THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team 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.
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014
Daemen vs. Barry - 5:30 p.m.
Health & Sports Center, Miami Shores, Fla.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / BARRY ROSTER / BARRY STATS
Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014
Daemen vs. Goucher - 2 p.m.
Health & Sports Center, Miami Shores, Fla.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / GOUCHER ROSTER / GOUCHER STATS
THE COACHES: David Skolen is in his 23rd season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 445-239 (.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…Bill Sullivan is in his ninth season as head women's basketball coach at Barry…he guided the Buccaneers to a 129-96 record and one NCAA Division II Tournament bid over the past eight years…Didi Cotton is in her 10th season as head women's basketball coach at Goucher…she previously spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Florida International University.
THE SERIES vs. BARRY: Tuesday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Barry.
THE SERIES vs. GOUCHER: Thursday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Goucher.
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 WILDCATS (1-3; 1-1 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 non-league losses to Holy Family (79-65) and Point Park (85-72) and opened ECC play this past weekend with a 72-60 victory over Molloy and an 82-67 loss to Queens…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 netted 22 points in the loss to Queens and is averaging 15.8 points with a team-high nine three-pointers…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 back-to-back double-doubles against Park Point (12 pts, 11 rebs) and Molloy (10 pts, 12 rebs) and is averaging 9.3 points and 9.8 rebounds…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 totaled 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks in the win over Molloy and followed up with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the loss to Queens…she is averaging 16.0 points and 9.8 rebounds with 17 blocks…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…she is averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds…Miles played at state powerhouse Cicero-North Syracuse and helped the Northstars to three NYSPHSAA regional titles and one (2012) state championship…she is averaging 13 minutes off the bench and totaled seven points and six rebounds in the loss to PPU.
THE BUCCANEERS (5-2, 1-0 SSC): Barry is a member of the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference (SSC)...the Buccaneers were picked fifth in the 2014-15 SSC preseason poll…Barry returns seven players and two starters from last year's team that finished 16-11 overall (8-8 SSC) and advanced to the SSC Tournament…head coach Bill Sullivan must overcome the loss of guard Tyler Hardy who averaged 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds last year and collected SSC Player of the Year honors… the Buccaneers will be playing their first game since opening conference play with a 68-67 victory over St. Leo on Dec. 6…senior guard Kaylia Richardson returns after averaging 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds last year and being named to the SSC All-Newcomer team…junior guard Jackie Perez (the third leading scorer in 2012-13) also returns after red-shirting the 2013-14 season…Richardson has yet to play in a game this season…Perez scored 19 points in a 78-76 win over Stillman on Nov. 29 and is averaging a team-high 15.4 points with 24 three-pointers…senior forward Nyjah Porcher has scored in double figures in six of the seven games and is averaging 13.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists…additional production has come from junior forward Amra Elezovic (9.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and senior guard Ashley Lutz (9.0 ppg, 16 3pt fgs)…Lutz had four three-pointers and 17 points in a 68-54 loss to Alabama-Huntsville.
THE GOPHERS (3-4, 0-2 LC): Goucher is located in Towson, Md. and is a member of the NCAA Division III Landmark Conference (SSC)...the Gophers were picked eighth out of nine schools in the 2014-15 LC preseason poll…Goucher returns four players and two starters from last year's team that finished 6-18 overall and 2-12 in the LC…the Gophers won their first three games this season, but enter the tournament winless in their last four…Goucher plays Simpson College Wednesday before facing Daemen on Thursday…freshman guard Briana Bull and junior forward Olivia Nono have paced the Gophers thus far…Bull had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven steals in an 87-36 win over Notre Dame (Md.) and is averaging 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.1 steals…Nono had 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 57-39 loss to Drew on Dec. 6 and is averaging 12.0 points and 9.9 boards…additional production has come from junior guard India Perkins (6.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg), freshman forward Joyce Woolen (6.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and sophomore guard Jaida Scarborough (6.3 ppg, 2.9 apg, 20 stls).
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 sixth in career three-point field goals made (146) 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 21-straight games dating back to last season.
SABA, BRITTON COLLECT LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Sarah Saba and senior Shy Britton have been honored by the ECC for their outstanding play last week…Saba was named the ECC Rookie of the Week after averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over two games…she totaled 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in a 72-60 win over Molloy…Britton was named the weekly ECC Honor Roll after totaling 41 points, 25 rebounds and 10 blocks over the two games…she racked up 21 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and six blocks in the win over Molloy, and added 20 points, 10 boards and four blocks in an 82-67 loss to Queens.
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is idle until Dec. 30 when it heads to Briarcliffe College on Long Island to face USCAA member Briarcliffe College…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.
