Friday, Dec. 20, 2013 - 5 p.m.
Quealy Gymnasium, Rockville Center, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

Daemen vs. Queens
Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013 - 3:30 p.m.
Fitzgerald Gymnasium, Flushing, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to the New York City area for the second-straight weekend for two ECC games…the Wildcats will tipoff against Molloy Friday (Dec. 20) at 5 p.m. and complete the trip with a Sunday (Dec. 22) afternoon contest at Queens…Sunday's game starts at 3:30 p.m.

THE COACHES: David Skolen is entering his 22nd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 438-223 (.663) 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…Kate Lynch is in her first season as head women's basketball coach at Molloy…she spent the past three seasons as head women's basketball coach at Community College of Rhode Island and was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year last winter…she played four seasons at Southern Connecticut State University and helped the Owls to a NCAA Division II national title in 2007…Bet Naumovski is in her third season as head women's basketball coach at Queens…the 2012-13 ECC Coach of the Year, she has guided the Knights to a 12-40 (.231) record over the past two seasons…he previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Binghamton University.

THE SERIES vs. MOLLOY: Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Molloy.

THE SERIES vs. QUEENS: Sunday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Queens.

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 (2-6, 0-3 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), Roberts Wesleyan (79-69), LIU Post (75-56) and New York Tech (79-62)…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 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 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 has scored in double figures in seven of DC's eight games and is averaging 12.4 points with a team-high 12 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)…Galus has averaged 17.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks over the past three games and recorded her second double-double of the season (17 pts, 12 rebs) in the loss to NYIT last weekend…she is averaging 12.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks overall…Heinold has scored in double figures in five of DC's eight games and is averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds…McDonell scored 11 points in the loss to LIU Post and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss to NYIT last weekend…she is averaging 8.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals…Daemen is shooting 35-percent from the field overall, 23-percent from three-point land and 71-percent from the charity stripe…the Wildcats are scoring 65.1 points and allowing 72.4 points per game…Daemen owns a -8.9 rebounding margin (44.9 / 53.8).

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…the Wildcats have prevailed in 64-percent (39-22) of their road games over the past three seasons.

THE LIONS (6-2, 3-0 ECC): Molloy returns nine players and two starters from last year's team that finished 10-16 (6-12 ECC)…Molloy was voted ninth in the ECC preseason poll…sophomore guard Alex Hampton and senior guard Kelly Guerriero top the list of returning players…Hampton was named to the ECC All-Rookie team last year after leading the team in points (9.5 ppg), assists (97) and steals (50)…Guerriero averaged 9.4 points and ranked second in the league in three-pointers (62) last year…the Lions split their first four games, but enter Friday's contest riding a four-game winning streak…the streak has included wins over Philadelphia (67-60), Queens (70-66), Bridgeport (70-52) and Dowling (55-52)…Guerriero drilled six three-pointers and totaled 20 points in an early-season win over Felician and is averaging 14.3 points with 21 three-point field goals…junior G/F Nicole Arnone netted 17 points in the win over Bridgeport last week and is averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds…junior college transfer Sabrina Padro totaled 17 points and six assists in the win over Felician and is averaging 8.9 points and a team-high 3.1 assists…Molloy is shooting 38-percent from the field overall, 35-percent from three-point land and 63-percent from the charity stripe…the Lions are scoring 70.6 points and allowing 66.5 points per game…Molloy owns a +2.8 rebounding margin (45.8 / 43.0).

THE KNIGHTS (7-3, 3-1 ECC): Queens returns seven players and three starters from last year's team that finished 11-15 (8-10 ECC)…Queens was voted fourth in the ECC preseason poll…the Knights must overcome the graduation of guard Bria Jackson who led the league in scoring (20.0 ppg) and collected honorable mention All-America honors last year…sophomore guard Kristen Korzevinski returns after averaging 11.2 points and being named to the ECC All-Rookie team last year…the Knights opened the year by winning four of their first five games…they have won three of their last four games and posted league wins over Dowling (42-38) and Bridgeport (60-53) last week…Queens hosts Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Sunday…freshman G/F Madison Rowland and her sophomore sister MacKenzie have led the way thus far…Madison is averaging 16.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.6 steals and has been named ECC Rookie of the Week three times over the first six weeks…she had a season-high 23 points and six steals in a 69-47 win over Nyack…MacKenzie is averaging 14.1 points and leads the team in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocks (18)…she had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Bridgeport last week…Korzevinski started five of the first six games, but has missed the last four games…she had 14 points in a 56-52 win over NYIT and is averaging 9.5 points…additional production has come from sophomore guard Joya McFarland (6.1 ppg, 2.3 apg) and junior guard Marie Byrnes (5.7 ppg)…Queens is shooting 38-percent from the field overall, 23-percent from three-point land and 64-percent from the charity stripe…the Knights are scoring 60.4 points and allowing 58.6 points per game…Queens owns a +2.2 rebounding margin (41.8 / 39.6).

LEAGUE RANKINGS: Daemen leads the ECC in three-pointers attempted per game (25.6) and is tied with Molloy for third in three-point field goals made (48)…Molloy ranks fourth in points per game (70.6), while Queens ranks first in fewest points allowed per game (58.6)…Daemen ranks second in blocks per game (3.9)…Molloy leads the league in free throws attempted per game (30.3), but ranks second last in free throw percentage (63.2)…Lindsay Stoddard leads the league in assists per game (5.4) and also ranks fifth in minutes per game (33.9), 10th in scoring (13.9) and 12th in rebounding (7.4)…Natalie Galus ranks third in rebounds per game (9.8) and second in blocks per game (2.8)…Taylor Heinold ranks 10th in rebounds per game (7.5), while Leah McDonell ranks ninth in steals per game (1.9)…Kelly Guerriero of Molloy ranks seventh in points per game (14.3) and second in three-pointers made (21)…Madison Rowland of Queens leads the league in steals per game (4.6), ranks third in points per game (16.9), second in rebounds per game (8.4) and fifth in field goal percentage (47.7).

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 38 assists to become the seventh player in program history to register 400 career assists.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is idle until after the New Year when it makes its third trip to the Greater New York City area…the Wildcats play at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Jan. 4, then head to Mercy College on Jan. 6 and Dominican College on Jan.7.

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.