THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team opens East Coast Conference (ECC) play this weekend…the Wildcats host Molloy College Friday (Dec. 12) at 6 p.m. and cap the weekend by hosting Queens College Saturday (Dec. 13) at 2 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 12, 2014
Molloy at Daemen - 6 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / MOLLOY ROSTER / MOLLOY STATS
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014
Queens at Daemen - 2 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / QUEENS ROSTER / QUEENS STATS
THE COACHES: David Skolen is in his 23rd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 444-238 (.651) record during his time with the Wildcats…he has guided the Wildcats to fifteen 20-win seasons, six conference championships, nine appearances in the NAIA Division II National Tournament and one appearance in the USCAA National Tournament…in 2012-13 Skolen led the Wildcats to a 26-7 record and a USCAA Division I National Championship…Kate Lynch is in her second season as head women's basketball coach at Molloy…prior to Molloy she spent three seasons as head women's basketball coach at Community College of Rhode Island and was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 2012-13…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 fourth season as head women's basketball coach at Queens…the 2012-13 ECC Coach of the Year, she guided the Knights to a 20-win season (20-8) for just the second time in the past 30 years last winter…he previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Binghamton University.
MOVE TO II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…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 Three.
THE SERIES vs. MOLLOY: Friday's game will mark the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy…the Wildcats swept the season series last winter…Daemen rallied for an 88-86 OT win at Molloy in the first-ever meeting…Daemen used a barrage of three-pointers and rallied from a 24-point second-half deficit en route to the win—Daemen's first-ever ECC victory…Daemen set school-records for three-pointers made (16) and attempted (47) in the game…Raeann Stilwell led the charge, as she canned 8-of-20 from downtown and finished with 26 points…she tied the school-record for three-pointers made and attempted in a game…freshman Taylor Heinold made several clutch free throws down the stretch and finished with a career-high 23 points, while Lindsay Stoddard added 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists…Allison Smith and Megan Lonergan both scored 15 points for Molloy, while Nicole Arnone added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists…Daemen completed the sweep with an 80-57 win at Lumsden Gym…Stilwell scored 22 points, while Stoddard recorded her second triple double of the season (13 pts, 14 rebs, 10 asts) to lead Daemen…Lonergan paced the Lions with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
THE SERIES vs. QUEENS: Saturday's game will mark the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens…the Knights swept the season series last year…Queens posted a 95-86 OT win over the Wildcats in the first-ever meeting at Queens…Daemen forced OT after Leah McDonell canned two free throws with 12 seconds left in regulation, but Queens outscored the Wildcats 10-2 at the start of OT to secure the win…Madison Rowland connected on 13-of-18 shots and netted 33 points for Queens, while her sister MacKenzie added 25 points…McDonell scored a career-high 21 points for Daemen, while Raeann Stilwell also scored 21 points…the Knights completed the sweep with an 80-44 win at Lumsden Gym…Kristen Korzevinski scored a career-high 27 points to lead Queens…Samantha Wozniak paced the Wildcats with a career-high 13 points off the bench.
THE WILDCATS (0-2; 0-0 ECC): Daemen returns four starters and 10 players from last year's team that posted an 8-18 overall record and a 5-15 mark in its first season as a member of the East Coast Conference...the Wildcats were voted 10th in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…veteran head coach David Skolen must overcome the graduation of point guard Lindsay Stoddard, who collected second team All-ECC honors after ranking second on the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and leading he team in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and assists (6.1 apg)…the Wildcats opened the 2014-15 season with a 79-65 loss at Holy Family University and are coming off an 85-72 loss to Point Park University this past weekend…junior Raeann Stilwell and sophomores Natalie Galus, Taylor Heinold and Leah McDonell top the list of returning players…Stilwell scored in double figures in 24 of 26 games last year and averaged a team-high 17.0 points with a school-record 77 three-pointers…she scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the loss to HFU…Galus, Heinold and McDonell each started all 26 games as rookies…Galus led the ECC in blocked shots (62) and averaged 11.2 points and 7.0 rebounds…she registered a double-double (12 pts, 11 rebs) in the loss to Point Park…Heinold averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds last year, while McDonell averaged 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds…senior Shy Britton and freshmen Sarah Saba and Liz Miles have made immediate impacts…Britton played in 85 games during her three years (2010-13) at Division I Niagara University and averaged 5.8 points and 3.2 rebounds over her career…she scored over 1,000 points during her career at Greece Arcadia High School and was named first team Class A all-state as a senior…Britton totaled 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in her Daemen debut against HFU…Saba played four years of varsity basketball at Lancaster High School and scored a school-record 1,176 career points…she earned first-team All-Western New York and eighth team Class AA all-state honors as a senior…she made her first career start in the loss to Point Park and totaled 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks…Miles played at state powerhouse Cicero-North Syracuse and helped the Northstars to three NYSPHSAA regional titles and one (2012) state championship…she was named to the state tournament all-tournament team last winter after leading the Northstars to an appearance in the Class AA state championship game…she also collected All-Central New York and first-team all-league honors as a senior…she is averaging 14 minutes off the bench and totaled seven points and six rebounds in the loss to PPU.
THE LIONS (3-2, 0-1 ECC): Molloy returns 12 players and four starters from last year's team that finished 14-14 overall (11-9 ECC) and advanced to the ECC Tournament…Molloy was voted sixth in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…head coach Kate Lynch must overcome the loss of guard Kelly Guerriero who collected honorable mention All-ECC honors last year after averaging a team-high 13.4 points with a league-high 93 three-pointers… the Lions won three of their first four games, before opening ECC play with a 65-59 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 3…juniors Kimani Jackson, Ally Leftridge and Alexia O'Connor have paced the Lions thus far…Jackson scored 22 points in a season-opening 79-72 win over Southern Connecticut and is averaging a team-high 15.2 points off the bench…Leftridge has scored in double figures in all five games and is averaging 14.2 points…she scored 19 points in an 80-48 win over Felician…O'Connor is shooting 48-percent (12-25) from three-point land and is averaging 11.4 points…additional production has come from sophomore Allyah McDonald (8.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 10 stls) and seniors Megan Lonergan (5.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Nicole Arnone (5.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg).
THE KNIGHTS (3-2, 0-0 ECC): Queens returns six players and four starters from last year's team that finished 20-8 overall (15-5 ECC) and advanced to the semifinals of the ECC Tournament…Queens was voted third in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…the Knights had a three-game winning streak snapped following a 64-61 loss at Pace on Nov. 30…the Knights play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Saturday…sophomore G/F Madison Rowland and her junior F/C sister MacKenzie top the list of returning players…Madison collected first-team all-conference, ECC Rookie of the Year and ECC Defensive Player of the Year honors last winter after averaging 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 steals…she totaled 25 points and 12 rebounds in a 78-60 win over Dominican and currently leads the team in scoring (18.2 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg), assists (20) and steals (27)…MacKenzie was a second-team All-ECC pick after averaging 13.4 points and 8.0 rebounds last year…she totaled 16 points and 13 boards in a 72-40 win over Nyack and is averaging 11.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks…junior guard Kristen Korzevinski also returns to the starting lineup after averaging 11.4 points last year…she had 19 points in the win over Dominican and is averaging 10.6 points…additional production has come from junior transfer Imani Davidson (7.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg)…she totaled 16 points and eight boards in the loss to Pace.
RECORD-BREAKING SEASON FOR STILWELL: Raeann Stilwell set the school-record for three-pointers made (77) and attempted (252) in a season last winter…she also became the first Daemen player to record back-to-back seasons with 60 or more three-pointers since Jessica Ruddell turned the trick in 2003-04 and 2004-05…she already ranks seventh in career three-point field goals made (140) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
BLOCK PARTY: Natalie Galus led the ECC in blocks (62) last year and became 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…Galus has recorded at least on block in 19-straight games dating back to last season.
HONOR ROLL FOR SABA: Freshman Sarah Saba was named to the weekly ECC Honor Roll after totaling 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in Daemen's 85-72 loss to Park Point last weekend…she is averaging a team-high 15.5 points.
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen heads to The Sunshine State to take part in the Trip Sports Cruzin Classic…the Wildcats will play Barry University Tuesday (Dec. 16) and take on Goucher College Thursday (Dec. 18)…both games take place on the campus of Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla…Daemen's complete 2014-15 schedule can be accessed HERE.
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.
