Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 - 6 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

New York Tech vs. Daemen
Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 - 1 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College women's basketball team hosts LIU Post (Jan. 31) and New York Tech (Feb. 2) in East Coast Conference (ECC) action.

WHITEOUT WARNING FOR "THE DEN": The Daemen Athletic Department is sponsoring a "WHITEOUT" promotion for Friday's game vs. LIU Post…the first 420 fans through the door will get a free white Daemen t-shirt to wear during the game.

THE COACHES: David Skolen is entering his 22nd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 442-231 (.658) 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…she entered the 2013-14 season with a career-record of 90-56 record (.616) and has led the Pioneers to 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 second all-time meeting between Daemen and LIU Post…the teams met for the first time earlier this year on Long Island and the Pioneers posted a 75-56 victory…LIUP held a 40-33 lead at the half and took control by outscoring the Wildcats 20-4 over the first six of the second half…Chelsea Williams led a balanced attack with 19 points…Natalie Galus had 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Daemen.

THE SERIES vs. NEW YORK TECH: Sunday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between Daemen and New York Tech…the teams met for the first time earlier this year at NYIT and the Bears posted a 79-62 victory…NYIT held a 10-point lead at the half and outscored the Wildcats 23-9 over the first nine minutes of the second half…Shannon Duer led the Bears with 18 points and 14 rebounds…Natalie Galus registered 17 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Wildcats.

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 (6-13, 3-10 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…Daemen snapped a three-game losing streak following a non-league win at Dominican (83-64) on Jan. 7 and is 3-4 over its last seven games…the Wildcats posted home wins over STAC (88-78) and Mercy (73-66) last weekend, and are coming off a 76-61 loss to Roberts Wesleyan Tuesday…ECC losses have come against Roberts Wesleyan (79-69, 76-61), LIU Post (75-56), New York Tech (79-62), Queens (95-86 OT), STAC (72-54), Mercy (93-91), UDC (74-63), Dowling (68-44) and Bridgeport (73-59)…ECC wins have come over Molloy (88-86 OT), STAC (88-78) and Mercy (73-66)…senior guard Lindsay Stoddard is the only returning starter on a roster that includes six freshmen and four sophomores…Stoddard was named ECC Co-Player of the Week earlier this year and has recorded a double-double in seven of her last 11 games…she nearly recorded her second triple-double of the season against STAC (15 pts, 13 rebs, 9 asts) and totaled 11 points, 13 rebounds and six helpers in the win over Mercy…she is averaging 13.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals…sophomore Raeann Stilwell has shot 38-percent (47-for-124) from three-point land and has averaged 22.1 points over the past 11 games…she went 9-of-19 from three-point land and totaled 47 points in the two wins last weekend and is averaging 18.0 points with a league-high 59 three-pointers…sophomore Somara Colon is averaging 15 minutes, 4.4 points and 4.1 rebounds off the bench and contributed a career-high 11 points in the win over Dominican…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 had a season-high 20 points in the win over STAC and is averaging 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks…Heinold was named ECC Rookie of the Week after totaling 23 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win over Molloy…she is averaging 10.2 points and 7.5 rebounds…McDonell scored a season-high 21 points in the loss to Queens and is averaging 6.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals.

HOME COOKING: After playing 14 of their first 16 games on the road, Daemen will play nine of its final 10 games at home…Daemen went 11-1 at home last year and is 72-11 at Lumsden Gymnasium over the past six seasons.

THE PIONEERS (12-5, 9-2 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…LIUP was voted first in the ECC preseason poll…LIUP has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament each of the last three seasons…the Pioneers have won 10 of their last 12 games and had a seven-game winning streak snapped following an 83-61 loss to NYIT Tuesday…LIUP posted wins over Molloy (83-74) and Queens (74-64) last week…four starters are averaging in double figures…junior guard Chelsea Williams has scored 20 or more points seven times and totaled 23 points in the win over Molloy last week…she is averaging 18.6 points and 5.4 rebounds with a team-high 39 three-pointers…senior guard Alexis Peters has scored in double figures in each of the last 10 games and is averaging 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists…senior guard Kiki Sears (12.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 25 3pt fgs) and senior forward Shayna Gatling (11.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg) have also produced…Gatling totaled 22 points in the win over Molloy last week.

THE BEARS (12-5, 8-3 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…NYIT takes an eight-game winning streak into its game at Roberts Wesleyan Saturday…the Bears posted wins over Mercy (84-66) and Molloy (90-73) last week and are coming off an 83-61 victory over LIU Post Tuesday…all five starters are averaging in double figures…sophomore G/F Dina Ragab was named to the ECC All-Rookie team last year and is averaging 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds this season…she totaled 18 points and 11 boards in the win over LIU Post Tuesday…senior Alex Venuto netted 22 points in the win over LIU Post and is averaging 12.1 points with a team-high 28 three-pointers…freshman Shannon Duer is a two-time ECC Rookie of the Week and one-time ECC Player of the Week selection…she totaled 18 points in a recent non-league win over Georgian Court and is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds…seniors Rebecca Romeo (10.3 ppg) and Demitra Apergis (10.0 ppg, 5.7 apg, 39 stls) have also produced…Romeo was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday after scoring a career-high 30 points in the win over Molloy last week.

ECC RANKINGS: Here is how the teams rank among ECC teams in selected statistical categories.

Note: Rankings do not include games played 1/30/14

LEAGUE LEADERS: Here is how players from the three teams rank among the ECC leaders…Lindsay Stoddard leads the league in assists per game (6.3) and also ranks third in minutes per game (35.1), fourth in rebounding (8.5), ninth in scoring (13.6) and 10th in three-point field goals (25)…Raeann Stilwell ranks fourth in points per game (18.0), first in three-point field goals made (59), fifth in minutes (33.6) and eighth in assists (2.9)…Natalie Galus ranks first in blocks per game (2.6), seventh in field goal percentage (45.0) and 13th in rebounding (7.4)…Taylor Heinold ranks 12th in rebounds per game (7.7) and ninth in free throw percentage (77.9)…Chelsea Williams of LIU Post ranks third in scoring (18.6), fourth in three-pointers (39), second in three-point field goal percentage (38.2) and third in free throw percentage (82.6)…Alexis Peters ranks 11th in scoring (13.2), third in assists (4.4) and sixth in minutes (33.2)…also from LIU Post, Kiki Sears ranks 13th in scoring (12.9), third in steals (2.3), fifth in assists (3.4) and 10th in three-pointers (25), while Shayna Gatling leads the league in field goal percentage (59.1)…Dina Ragab from NYIT ranks 14th in scoring (12.7), 13th in rebounding (7.4) and eighth in blocks (1.4)…Shannon Duer ranks fifth in rebounding (8.4), second in field goal percentage (49.3) and seventh in steals (1.8)…Demitra Apergis ranks second in both assists (5.7) and steals (2.4) and eighth in free throw percentage (78.0), while Alex Venuto ranks eighth in three-pointers (28).

DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen established a new school-record for three-point field goals made (16) and attempted (47) in a game during its 88-86 OT win at Molloy on Dec. 20…Raeann Stilwell tied the record for three-pointers made (8) and attempted (20) in a game during the win over Molloy…Stilwell led the team in three-pointers last year (60) and has totaled a league-best 59 triples this season…she has become the first Daemen player to record back-to-back seasons with 50 or more three-pointers since Jessica Ruddell and Joanna Daugenti both turned the trick in 2003-04 and 2004-05…Lindsay Stoddard recently recorded her 400th career assist and enters this weekend's action ranked seventh in career assists (438) among Daemen's all-time leaders…Stoddard has recorded five or more rebounds in 15 of Daemen's 19 games and has registered double-digit rebounds in five of the last eight games…she ranks first among ECC guards (fourth overall) in rebounds per game (8.5)…Natalie Galus leads the ECC in blocks (50) and has become the first Daemen freshman to record 50 or more blocks in a season since Sarah Sokora registered 100 blocks as a freshman in 2007-08.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is idle until next weekend when it hosts Molloy (Feb. 7) and Queens (Feb. 9) in ECC games.

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.