ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Senior forward Samantha Courtney (Marathon, N.Y.) totaled 19 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks to help regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan College fend off upset-minded Daemen College by a score of 73-69 here tonight in women's basketball action. RWC, which is ranked third in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll and is receiving votes in the D2SIDA national poll, ran its winning streak to five-straight games and improved to 13-1 overall and 5-1 in the East Coast Conference. Daemen dropped to 2-10 overall and 0-6 in the league following its ninth-straight setback.
Six of the losses during Daemen's skid have been by six points or less, and two have come in overtime. The Wildcats were coming off a 70-69 loss to Mercy College this past Saturday.
Tonight's setback was the third-straight game between the two long-time rivals that has been decided by five points or less. Last year the Wildcats upset the Redhawks 70-69 at Daemen, before the Redhawks answered with a 60-55 win at RWC
The loss overshadowed the solid play of Daemen sophomore Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), who connected on 7-of-15 shots and totaled 24 points—one shy of her career-high. Saba, who is averaging a team-high 14.6 points, notched 20 or more points for the third time in the past eight games. Sophomore Liz Miles (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse) scored in double figures for the second-straight game and finished with a career-high 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. Miles, who entered the game with a total of two three-pointers on the year, went 2-for-3 from downtown this evening. Junior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) added nine points and six boards for the Wildcats, while classmate Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) totaled five points, seven rebounds and four assists.
It marked the league-leading 10th double-double of the year for the 6-foot-3 Courtney, who has also now totaled a league-high 37 blocks. Sophomore Brooke Fields (Owings Mills, Md.) helped the RWC cause with a team-high 22 points, while classmate Necedah James (Syracuse, N.Y.) added 13 points.
Daemen opened an early 9-6 lead after senior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster), Saba and Galus all drained three pointers during the first three minutes of the game, but the Wildcats managed just one field goal over the final seven minutes of the quarter and RWC took a 16-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Wildcats knotted the game at 21-21 following a three-pointer by Miles two minutes in the second quarter. The Redhawks took a 26-25 lead following a three-pointer by sophomore Lucy Covley (Fairport, N.Y.) with 6:25 left before half, but Daemen answered with a triple by Saba 12 seconds later and the visitors eventually opened up a 33-28 lead after Galus hit her second three-pointer of the half with just over four minutes left in the second quarter. RWC responded with eight unanswered points and the hosts went on to take a 37-34 lead into halftime.
RWC opened the second half with back-to-back buckets by Covley and Courtney, but Daemen answered with a three-pointer by McDonell and the Wildcats eventually took a 44-43 lead following a layup by Saba with 5:22 left in the third quarter. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter and the Redhawks took a 53-51 lead into the final 10 minutes.
The Redhawks opened up a 58-53 lead two minutes into the final quarter, but Daemen knotted the game at 58-58 following back-to-back buckets by sophomore Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata), the second a three-pointer with 6:31 to play. RWC built the lead back to five points (70-65) after Courtney made one-of-two free throws with 1:21 left, but Galus drained her third triple at the other end nine seconds later to make if a two point game. RWC turned the ball over on its next possession but Daemen was unable two take advantage. Saba was off the mark with a three-pointer, and was fouled trying to collect the rebound. The sophomore made one-of-two from the charity stripe with 10 seconds left to make it a one-point game, and Fields swished two free throws two seconds later to give RWC a 72-69 lead. A game-tying triple by Heinold was off the mark with four seconds left. Courtney, who collected the rebound and was fouled, secured the win by hitting one-of-two free throws.
Daemen shot 34-percent (23-for-68) from the field overall and made a season-high 11 three-pointers in the game (7-of-13 in the first half). RWC connected on 25-of-69 (36%) shots overall and made just 1-of-14 from behind the three-point line. The Redhawks outscored the Wildcats by 10 points from the free throw line, as RWC went 22-of-28 from the charity stripe and Daemen finished 12-of-16. RWC finished with a 52-42 edge in total rebounds and the hosts also posted a commanding 38-14 edge in points in the paint.
Daemen returns to league play Friday (Jan. 15) when it travels to Long Island University - Post. It will be the first of two games for Daemen on Long Island this weekend. The Wildcats will also play at New York Institute of Technology on Sunday (Jan. 17).
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