PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Junior guard Erin Fenningham (Philadelphia, Pa.) drilled seven three-pointers and totaled 25 points and seven rebounds to lead Holy Family University to a 79-65 victory over Daemen College here today in non-conference women's basketball action.
It marked the 2014-15 season opener for Daemen, while the host Tigers picked up their first win of the year and improved to 1-3.
Junior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) and newcomer Shy Britton (Rochester, N.Y./Niagara Univ.) led the Wildcats. Stilwell contributed 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while Britton totaled 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in her Daemen debut. Freshman Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) played 22 minutes off the bench in her collegiate debut and totaled 10 points.
Fenningham went 5-for-7 from behind the arc in the second half and scored 17 of her 25 points after intermission. Senior Sarah Pawlak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Sacred Heart) totaled 19 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks for HFU, while sophomore Jill Conroy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 points and five assists.
Daemen head coach David Skolen was unable to travel with the team due to the lake effect snowstorm that rolled through the southtowns this week. Once travel bans were lifted and road conditions improved, he was able to make it to the airport on Friday night to catch a flight to Newark. Once there, he boarded an Amtrak passenger train for the ride to Philadelphia, arriving at the team hotel at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday. Once he re-joined the team, it was the first time his players had seen him since Tuesday.
Holy Family scored the first seven points of the game and later took a 16-4 lead following a jumper by freshman Kelly Giedemann (Turnersville, N.J.) with 12:43 left before intermission. Daemen cut the lead to single digits, 16-8, following a free throw by freshman Liz Miles (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) and a triple by sophomore Rachel Pawlak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield), but the Tigers put together a 14-7 run and took their largest lead of the half, 30-15, following a three-pointer by sophomore Jacqueline Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 7:01 left in the half. Daemen responded with a three-point play by Britton on its next possession and later cut the lead to nine points, 31-22, after sophomore Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) canned two free throws with 4:11 left in the half. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half and HFU took a 41-31 lead into the break.
Daemen outscored the Tigers 13-8 over the first five minutes of the second half and cut the lead to five points, 49-44, after Stilwell drained a three-pointer off a pass from sophomore Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata). Holy Family held a 56-50 lead midway through the second half, when back-to-back three-pointers by Fenningham sparked the hosts on a decisive 10-0 run. A three-pointer by Conroy with 9:34 left to play capped the run and gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game, 67-50. The Wildcats put together one final rally and cut the lead to 10 points, 74-64, with just over three minutes left, but the visitors managed just one free throw down the stretch.
HFU, which entered the game having made just 7-of-60 three-point attempts over its first three games, connected on 10-of-32 attempts this afternoon. 41 fouls were whistled in the game and both teams took advantage of their free throw attempts. HFU canned 19-of-28 from the charity stripe, while Daemen was 20-for-26.
Daemen shot 36-percent (20-56) from the field overall, while the Tigers went 25-of-77 (33%) from the field. Daemen posted a 48-47 edge in rebounds, but the Tigers collected 11 offensive rebounds which they converted into 11 second-chance points. Turnovers were also a key stat in the game. Daemen turned the ball over 21 times, compared to just five for HFU. The Tigers finished with a 17-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Daemen is idle until Dec. 6 when it hosts Point Park University in a non-league game.
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