Daemen (2-0) 42-34—76

MCKEESPORT, Pa. – Tournament MVP Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) scored 22 points and all-tournament selection Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) added 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 76-69 victory over tournament host Penn State Greater Allegheny here today in the championship game of the Penn State Greater Allegheny/USCAA Tipoff Classic.

Daemen, which posted a 60-50 victory over long-time rival Carlow University in the opening round, improved to 2-0 on the year. PSGA dropped to 1-2.

Freshman Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) turned in another solid effort for the Wildcats and finished with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Galus totaled a team-high 13 points in the opening-round win over Carlow. Senior guard Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) stuffed the Daemen stat sheet with six points, eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals.

Senior Taylor Fulton paced the Lady Lions with 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals, while freshman Aaquila Youngblood added a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.

The teams traded baskets early in the game and Daemen held a 16-14 lead when the Wildcats got a layup from Heinold and a free throw from Stilwell to take a 19-14 advantage. The Wildcats held a 23-20 advantage when a three-point play by sophomore Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village Prep) sparked the visitors on a 9-0 run. Two free throws by Heinold with 3:34 left in the half capped the spurt and gave the Wildcats a 32-20 edge. Daemen took its largest lead of the half, 42-26, following a bucket by Stilwell with 11 seconds left before the break, and the visitors took a 42-28 lead into halftime.

A Youngblood jumper less than minute into the second half cut the Daemen lead to 10 points, 44-34, but Stilwell then caught fire and drained three three-pointers in the span of two minutes. PSGA managed just one free throw during Stilwell's spurt, which allowed Daemen to open up a 53-35 advantage. The Lady Lions responded with seven unanswered points to cut the lead to 11, but the Wildcats answered with a 9-2 run to regain control. A jumper by Galus with 11:25 left capped the run and gave Daemen a 62-44 lead.

The hosts would not quit and made things interesting with a 15-4 run that cut the lead to seven points, 66-59, with just over four minutes left. Heinold answered with back-to-back layups that gave Daemen a 70-59 edge, but the Lady Lions put together one last push and eventually cut the lead to five points, 72-67, following a jumper by junior Shelby Bendick with 1:07 left. The teams then traded baskets before Stilwell canned two free throws with 20 seconds left to close out the scoring.

PSGA posted a 58-45 rebounding advantage, but the hosts turned the ball over 20 times. Daemen connected on 5-of-20 three-pointers and made 19-of-22 free throws (86%), while the Lady Lions went 0-for-9 from long range and made just 13-of-24 (54%) from the charity stripe.

With the two wins this weekend Daemen is now 11-0 against USCAA teams since joining the association last year. The Wildcats went 9-0 against USCAA teams last year  en route to the 2012-13 USCAA Division I National Championship.

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