Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013
Voller Athletic Center, Rochester, N.Y.

THE MATCHUP: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to rival Roberts Wesleyan College for an East Coast Conference game Tuesday (Nov. 26) at 6 p.m…it will mark Daemen's first-ever ECC game…live stats are available HERE…live streaming video is available HERE.

THE COACHES: David Skolen is entering his 22nd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 438-221 (.665) 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…Bob Segave is in his eighth season as head women's basketball coach at Roberts Wesleyan…over the past seven seasons he has led the Redhawks to a 119-87 record (.578), including a trip to the NCCAA National Championship game in 2011 and NCCAA Final Four in 2008.

THE HISTORY: Saturday's game will mark the 54th all-time meeting between the two former American Mideast Conference (AMC) rivals…Daemen has prevailed in 12 of the last 15 meetings and owns a 38-15 advantage in the all-time series…the teams met once last season and Daemen posted a 77-66 win at the Voller Athletic Center on Nov. 15…Monica Kosior connected on 12-of-15 field goals and totaled 26 points for the Wildcats, while Chelsea Andorka added 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists…Samantha Courtney and Brittany Williams both scored 13 points for RWC…the teams met three times during the 2011-12 season..they split their two regular-season meetings, before Daemen posted a 49-41 victory in the AMC Tournament semifinals at Lumsden Gymnasium.

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) at the Penn State Greater Allegheny/USCAA Tipoff Classic and are coming off losses to Le Moyne (80-68), Point Park (77-62) and nationally-ranked Holy Family (70-68)…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 last year and also ranked fourth in scoring (9.7 ppg) and second in three-pointers (42)…she totaled 22 points and six rebounds in the loss to Holy Family and is averaging 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.4 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 following the Penn State Greater Allegheny Tipoff Classic after netting 22 points in the championship game…she is averaging 13.4 points with a team-high nine three-pointers…sophomore Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village Prep) is averaging 17.8 minutes, 6.4 points and 6.4 rebounds 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 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds…Galus totaled 13 points and 18 rebounds in the season-opening win over Carlow and is averaging 9.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks…McDonell contributed 13 points and four steals in the loss to Point Park and is averaging 8.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals…Daemen is shooting 35-percent (124-357) from the field overall, 21-percent (28-133) from three-point land and 67-percent (58-86) from the charity stripe…the Wildcats are scoring 68.8 points and allowing 69.2 points per game…Daemen owns a -7.2 rebounding margin (48.8 / 56.0).

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…Daemen had won eight-straight road games before losing at Le Moyne on Nov. 13…the Wildcats have prevailed in 66-percent (39-20) of their road games over the past three seasons.

THE REDHAWKS: Roberts Wesleyan is a member of the NCAA Division II East Coast Conference…RWC is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process…the Redhawks return nine players and three starters from last year's team that finished 16-14 (8-10 ECC) and advanced to the NCCAA Tournament…RWC was voted fifth in the ECC preseason poll…the Redhawks opened the year with a 77-52 loss to Le Moyne on Nov. 9 and evened their record to 1-1 following an 84-59 victory over NCAA Division III member Houghton this past Saturday…junior forward Marissa Sell tops the list of returning players…the 2013-14 ECC Preseason Player of the Year, she averaged a team-high 13.0 points and 10.2 rebounds last year…she totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Le Moyne and is averaging 12.5 points and conference-best 14.5 rebounds…sophomore forward Samantha Courtney also returns after averaging 7.9 points last year…she totaled 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Houghton…junior guard Ashley Cianfriglia drilled six three-pointers and netted 23 points in the win over Houghton and is averaging 12.5 points…Division I transfer Chelsea Sanders, who scored over 800 points during her three seasons at Maryland Eastern Shore, has started both games and totaled 16 points and five rebounds in the loss to Le Moyne…RWC is shooting 36-percent (49-136) from the field overall, 32-percent (16-50) from three-point land and 71-percent (22-31) from the charity stripe…the Redhawks are scoring 68.0 points and allowing 68.0 points per game…RWC owns a +2.5 rebounding margin (41.0 / 38.5).

LEAGUE RANKINGS: Daemen leads the ECC in three-pointers attempted per game (26.6)…Lindsay Stoddard leads the league in assists per game (5.6) and also ranks 15th in rebounds per game (7.0)…Natalie Galus ranks third in rebounds per game (10.0) and second in blocks per game (2.8)…Taylor Heinold ranks seventh in rebounds per game (9.2) and seventh in steals per game (2.0), while Leah McDonell ranks sixth in steals per game (2.4)…Marissa Sell of RWC leads the league in rebounds per game (14.5), while Samantha Courtney leads the league in blocks per game (3.5).

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 53 assists to become the seventh player in program history to register 400 career assists…Daemen's roster features the top two all-time leading scorers in the history of the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association…Raeann Stilwell totaled a league-record 1,776 points over her career at St. Mary's of Lancaster, while Cardinal O'Hara graduate Leah McDonell ranked second with 1,617 points…the two are also cousins.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is idle until the second weekend in December when it travels to Long Island for ECC games against LIU-Post (Dec. 13) and New York Tech (Dec. 15).

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.