TAKOMA PARK, Md. – The Daemen College women's basketball team improved to 4-5 on the year following a 63-47 victory over Washington Adventist University here tonight. Both schools are members of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
Daemen, which has won three of its last four games, is now 13-0 against USCAA opponents since joining the association prior to the 2012-13 season. WAU, which was playing its first game in a month, dropped to 2-9 following its seventh-straight loss.
Three players scored in double figures for Daemen, which never trailed in the game. Junior Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village Prep) recorded her first career double-double, as she finished with a career-high 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action off the bench. She connected on 5-of-6 shots and also recorded two blocks. Freshman Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), the reining East Coast Conference rookie of the week, added 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) went 3-for-6 from three-point land and totaled 11 points and four assists. Sophomore Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) added eight points, five assists and three steals.
Junior Jerria Brown-McDaniel (Largo, Md.) led the Shock with 23 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Daemen opened the game with a three-pointer by Stilwell and the Wildcats later took a 16-8 lead following a jumper by freshman Liz Miles (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) with 10:44 left before halftime. Daemen clung to a four-point lead, 18-14, with just over seven minutes left in the half when a three-pointer by sophomore Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) sparked the Wildcats on 12-3 run. Stilwell's second triple of the half capped the run and gave Daemen its largest lead of the half (30-17) with 2:46 left before intermission. Daemen took a 34-24 lead into the break.
WAU cut the lead to single digits, 36-27, early in the second half, but Daemen scored the next six points and later took a 16-point lead, 50-34, after sophomore Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) drained a three-pointer with 8:03 left to play. The lead eventually ballooned to 20-points, 84-64, following Stilwell's third three-pointer of the game with just over two minutes to play.
Daemen shot 52-percent (14-for-27) in the first half and connected on 25-of-55 shots (45.5%) for the game. WAU struggled from the field the entire game and finished just 16-for-58 (28%) overall.
Daemen posted a 46-31 advantage in total rebounds, and the Wildcats also finished with a 26-22 edge in points in the paint. Free throws could have played a factor in the game, as WAU attempted 11 more free throws than Daemen. The Shock connected on just 12-of-20 from the charity stripe, while Daemen was 7-for-9.
Daemen returns to action Friday (Jan. 9) when it hosts Dowling College in an East Coast Conference game.
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