Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 - 5 p.m.
Pratt Recreation Center, Brookville, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video 

Daemen vs. New York Tech
Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013 - Noon
Recreation Hall, Old Westbury, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to Long Island this weekend for two ECC games…the Wildcats will tipoff against LIU Post Friday (Dec. 13) at 5 p.m. and complete the trip with a Sunday (Dec. 15) afternoon contest at New York Tech…Sunday's game starts at noon.

THE COACHES: David Skolen is entering his 22nd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 438-222 (.664) 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…Deirdre Moore is in her sixth season as head women's basketball coach at LIU Post…over the past five seasons she has led the Pioneers to a 90-56 record (.616) and three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2011, 12, 13)…Anthony Crocitto is in his fifth season as head women's basketball coach at New York Tech…over the past four seasons he has led the Bears to a 51-60 (.459) record…he guided the Bears to a school-record 23 wins and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament last year…he previously served as head coach at Dowling (1997-99) and Mount Ida (1999-00).

THE SERIES vs. LIU POST: Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and LIU Post.

THE SERIES vs. NEW YORK TECH: Sunday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and New York Tech.

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 (2-4, 0-1 ECC): 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), nationally-ranked Holy Family (70-68) and Roberts Wesleyan (79-69)…senior guard Lindsay Stoddard 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 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals this season…sophomore Raeann Stilwell 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 13.2 points with a team-high 10 three-pointers…sophomore Somara Colon is averaging 17.0 minutes, 6.0 points and 6.2 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 has scored in double figures in five of DC's six games and is averaging 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds…Galus totaled 16 points and nine rebounds in the loss to RWC and is averaging 10.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks…McDonell contributed 13 points and four steals in the loss to Point Park and is averaging 8.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals…Daemen is shooting 35-percent from the field overall, 24-percent from three-point land and 69-percent from the charity stripe…the Wildcats are scoring 67.2 points and allowing 70.8 points per game…Daemen owns a -7.5 rebounding margin (46.5 / 54.0).

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 65-percent (39-21) of their road games over the past three seasons.

THE PIONEERS (3-3, 1-1 ECC): LIU Post returns nine players and two starters from last year's team that finished 19-10 (11-7 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament…LIU was voted first in the ECC preseason poll…LIU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament each of the last three seasons…the Pioneers must overcome the graduation of center Nicolette Marciniak who led the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg) and collected first-team All-ECC honors last year…senior guard Alexis Peters and junior guard Chelsea Williams top the list of returning players…Peters averaged 11.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals last year, while Williams contributed 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds…the Pioneers opened league play with a 66-57 win over NYIT on Dec. 3, but dropped to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the ECC following an 85-75 loss to District of Columbia…Williams has scored over 20 points in three of the first six games and totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to UDC…she is averaging 19.8 points and 6.2 rebounds and has made a team-high 15 three-pointers…senior guard Kiki Sears scored 24 points in a 79-74 loss to Bloomfield and is averaging 15.5 points and 3.5 assists…Peters has scored in double figures in each of the last four games and is averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists…LIU is shooting 39-percent from the field overall, 28-percent from three-point land and 60-percent from the charity stripe…the Pioneers are scoring 72.0 points and allowing 71.0 points per game…LIU owns a +6.0 rebounding margin (46.8 / 40.8).

THE BEARS (2-3, 0-2 ECC): New York Tech returns six players and two starters from last year's team that finished 23-6 (14-4 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament…NYIT was voted second in the ECC preseason poll…the Bears must overcome the graduation of All-ECC selections Nikki Jo Rotolo, Rebecca Lynch and Charlene Riddick…Rotolo led the team in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (8.1 rpg) and assists (4.3 apg) last year…Lynch averaged 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals, while Riddick averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds…sophomore G/F Dina Ragab returns after averaging 6.7 points and being named to the ECC All-Rookie team last year…the Bears opened the year by defeating Lock Haven (91-86) and losing to Shippensburg (94-81) during the Shippensburg Tournament…NYIT opened league play with a 56-52 loss to Queens on Nov. 26 and is coming off a 66-57 loss to LIU Post on Dec. 3…NYIT hosts Roberts Wesleyan Saturday before taking on Daemen Sunday…Ragab totaled 31 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opening win over Lock Haven and is averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds…freshmen Shannon Duer and Julie Williams have made immediate contributions…Duer was named ECC Rookie of the Week after totaling 27 points and nine rebounds during a 101-60 win over Concordia and is averaging 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds…Williams had 15 points in the loss to Shippensburg and is averaging 10.3 points…additional production has come from senior guard Demitra Apergis (9.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.6 apg) and freshman center Madison Campbell (9.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg)…NYIT is shooting 37-percent from the field overall, 32-percent from three-point land and 69-percent from the charity stripe…the Bears are scoring 76.4 points and allowing 72.4 points per game…NYIT owns a -4.0 rebounding margin (44.8 / 48.8).

LEAGUE RANKINGS: Daemen leads the ECC in three-pointers attempted per game (27.3) and ranks third in three-point field goals made (39)…NYIT leads the league in points per game (76.4), steals per game (14.0) and assists per game (15.6)…Lindsay Stoddard leads the league in assists per game (5.5) and also ranks eighth in scoring (14.5) and 16th in rebounds per game (7.3)…Natalie Galus ranks third in rebounds per game (9.8) and second in blocks per game (2.3)…Taylor Heinold ranks sixth in rebounds per game (8.7), while Leah McDonell ranks 10th in steals per game (2.0)…Chelsea Williams of LIU Post is the league's second-leading scorer (19.8 ppg), while teammate Kiki Sear ranks sixth (15.5) in scoring.

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 48 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 next weekend when it travels back to the New York City area for two games…the Wildcats will play at Molloy Friday (Dec. 20) and at Queens Sunday (Dec. 22).

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.