AMHERST, N.Y. – Basketball standouts
Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) and
Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) have been named the Daemen College Student-Athletes of the Month presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC for February 2017.
McDonell, a senior guard, closed out her four-year career by averaging 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals over six games. A two-time selection to the East Coast Conference weekly honor roll during the month, she averaged 35.5 minutes over the six games and shot 48.6 percent (36-74) from the field.
She opened the month with a solid 10-point, nine-rebound, five-assist and four-steal effort in a win over the University of Bridgeport, and then registered the most outstanding effort of her four-year career in a loss at New York Institute of Technology. McDonell played all 40 minutes against NYIT 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 became 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. McDonell also helped the Wildcats to a 70-50 upset of regionally-ranked Molloy College with 17 points and five steals, and closed out her career by totaling 18 points, a season-high 15 rebounds and five assists in a heart-breaking 69-68 loss at rival Roberts Wesleyan College.
McDonell enjoyed a career year this winter, as she closed out the season as the team-leader in scoring average (16.0), minutes per game (32.1), field goal percentage (49.6), free throws made (98) and attempted (141), total assists (67) and total steals (61). Her 61 steals were the most in a season by a Daemen women's basketball player since Samantha Stanfield registered 107 in 2012-13. She also ranked second in rebounds per game (6.0). She entered her senior season with 89 career steals and career averages of 7.7 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game.
She scored in double figures in each of her final 13 games, and in 22 of 24 games overall this season. Among the ECC leaders, she currently ranks fourth in points per game, fifth in field goal percentage, 12th in assists per game and second in steals per game.
McDonell started 105 of a possible 107 games over her four-year career and totaled 1,005 points, 511 rebounds, 258 assists and 150 steals. She became the 24th member of Daemen's 1,000-Point Club during the season-ending loss to Roberts Wesleyan.
Hamilton, a 6-foot-4 red-shirt sophomore forward, collects Athlete of the Month honors for the second time over his two-year career after leading the men's basketball team to a 4-2 month and its second-straight berth in the ECC Championship Tournament.
Hamilton sparked the Wildcats off the bench during the month, as he appeared in all six games and averaged 25.8 minutes, 14.7 points and 5.2 rebounds. He scored in double figures in five of the six games and shot a sizzling 57.6 percent (34-59) from the field.
He opened the month by scoring 11 points in an 82-73 win over the University of Bridgeport and followed up with 15 points in an 80-72 win over New York Institute of Technology. He then scored a team-high 10 points in a loss to ECC regular-season champion St. Thomas Aquinas College, before registering 22 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes during a 73-71 loss to Molloy College. The highlight of the month came in the regular-season finale in his hometown against rival Roberts Wesleyan. He played 29 minutes in the 80-71 win, connected on 11-of-13 shots and finished with a career-high 26 points.
After starting the first nine games of the year, Hamilton has been a key contributor off the bench over the last 16 games. He has played in 25 of 26 games and is averaging 26.6 minutes, 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. The team-leader in field goal percentage (.509), he ranks third on the team in scoring and rebounding and second in assists.
Hamilton has played in 50 of a possible 55 games over the past two seasons and has helped the Wildcats to a 37-18 record over that span. He has shot 50 percent (190-380) from the field over his career and has totaled 494 points, 197 rebounds and 80 assists.
Daemen (18-8) has won 13 of its last 17 games and will host its first-ever ECC Tournament game this evening when it takes on the University of the District of Columbia (14-12) in first-round action. First-round winners will advance to the tournament semifinals this weekend. The semifinals and championship game will be hosted by the University of Bridgeport. The ECC Tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division II Championship Tournament.
The Wildcats are 13-2 at home this season, and an impressive 69-10 in the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium since the start of the 2011-12 season. Daemen posted a 97-77 win over UDC on Jan. 21 at Lumsden Gymnasium.
