Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013
CCAC South Gymnasium, West Mifflin, Pa.

THE MATCHUP: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to former American Mideast Conference (AMC) rival Point Park University for a non-league game Saturday (Nov. 16)…game time is 2 p.m.…live stats can be accessed HERE…live streaming video can be accessed HERE.

THE COACHES: David Skolen is entering his 22nd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 438-219 (.667) record during his time with the Wildcats…he has guided the Wildcats to 11-straight 20-win seasons (15 overall), six conference championships, nine appearances in the NAIA Division II National Tournament and one appearance in the USCAA National Tournament…last winter Skolen led the Wildcats to a 26-7 record and a USCAA Division I National Championship…Tony Grenek is in his third season as head women's basketball coach at Point Park and has led the Pioneers to a 51-14 record (.784), two conference championships (AMC & KIAC) and two NAIA Division II Tournament appearances…he came to PPU after five seasons as an assistant at NCAA Division II Seton Hill University.

THE HISTORY: Saturday's game will mark the 45th all-time meeting between the former American Mideast Conference (AMC) rivals…Daemen has prevailed in 13 of the past 16 meetings and owns a 30-14 advantage in the all-time series…the teams met twice last year…the Wildcats posted a 74-60 win at Lumsden Gymnasium…Monica Kosior (16 pts) and Ellie Allen (14 pts) led the way for Daemen, while Ja'Nia McPhatter totaled 17 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers…Point Park answered with a 54-52 victory in Pennsylvania…April Austin hit a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to erase a one-point deficit and deliver the victory…Kosior totaled a double-double (14 pts, 13 rebs) for Daemen, while McPhatter (21 pts, 15 rebs) did the same for the Pioneers…the teams met three times during their last season in the AMC (2011-12)…the teams split their two regular-season meetings, before Point Park posted a 60-48 victory in the AMC Tournament championship game.

NCAA DIVISION II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Two of the NCAA Division II membership process...Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and will play full regular-season conference schedules beginning this fall...the College will also maintain its affiliation with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) for postseason opportunities, as it will not be eligible for the ECC or NCAA postseason during Candidacy Year Two.

THE WILDCATS: Daemen returns just one starter and six players from last year's team that posted a 26-7 record and claimed the USCAA Division I National championship...the Wildcats were voted 10th in the ECC preseason poll…graduation took its toll in the form of 66-percent of the offense from last year…key losses include USCAA All-Americans Monica Kosior (13.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 59 blks), Chelsea Andorka (12.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 4.2 apg) and Ellie Allen (12.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.3 apg)…the Wildcats opened the 2013-14 season with wins over Carlow (60-50) and Penn State Greater Allegheny (76-69) last weekend at the Penn State Greater Allegheny/USCAA Tipoff Classic and are coming off an 80-68 loss at Le Moyne Wednesday…senior guard Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) is the only returning starter on a roster that includes six freshmen and four sophomores…Stoddard averaged a team-high 5.4 assists per game and also ranked fourth in scoring (9.7 ppg) and second in three-pointers (42)…she totaled 16 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Le Moyne and is averaging 10.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists this season…sophomore Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) also returns after averaging 9.3 points with a team-high 60 three-pointers as a redshirt freshman last year…she was named Tournament MVP last weekend after scoring 32 points over the two games…she netted 22 points in the championship game and is averaging a team-high 16.0 points…sophomore Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village Prep) is averaging 18 minutes off the bench and contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss to Le Moyne…Daemen's freshman class includes All-Western New York selections Rachel Pawlak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield), Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata), Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) and Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier)…Heinold was named to the all-tournament team following the PSGA/USCAA Tipoff Classic after averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds over the two games…she totaled 17 points and eight rebounds in the title game and is averaging 12.7 points and 10.3 rebounds…Galus totaled 13 points and 18 rebounds in the season-opening win over Carlow and is averaging 11.0 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks…McDonell contributed 11 points, four rebounds and three steals against Carlow and is averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals.

ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen will play 12 of its first 13 games on the road…the Wildcats played 21 of their 32 games away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium last year and posted a 15-6 record in those games…Daemen had won seven-straight road games before losing at Le Moyne Wednesday…the Wildcats have prevailed in 67-percent (39-19) of their road games over the past three seasons.

THE POINEERS: Point Park is a member of the NAIA Division II Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC)…the Pioneers return six players and three starters from last year's team that finished 25-7 (11-4 KIAC), claimed the KIAC regular-season and tournament championship and advanced to the NAIA Division II Tournament…PPU was voted first (tie) in the KIAC preseason poll…the Pioneers host Penn State Greater Allegheny Friday night before tipping off against Daemen Saturday…PPU opened the year with three-straight wins over West Virginia Tech (68-50), Madonna (77-74) and Mount Vernon Nazarene (85-70)…junior forward Ja'Nia McPhatter and senior guards Teresa Davis and Katresa Savisky return to the starting lineup…McPhatter collected first-team All-KIAC honors last year after averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 8.8 rebounds…she did not play in PPU's first three games this season due to injury…Davis ranked second on the team in three-pointers (37) and averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds last year…she netted 18 points in the season-opening win over WVU Tech and is averaging 11.3 points…Savisky averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds last year…she scored 19 points in the win over Madonna and is averaging 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds…freshmen Celina DiPietro and Carly Forse and junior transfer Kayla Kiriau have each started the first three games…Forse totaled a double-double (17 pts, 10 rebs) in the win over Madonna and is averaging 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds…DiPietro (11.7 ppg) netted 14 points in the win over Mt. Vernon Nazarene, while Kiriau (8.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.7 apg)  totaled 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals against Mt. Vernon Nazarene…freshman Samantha Weir (9.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) stepped into the starting lineup against Mt. Vernon Nazarene and totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds.

DID YOU KNOW?: Lindsay Stoddard totaled 178 assists last year which ranked as the seventh most in one season by a Daemen player…Stoddard entered her senior season with 319 career assists and now needs just 59 assists to become the seventh player in program history to register 400 career assists.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is idle until next Saturday (Nov. 23) when it will host Holy Family University in its 2013-14 home-opener at 2 p.m…Holy Family is ranked 13th in the preseason USA TODAY/WBCA Division II Top 25…Daemen's complete 2013-14 schedule can be accessed HERE.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.