LIU Post (13-5, 10-2 ECC)  40-57—97
Daemen (6-14, 3-11 ECC) 28-38—66
 
AMHERST, N.Y. – Sophomore Quanisha Ratley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) came off the bench and connected on 6-of-6 three-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points to lead Long Island University-Post to a 97-66 victory over Daemen College here tonight in East Coast Conference women's basketball action.
 
LIU Post, the preseason favorite to win the conference championship, improved to 13-5 overall and 10-2 in the league. Daemen dropped to 6-14 overall and 3-11 in the league.
 
Ratley, who entered the game with just four three-pointers in her previous 16 games, went 4-for-4 from downtown and scored 16 points in the first half, as she helped the Pioneers rally from an early 10-point deficit. Senior Shayna Gatling (Baldwin, N.Y.) helped the LIU Post cause with 25 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and four steals, while senior Alexis Peters (Dorchester, Mass.) added 15 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Junior Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) added 20 points and nine rebounds.
 
Senior Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) netted a team-high 17 points for the Wildcats, and also added four assists and two steals. Sophomore Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) scored 14 points for the hosts and has now scored in double figures in 16-straight games.
 
Daemen took an early 12-6 lead following a layup by Stoddard five minutes into the game, and the Wildcats later took a 22-12 lead after Stilwell canned two free throws with 9:32 left before halftime. The Pioneers answered with a 13-4 run that featured three triples by Ratley, the last of which cut the Daemen lead to one point, 26-25, with just over six minutes left in the half. LIU Post took its first lead of the game moments later when Ratley converted a fast break layup, and the visitors later took their largest lead of the half, 40-26, following a layup by senior Dominique Pagan (Bronx, N.Y.) with 36 seconds left before intermission. A bucket by Stoddard with eight seconds left in the half—Daemen's first points since the 6:17 mark of the first half—closed out the first half scoring and made the score 40-28 LIU Post.
 
The teams traded baskets for the first nine minutes of the second half and LIU Post held a 57-44 lead when the Pioneers took control with a 19-6 run. A three-pointer by Williams with 6:44 left capped the run and gave the Pioneers a 76-50 lead. LIUP maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way.
 
The Pionners shot 61-percent (22-for-36) in the second and finished 38-for-75 (51%) for the game. Daemen, which entered the game ranked second among ECC teams in three-pointers made per game (7.2), made just 3-of-18 from downtown and shot just 34-percent (21-for-62) overall. LIU Post forced 21 Daemen turnovers, which the Pioneers converted into 27 points. The Pioneers also posted a 52-32 edge in total rebounds and a 58-34 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Daemen is back in action Sunday (Feb. 2) when it hosts New York Tech in an ECC game at 1 p.m. The Bears posted a 79-62 victory over the Wildcats earlier this year on Long Island.
 
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