ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – A fourth quarter rally by Daemen College came up just short and Molloy College held on for a 52-45 win here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball play.

Molloy, which is ranked sixth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, ran its winning streak to six-straight games and improved to 14-4 overall and 6-2 in the ECC. Daemen dropped to 5-11 overall and 2-6 in the league. It was yet another close call for the Wildcats, who have seen 10 of their last 13 games decided by 10 points or less. Daemen is just 1-9 in those games.

Senior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) paced the Wildcats with 16 points and three steals, while junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) added 11 points and 10 rebounds—her fourth double-double of the year. Freshman Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) added seven points and two steals, while fellow rookie Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) chipped in six points, eight rebounds and two steals.

Sophomore Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) led the Lions with five three-pointers and 17 points, while graduate student Kamala Thompson (Selden, N.Y.) added 16 points and nine boards. Fellow graduate student Symone Kelly (Wyandanch, N.Y.) contributed eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Poor shooting did the Wildcats in for the second-straight game, as they connected on just one of their first 20 shots and finished 18-for-60 from the field overall (30%). Daemen, which entered the game averaging seven three-pointers a game, went 0-for-11 from downtown in the first half and finished 4-of-20 from behind the arc.

Molloy scored the first eight points of the game before a bucket by Saba made it 8-2 with just under six minutes to play in the first quarter. Neither team scored for the next three minutes and and the hosts would take a 15-2 advantage into the second quarter.

The lead would be 19-2 before the Wildcats strung together eight-straight points and cut the lead to single digits, 19-10, following a layup by McDonell with 2:29 left before halftime. Molloy scored the final four points of the half and took a 23-10 advantage into the break.

The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the third quarter and the Molloy lead was 29-16 when the hosts opened up a 20-point lead, 36-16, following a 7-0 run. Back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Kathryn Gibson (Neponsit, N.Y.) and Grady capped the spurt. Molloy would take a 42-24 lead into the final quarter.

Molloy went scoreless over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, which allowed Daemen to get back into the game. The Wildcats whittled the lead to 10 points (42-32) midway through the fourth, and later cut the lead to four points, 49-45, following back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) and Heinold with less than a minute to play. Kelly hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to secure the win for Molloy,

Molloy, which entered the game shooting 40-percent from the field on the season, shot just 28-percent (10-36) from the field in the first half and finished 19-for-58 (33%) from the field overall. The hosts made 7-of-26 from three-point land.

Molloy posted a commanding 52-34 edge in total rebounds and the hosts also finished with an 18-10 advantage in points-in-the-paint.

Daemen returns to action Wednesday (Jan. 18) when it begins a stretch of three-straight home games by hosting long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College in an ECC game.

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