a solid performance on the boards with six rebounds. Junior Stella Mollica (Shillington, Pa.) did an outstanding job facilitating the offense, dishing out nine assists.
 
Layups from Jankovic and Vleer-Elliott got the scoring started for the Saints as they trailed the Griffins 6-5 in the early minutes of the first quarter. Moxley gave the Saints an 8-6 advantage after connecting from three-point land with 4:40 remaining in the quarter. A steal from Mollica set up an easy layup for sophomore Isabella Kostyal-Larrier (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) to put DYU ahead 12-10 with 1:13 to go in the first. A three-pointer from Canisius in the closing seconds gave the Griffins a 15-12 edge heading into the second quarter.
 
After the first two minutes were scoreless, Jankovic converted a layup off the feed from Mollica to draw the Saints within one. After the Griffins answered back with a long two-pointer, Cano connected on a 15-footer to draw the Saints within one again. A 15-3 run from Canisius put DYU in a 32-19 hole with 42 seconds left in the quarter. A layup from Jankovic ended the Saints' scoring drought as they headed to halftime trailing 34-21.
 
Moxley came out of the locker room red hot, as she opened the second half with a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions to make it an eight-point game. A couple possessions later, Moxley sank another three, cutting the Griffins' lead to 36-32. DYU and Canisius traded baskets the ensuing few possessions as the Griffins held on to a five-point lead with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter. After a three-point play from Canisius, Mollica found Moxley for her third triple of the quarter to make it 46-42 Griffins with 1:32 to go. Junior Sofie Fuglsang (Oberanven, Luxembourg) sank a three as time expired to bring the Saints within one heading into the final quarter. DYU outscored Canisius 24-12 in the third frame.
 
Fuglsang opened up the fourth quarter with another trey to give the Saints their first lead of the night, 48-46. A 12-2 run from Canisius put the Griffins back in front 58-50 with just over five minutes left to play in the fourth. Cano put an end to that run with two points from the charity stripe, followed by a Moxley three ball to make it 62-55 Canisius with 2:20 remaining in regulation. A mid-range jumper from Mollica with seven seconds left cut the deficit to six, but it was too little too late.
 
The Saints will be back in action on Saturday, November 25^th, as they play their home opener against Gannon University at 1:00 p.m.