AMHERST, N.Y. – Four players scored in double figures to lead regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan College to a 76-62 victory over Daemen College here tonight in East Coast Conference women's basketball action. RWC, which is ranked ninth in the D2SIDA East Region poll, improved to 17-7 overall and 11-3 in the ECC. Daemen dropped to 10-14 overall and 7-7 in the league. Despite the loss, the Wildcats maintained their hold on fifth place in the ECC standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
The top six teams earn a bid to the upcoming ECC Championship Tournament. Daemen is looking to make its first-ever appearance in the ECC Tournament since joining the league in 2013-14.
The teams battled evenly for most of the game tonight, but RWC runs of 17-6 over the final five minutes of the second quarter and 12-6 over the first five minutes of third quarter would prove to be the difference.
Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) and sophomore Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) paced the Wildcats. Saba stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, five rebounds, a career-high eight assists and a career-high six steals. She has now scored in double figures in 23-straight games and stands just 17 points shy of becoming just the sixth player in program history to score 1,700 points. Young scored 10 points in the first half and finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Junior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) added eight points and five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore Taya Andrews (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led the Redhawks, as she drilled three three-pointers and finished with 21 points. Sophomore Emily Miller (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 15 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Sara Nady (Cairo, Egypt) contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five assists off the bench.
The first quarter featured five ties and four lead changes and neither team led by more than five points. The game was tied at 8-8 midway through the first half when the Wildcats put together a 7-2 spurt. A layup by Saba with 2:41 left in the frame capped the run and gave the hosts a 15-10 lead. RWC closed out the quarter with a 9-4 run and tied the game at 19-19 following a buzzer-beating jumper by senior Necedah James (Syracuse, N.Y.).
The Redhawks scored the first six points of the second quarter, but Daemen answered with a 6-0 run of its own and the game was tied at 25-25 midway through the second. RWC caught fire over the final five minutes of the frame and outscored the Wildcats 17-6 en route to a 42-31 halftime lead. The visitors drilled three three-pointers during the run, including one by senior Lucy Covley (Fairport, N.Y.) with 1:20 left before intermission that gave the Redhawks a 40-31 lead.
The first five minutes of the third quarter featured nothing by three-pointers at both ends of the court. The Redhawks drilled four three-pointers during a 12-6 run, while the Wildcats hit two. A triple by junior Taylor Bynoe (Williamstown, N.J.) with 4:50 left in the third capped the run and gave the Redhawks a 54-37 lead. A conventional three-point play by Saba with 3:20 left in the third cut the lead to 13 points, 55-42, but the Wildcats managed just three points the rest of the quarter and RWC took a 61-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
Both teams struggled to score over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter and the RWC lead was still 13 points, 65-52, midway through the final frame. The Wildcats had a glimmer of hope after sophomore Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) swished a three-pointer with 3:40 to play to make the score 65-55, but the Redhawks answered with a triple by Andrews on the next possession and later regained a 15-point lead, 70-55, following a jumper in the lane by Covley with 2:41 left.
Daemen shot 39-percent (26-for-67) from the field overall, but connected on just 7-of-28 (25%) from three-point land. The hosts did not attempt a free throw in the first half and finished just 3-of-6 from the charity stripe. The Redhawks shot a sizzling 57-percent (17-30) in the first half and finished 28-for-57 (49%) from the field overall. RWC, which entered the game ranked first among ECC teams in three-pointers made per game, made 4-of-9 from downtown in the first half and finished 9-of-24 overall. The visitors connected on 11-of-16 free throws. The Redhawks finished with a 42-31 edge in total rebounds, while Daemen held the advantage in points off turnovers (16-9) and points in the paint (30-26).
The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they close out their 2017-18 home schedule by hosting Molloy College Friday (Feb. 16) and Queens College (Feb. 18) in ECC games.
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