WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - With just one day of practice under their belt after the NCAA-mandated winter break, the Daemen College women's basketball team returned to game action today, erupting for their highest point total of the season to dispatch of host Briarcliffe College, 101-83, at the Island Garden Center. With the win, Daemen's second straight, the Wildcats improve to 3-4 on the season. Briarcliffe, an affiliate of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), dropped to 2-4 with the loss.
Junior guard
Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) paced the Wildcats with a season-high 23 points in just 24 minutes of action. Stilwell knocked down eight of her 11 field goal attempts, including 7-of-10 from three-point range, while adding six assists. The seven triples put Stilwell just one shy of tying the team's single-game record which she already shares with 2003 graduate Angela Tylec (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield). As a team, the Wildcats knocked down 16-of-29 from deep (55-percent), tying the team record for three-pointers in a game which was set on Dec. 20, 2013 against Molloy College - the same game that Stilwell hit for eight triples herself.
It wasn't all Stilwell tonight, however. The frontcourt duo of
Shy Britton (Rochester, N.Y./Niagara University) and
Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) combined for 24 points and 24 rebounds, each recording double-doubles. Galus added four blocks to her season-best rebound total of 13, and now has four double-doubles this season. Britton, meanwhile, has three double-doubles in the last five outings.
Freshman
Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) chipped in with 12 points and five assists. Today's game also saw the return of sophomore
Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) who had missed the Wildcats' previous five games with an injury. Heinold looked no worse for wear, contributing 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting off the bench. Junior guard
Samantha Wozniak (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) added nine points and five assists in a reserve role as well.
Briarcliffe led by as many as six points early on (13-7) before coach
David Skolen's squad got their legs underneath them. The Wildcats took their first lead, 16-13, on a three from Stilwell at the 11:52 mark of the opening half and never trailed again.
A 14-5 spurt put Daemen ahead by 12 (40-28) with 3:44 remaining. Stilwell hit three triples in the spurt, including the capper, but, Briarcliffe scored 12 of the next 21 points to trail by just nine at the break (49-40).
A Daemen onslaught out of the intermission would put away any doubt in this one. Britton scored eight points as part of a 13-3 blitz in the first 3:15 of the period, putting Daemen ahead by 19 (62-43). From there, the lead grew to as much as 28 with the Bulldogs never coming closer than 14.
The loss spoiled a tremendous effort from Briarcliffe's Shemique Hooks who took home game-high honors with 36 points in 29 minutes. Hooks connected on 11-of-22 from the field, 6-of-13 from three, and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. She was backed up by Judy Pierre (16 points) and Kiara Johnson (10 points, five assists).
Briarcliffe matched the Wildcats' production from three-point range, hitting 16 triples, but on 45 attempts (36-percent). The Wildcat defense limited Briarcliffe to just 34-percent shooting overall (26-for-77). Daemen also owned a sizeable 53-44 edge on the backboard while dishing out a season-best 29 assists as a team.
Daemen topped the century mark for the first time since a 102-64 road win at Fisher College on January 21, 2013. The Wildcats' 52-point second half was the team's first period with at least 50 points since last year's season finale, an 87-72 home win vs. University of Bridgeport.
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference play this weekend, traveling to our nation's capital to face University of the District of Columbia. Tip time is set for 3 p.m. this Saturday, January 3. While in the Washington, D.C. area, the Wildcats will also face USCAA-foe Washington Adventist University on Monday, January 5 at 4 p.m.
