OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Freshman Margaret Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) scored 21 points and senior Shanice Allen (Riverhead, N.Y.) added 20 to lead New York Institute of Technology to an 85-74 victory over Daemen College here tonight in East Coast Conference women's basketball play.

Daemen saw its five-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 10-12 overall and 7-7 in the ECC. NYIT improved to 13-9 overall and is also 7-7 in the league. The two teams are now tied for fifth place in the league standings. Both teams are battling for one of six spots in the upcoming ECC Championship Tournament.

Senior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) turned in the most impressive performance of her Daemen career today, as she played all 40 minutes and totaled a career-high 30 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. She connected on 9-of-15 shots overall and was 3-for-6 from three-point land. She becomes the first Daemen women's basketball player to score 30 points in a game since her cousin Raeann Stilwell netted 36 in a 93-91 loss at Mercy College on Jan. 6, 2014.

Junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), who had averaged 20.4 points a game during Daemen's five-game winning streak, scored 11 points in the second half and finished with 13. The 13 points give her 1,204 for her career and makes her just the 13th player in program history for score 1,200 points. Senior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) added eight points and four rebounds, while classmate Jesse DeWaters (Lockport, N.Y./Niagara County CC) chipped in eight points as well.

Four of NYIT's five starters scored in double figures. Knollmeyer, a three-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection this year, connected on 9-of-13 shots and also grabbed eight rebounds. Allen canned 4-of-7 three-pointers and also collected six boards. Senior Julie Williams (Smithtown N.Y.) posted 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while junior Nina Vukosavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia) netted 13 points and dished out six assists.

Daemen connected on just one of its first seven shots, while the Bears were good on six of their first eight shots en route to an early 13-2 lead. The Wildcats quickly cut the lead to six points, 15-9, following a 7-2 spurt, but NYIT scored the next six points and eventually took its largest lead of the first quarter, 24-11, following a three-pointer by Allen with 2:28 left in the quarter. NYIT would take a 28-18 lead into the second quarter.

The NYIT lead was eight points, 31-23, two and a half minutes into the second quarter, before a conventional three-point play by Allen sparked the hosts on a 13-6 run. Allen's fourth three-pointer of the first half capped the run and gave the Bears a 44-29 lead with 3:34 left in the half. Two free throws gave NYIT its largest lead of the game, 46-29, less than a minute later, but Daemen closed the half with seven unanswered points and the Bears took a 46-36 lead into halftime.

NYIT opened the second half with a jumper by Williams, but Daemen answered with a three-pointer by Saba and the Wildcats later cut the lead to six points, 51-45, following a jumper by Saba with just over six minutes left in the frame. Williams answered with a three-pointer 10 seconds later, and the hosts regained a double-digit lead after Knollmeyer made one-of-two free throws with 5:17 left in the third. The NYIT lead was eight points when the Bears struck for six unanswered points and upped the lead to 14 points, 63-49, after Vukosavljevic canned two free throws with 2:27 left in the quarter. The Bears took a 66-53 lead into the fourth.

Daemen opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers by McDonell and Galus, and the Wildcats later cut the lead to six points, 69-63, following a jump shot by Saba with 5:45 left. Daemen went scoreless for the next 2:26, which allowed NYIT to regain control and eventually take a 12-point lead, 75-63, after Allen canned one-of-two free throws with 3:19 to play. Daemen came no closer than nine points down the stretch.

After connecting on just 7-of-21 shots in the first quarter, Daemen shot 43-percent (20-46) the rest of the game and finished 27-for-67 (40%) overall. The Wildcats went 7-for-30 from long range and canned13-of-21 free throws. NYIT made 13-of-17 shots in the first quarter and finished 29-of-57 (51%) from the field overall. The Bears made an efficient 7-of-15 from behind the arc and canned 20-of-27 free throws.

The Bears posted a 47-28 edge in total rebounds, and the hosts also finished with a 42-32 advantage in points-in-the-paint. NYIT turned the ball over 23 times, which Daemen converted into a 32-14 edge in points off turnovers.

Daemen is idle until next Wednesday (Feb. 15) when it travels to St. Thomas Aquinas College for a league game.

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