Box Score

Score By Periods	1st	2nd	Total
Laurentian	25	39	64
Daemen	36	36	72

AMHERST, N.Y. - It was a birthday to remember for Ellie Allen (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) as the senior guard celebrated her 22nd birthday by scoring a team-high 15 points to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 72-64 victory over visiting Laurentian University today at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The Wildcats, ranked #1 for the fourth consecutive week in the USCAA national poll released today, shook off a two-game losing skid and moved to 12-4 with the victory while Laurentian, of the Ontario University Athletics Conference, dropped to 3-6.

Daemen, which never trailed in the ballgame, took a 36-25 lead into halftime and used an 11-3 spurt out of the locker room to open up a 19-point advantage early in the second half (47-28 at the 16:21 mark).  The Wildcats got baskets from four of their five starters in the run.

Laurentian responded behind the strong play of guard Sasha Polishchuk who helped the Lady Vees get back into the game with a 12-2 run, cutting the deficit to nine (49-40) with 11:56 remaining.  Polischuk, a senior transfer from NCAA Division I Gonzaga University, scored 10 straight points in the run, including three jumpers, two free throws and a layup.

Allen's traditional three-point play at the 10:44 mark helped stem the tide and a free throw by junior forward Jillian Fitzner (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) pushed the Daemen edge back to 13 (53-40) with 9:45 to play.

Back-to-back three-pointers by the Lady Vees' Mary Scott and Adrienne Moreau sparked a 9-0 run.  A 15-foot jumper by Laurentian's Rachel McLean with 8:06 left cut the Daemen lead to 53-49; it was the closest Laurentian had been since trailing 22-17 at the 8:41 mark of the first half.

A jumper by Daemen's Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y/St. Mary's of Lancaster) pushed the Daemen lead back to six (55-49) but Scott drilled another three-pointer on Laurentian's next possession to make it a one-possession game at 55-52 with 7:25 left to play.

Daemen responded with back-to-back triples of their own as senior forward Lia Zahn (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) knocked one down at the 6:07 mark, followed by Stilwell's fourth three-pointer of the game with 5:40 to go, running the Wildcat advantage back to nine points (61-52).

Later, another Polishchuk layup put Laurentian down 64-60 with 3:29 remaining.

The birthday girl Allen then notched back-to-back buckets to push the Wildcat lead back to eight (68-60) with 1:58 to play.

A layup by Laurentian's Erin Simpson made it a two-possession game again at 68-62 with 1:40 left but the Wildcats converted 4-of-6 opportunities from the charity stripe down the stretch, including 3-of-4 from senior guard Samantha Stanfield (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison), to seal the deal.

After Allen's 15 points, the Wildcats got 14 from Stilwell on 5-of-9 shooting from the field that included a 4-of-6 showing from three-point range.

Senior center Monica Kosior (Grimsby, Ont./Canisius College) recorded her fifth double-double of the season and her first since Nov. 3 with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.

Junior point guard Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany Limestone) added 10 points as well.

Senior guard/forward Chelsea Andorka (Canton, Ohio/Notre Dame College), who was honored in a brief pre-game ceremony recognizing her accomplishment of 1000 career points achieved earlier this season, narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Stanfield continued her fine overall play with 10 rebounds, seven points and five steals.

Kosior, Andorka and Stanfield combined for 33 of Daemen's 56 rebounds as the Wildcats waxed the Lady Vees on the glass by 17 (56-39).  That total included 24 offensive rebounds that resulted in 17 second chance points for the Wildcats who also outscored Laurentian 34-16 in the paint.

Polishchuk's 26-point effort went for naught.  She also turned in six boards and a game-high five assists.

Moreau canned 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lady Vees and Scott hit 4-of-9 from three-point range en route to 14 points.

The same two teams square off again tomorrow at Lumsden Gym.  Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Daemen's final game before the Christmas holiday.