MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Four players scored in double figures to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 65-53 victory over Goucher College here today in non-conference action. The game was part of the Trip Sports Cruzin Classic being hosted by Barry University.
Daemen snapped a two-game slide and improved to 2-4 on the year. Goucher, a member of the NCAA Division III Landmark Conference, suffered its sixth-straight loss and dropped to 3-6.
Sophomore Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) paced the Wildcats with 13 points and five rebounds, as she connected on 10-of-14 from the free throw line. Junior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) drilled three three-pointers and totaled 12 points and four assists. The effort gives her 152 career three-pointers, making her just the fifth player in program history to reach 150 career triples. Freshman Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) totaled 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) added 10 points and seven rebounds. Galus did not record a blocked shot in the game and saw her streak of 22-straight games with at least one rejection come to an end. Senior Shy Britton (Rochester, N.Y./Niagara Univ.) chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.
Amaka Ezeani (Silver Spring, Md.), a 6-foot-5 freshman, led the Gophers with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Both teams struggled to score in the first half and Daemen held a 22-20 lead with just over three minutes left before halftime when a three-pointer by McDonell sparked the Wildcats on a 10-0 run. A conventional three-point play by Galus with 1:08 left in the half capped the run and gave Daemen a 32-20 lead. Daemen took a 34-24 lead into the break.
The teams traded buckets for the first 10 minutes of the second and Daemen held a 48-40 lead when it put together a decisive 8-1 run. A jumper by Britton with 5:51 left to play capped the run and gave Daemen a 56-41 lead. Goucher managed to cut the lead to single digits, 56-47, after freshman Dominique White (Lubbuck, Tex.) drained a jumper with 4:21 left, but Daemen went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe over the next four minutes to secure the win.
Daemen pulled off the win despite shooting a season-low 32-percent (14-for-44) for the game. Goucher also struggled from the field and finished 34-percent (21-for-61) from the field. The Wildcats were 6-of-16 from three-point land, while Goucher attempted just four three-pointers and missed them all. The charity stripe was the difference in the game, as Daemen outscored the Gophers 31-11 from the free throw line.
Daemen is idle until Dec. 30 when it heads to Long Island to face Unithed States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) member Briarcliffe College.
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