Box Score

Daemen (23-7) 41-30--71
Salem International (4-18) 23-29--52

SALEM, W. Va. - A 24-6 run to close the first half paved the way for the Daemen College women's basketball team which picked up a 71-52 road victory over Salem International University at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium today.

Daemen, the top-ranked team in the last 10 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I polls, ran their winning streak to three with the victory in their regular season finale.  The host Tigers, a NCAA Division II independent whom Daemen defeated at home two weeks ago (74-55 on Jan. 26), fell to 4-18 on the season.

A fastbreak layup from junior forward Jillian Fitzner (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) broke a 17-17 tie with 9:28 remaining in the half and sparked a string of eight straight points for the Wildcats.  Daemen added three-point baskets by seniors Chelsea Andorka (Canton, Ohio/Notre Dame College) and Lia Zahn (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) on back-to-back possessions to open up a 25-17 lead with 8:21 remaining.

After SIU's Alicia Stebbins (Olean, N.Y.) hit two straight jumpers to make the score 25-21, Daemen responded with eight unanswered again.  Consecutive baskets by senior center Monica Kosior (Grimsby, Ont./Canisius College) got the spurt started and another jumper from Zahn capped it with Daemen leading 33-21 at the 3:32 mark of the half.

A Whitney McCargo (South Boston, Va.) free throw briefly interrupted the Wildcat run for SIU, but Daemen quickly regrouped, adding a three-pointer by redshirt freshman Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) with 2:58 left in the opening stanza.

A layup from senior guard Ellie Allen (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) with 36 ticks left saw Daemen open up its largest lead of the game at 41-23.

Daemen ran their lead to as many as 19 points on three ocassions early in the second half. 

SIU cut the deficit to 11 with 10:24 remaining on a layup by Ciera Simms (Bowie, Md.) but Daemen got baskets from Andorka, Stilwell and junior guard Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) to run their lead back to 18 (61-43) with 7:08 to play.

From there, the hosts never got closer than 13 points and a Kosior layup with 49 seconds left gave Daemen a 21-point lead as the edge ran above 19 for the first time in the game.

Kosior led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season.  She hit on 7-of-13 from the field and added four blocked shots as well.

Allen shared team-high honors as she connected on 6-of-10 shots for 15 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Stoddard chipped in with 12 points and eight assists while Andorka totaled 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

Inkera Patterson (Washington, D.C.) scored 13 points to pace the Tigers.  Shakinah Haggins (Lakeland, Fla.) hauled in 10 rebounds to help the Tigers hold a 44-40 lead off the backboard.

A plus-four rebouding margin wasn't enough to help SIU overcome its 30-percent shooting effort (22-for-73) and a 42-26 disparity in points in the paint.

Daemen canned 47-percent of its shots (29-for-62) in the game, including a 17-for-31 showing (55-percent) in the first half.

The Wildcats are now idle until the USCAA Division I National Tournament which runs from Feb. 26 through Mar. 2 on the campus of Penn State-Fayette in Uniontown, Pa.  Bids for the tournament are expected to be announced next Friday, Feb. 15.