Box Score

Salem International (3-15) 26-29--55
Daemen (20-6) 32-42--74

AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior Monica Kosior (Grimsby, Ont./Canisius College) made the most of her  final home game, as she established career-highs for points (27), rebounds (15) and blocks (7) in a game while leading the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 74-55 victory over Salem International University here today.

It marked the final home game of the year for Daemen, which improved to 20-6 and recorded its 11th-straight 20-win season. SIU, a NCAA Division II independent, dropped to 3-15. Daemen has been ranked atop the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I poll for the past eight weeks.

Kosior was honored along with fellow seniors Ellie Allen (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home), Chelsea Andorka (Canton, Ohio/Notre Dame College), Samantha Stanfield (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) and Lia Zahn (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) before the game in recognition of their final homes game.

Allen helped the Daemen cause with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Andorka added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Stanfield chipped in nine points, 10 boards and two steals. Zahn totaled four rebounds.

Junior Porcha Davis led the Tigers with 14 points and five rebounds off the bench, while classmate Shakinah Haggins added 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Both teams struggled to score early on and SIU held a 14-10 lead nine minutes into the contest when a three-pointer by freshman Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) sparked the Wildcats on a 12-0 run. Stilwell scored the first eight points during the run and a layup by Kosior with 7:05 left before halftime capped the run and gave Daemen a 22-14 lead.

Daemen took its largest lead of the half, 27-18, after Stanfield made one of two free throws with 3:14 left before the break, but the Tigers rallied with an 8-3 run and cut the lead to four points, 30-26, after junior Alicia Stebbins made two free throws with 46 seconds remaining. Daemen took a 32-26 lead into intermission.

The Wildcats took their first double-digit lead of the game, 40-30, after Allen canned a jumper with 15:56 left to play, and Allen later gave the hosts a 45-32 lead when she drove the length of the court with a SIU defender draped all over her, converted a layup while being fouled and canned the ensuing free throw.

The Tigers would not go away and eventually cut the lead to six points, 52-46, following a layup by junior Monique Hill with 7:48 left. Daemen responded with a 10-2 run and took a 62-48 lead when junior Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Alleghany-Limestone) stripped a SIU player of the ball in the lane, which led to a fast break layup by Stanfield at the other end. Back-to-back buckets by Andorka gave the Wildcats a 68-48 lead with 3:07 left, and the Tigers came no closer than 18 points the rest of the way.

Daemen dominated down low, as the Wildcats posted a 54-34 edge in rebounding and outscored the Tigers, 46-32, in the paint. Daemen pulled down 17 offensive rebounds, which led to a 15-4 edge in second chance points.

The Wildcats shot 47-percent (15-32) in the second half and connected on 43-percent (27-63) shots overall. After struggling from the free throw line in the first half (6-12), Daemen canned 12-of-15 from the charity stripe in the second stanza and outscored the Tigers, 18-5, from the free throw line overall.

Daemen travels to Pittsburgh, Pa. next weekend for games at Point Park University (Jan. 1) and Carlow University (Jan. 2).