AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's basketball team will face the toughest challenge of its season thus far when it heads to Portsmouth, Ohio to take part in the Shawnee State University Tournament this weekend. The Wildcats will face the host SSU Bears Saturday (Dec. 15) at 8 p.m. and then square off against Georgetown College Sunday (Dec. 16) at 11 a.m.
 
Both Shawnee State and Georgetown are ranked in the most recent National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I poll. Shawnee State is ranked 15th, while Georgetown is ranked 21st.
 
Daemen has been ranked No. 1 in the last two United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I polls. The new USCAA poll is unveiled Friday, Dec. 14.
 
Daemen is 8-1 in home games and 11-2 overall. After opening the season by playing 10 games in 24 days, the Wildcats have played just three games over the past three weeks.
The Wildcats competed at the Jim Meagle Turkey Shoot in Marietta, Ohio three weeks ago. Daemen suffered a 60-57 loss to Muskingum in the opening round, before defeating the host Marietta Pioneers (64-51) in the second round. Daemen last played on Dec. 2, when it ran past the University of Maine Fort-Kent, 99-50. The Wildcats are averaging 78.5 points per game, while limiting their opponents to just 55.4 points.
 
Seniors Chelsea Andorka (Canton, Ohio/Notre Dame College), Ellie Allen (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) and Monica Kosior (Grimsby, Ont./Canisius College) have paced the Wildcats all season.
 
Andorka scored in double figures in the first 11 games and is averaging a team-high 14.8 points. She also ranks second on the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg), assists (58), steals (35) and blocks (19). She recorded her 1,000th career point during the loss to Muskingum and her 500th rebound in the win over UMFK. Allen has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and is averaging 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She went over 500 career rebounds and became the 10th player in program history to record 300 career assists during the win over Marietta. Kosior, who was named the USCAA Player of the Week earlier this year, is averaging 12.3 points and leads the team in rebounding (8.2 rpg) and blocks (30).
 
Junior point guard Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) and senior guard Samantha Stanfield (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) have also produced. Stoddard made 5-of-8 three-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points in the win over UMFK and is contributing a steady 9.5 points and 5.0 assists. The 5-foot-5 Stanfield is averaging 6.9 points and an impressive 6.9 rebounds per game (third on the team), and leads the team in steals (42). She was named Most Valuable Player following the Jim Meagle Turkey Shoot after totaling 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals over the two games.
 
Senior Lia Zahn (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) and freshman Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) have been consistent contributors off the bench. Zahn has 17 three-pointers and is averaging 6.5 points. Stilwell equaled her season-high for points (16) in the win over UMFK. She is averaging 9.2 points and has drained a team-high 23 three-pointers. Junior Jillian Fitzner (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) has seen consistent playing time over the past five games and scored 12 points in a win over Penn State Worthington Scranton.
 
Saturday's game will mark the second meeting this season and the 13th all-time between Daemen and SSU. The Bears have prevailed in seven of the last eight meetings and SSU owns a 9-3 advantage in the all-time series. SSU handed Daemen its first loss of this season in early November following a 57-39 victory during the Knee Center of WNY Classic at Lumsden Gymnasium. Diane Abbady led the way with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Andorka led the Wildcats with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals. Daemen's last win over the Bears came on Nov. 11, 2010, as the Wildcats posted a 68-53 victory over SSU at Lumsden Gym. The teams also met in the second round of the SSU Tournament later that year and the Bears posted a 65-49 victory.
 
SSU (8-3) won eight of its first nine games and was ranked No. 2 nationally earlier this year. The Bears suffered their second-straight loss following a 73-71 loss to Marian College last Saturday. Senior forwards Schera Sampson and Alex Pohl have led the way. Sampson has recorded three double-doubles on the year and totaled 24 points and 10 boards in the loss to Marian. Pohl has also registered three double-doubles, including a 22-point, 20-rebound effort in a 63-58 loss to Cumberland University. Junior guard Alannah Sheets, an honorable mention All-America selection last year, has drilled a team-high 19 three-pointers and is averaging 11.6 points. The Bears are averaging 69.3 points per game.
 
Sunday's game will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between Georgetown and Daemen. Georgetown has prevailed in two of the previous three meetings. The teams met last December during the Big Easy Challenge in New Orleans, La. Georgetown posted a 70-59 victory. Andrea Howard totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, while Allen scored a team-high 15 points for the Wildcats. Daemen posted an 86-73 victory over the Tigers at Georgetown during the 2008-09 season. The teams also met during the 2006 SSU Tournament and Georgetown posted a 95-62 win.
 
Georgetown (4-3) graduated five players from last year's team that advanced to the Fab Four of the NAIA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Tigers won four of their first five games, but enter this weekend's games having lost two-straight. The Tigers have not played since suffering an 81-69 loss to NCAA Division II member Bellarmine University on Dec. 4. Georgetown will face Robert Morris College in the opening round of the SSU Tournament on Saturday (Dec. 15). Junior forward Lizza Jones and junior guard Kourtney Tyra have paced the Tigers thus far. Jones scored 24 points in an 89-73 loss to 13th-ranked Cambellsville University and is averaging 19.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. Tyra drilled 5-of-8 three-pointers and totaled 24 points and six assists in a 78-69 victory over St. Catharine College. She is shooting 40-percent (16-40) from three-point land and is averaging 14.6 points and 6.9 assists. Junior guard Andrea Howard, an honorable mention All-America pick last year, missed the first four games of the year with a hand injury. She returned to the starting lineup in the loss to Bellarmine and racked up 25 points. Senior guard Devon Golden (12.2 ppg, 8.7 rog) has also produced. The Tigers are averaging 77.4 points per game.