THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team tips off the 2015-16 season this weekend by taking part in the ECC / CACC Challenge hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y…the tournament will feature teams from the East Coast Conference (ECC) and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)…Daemen will face Post University during opening night action on Friday (Nov. 13) and then square off against Nyack College in the second round on Saturday (Nov. 14) afternoon.
Friday, Nov. 13 (at Voller Athletic Center, Rochester, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Post, 6 p.m.
DC ROSTER / PU ROSTER / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
Saturday, Nov. 14 (at Voller Athletic Center, Rochester, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Nyack, 2 p.m.
DC ROSTER / NC ROSTER / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
DIVISION II DEBUT: Daemen successfully completed a three-year membership process and was approved for active membership status at the NCAA Division II level by the NCAA Membership Committee his past summer…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) in July of 2012 and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…the 2015-16 academic year will mark the first year Daemen will be eligible for ECC and NCAA post-season play.
HEAD COACH DAVID SKOLEN: David Skolen is entering his 24th season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen…he has posted a 458-251 (.646) career record and has guided the Wildcats to fifteen 20-win seasons, six conference championships, nine appearances in the NAIA Division II National Tournament and two appearances in the USCAA National Tournament…Skolen led the Wildcats to the USCAA national championship in 2013 and 2015.
THE WILDCATS (0-0): Daemen returns four starters and 12 players from last year's team that posted a 14-15 overall record and an 8-12 mark in the East Coast Conference…the Wildcats won six of their final 10 games last year and placed seventh in the final East Coast Conference standings…DC was selected to the USCAA Tournament for the second time in three years and claimed its second national title following wins over The Apprentice School (82-72), Concordia-Alabama (63-57) and Berea (78-75)…the Wildcats were voted eighth in the 2015-16 ECC preseason poll…the graduation of forward Shy Britton (13.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 94 blks), an honorable mention All-ECC pick last winter, will take its toll down low…senior Raeann Stilwell and juniors Natalie Galus and Leah McDonell have been constants in the starting lineup the past two years…Stilwell has averaged nearly 13 points a game over the past three seasons and contributed 12.7 points last year…she also led the team in assists (80) and steals (44)…she has led the team in three-point field goals each of the last three seasons and enters the 2015-16 season just 38 three-pointers shy of establishing a new school record for career three-pointers made…Galus averaged 9.9 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds last year…one of the top shot blockers in the ECC, she has racked up 120 rejections over the past two seasons and already ranks seventh in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders…McDonell averaged a steady 7.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists last year…sophomore Sarah Saba is coming off an impressive rookie season…a six-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she led the team in scoring average (14.2 ppg) and ranked second in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and third in blocks (37) last winter…sophomore guard Taylor Heinold also returns to the fold after missing all but four games due to injury last year…she averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds as a freshman in 2013-14…seniors Samantha Wozniak and Somara Colon and sophomore Liz Miles will once against provide quality depth…Wozniak averaged 15 minutes a game off the bench last year and ranked fourth in three-pointers (19)…Colon averaged 11 minutes and 3.3 rebounds, while Miles averaged 12 minutes a games as a rookie…newcomer Jesse DeWaters is expected to make an immediate impact after leading Niagara County Community College to a 25-5 record and an appearance in the NJCAA Tournament last year…a 5-foot-10 point guard, she averaged 11.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and a team-high 7.0 assists for the Thunderwolves last year…she also ranked second in three-pointers (37), blocks (54) and steals (71)…additional newcomers include junior guard Jazzae Verse and freshman center Erin Egan…Verse played at Erie Community College in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and averaged 9.2 points her sophomore year…Egan led Williamsville South to a 26-2 record and the NYSPHSAA Class A state title last year.
THE EAGLES (0-0): Post returns 12 players and five starters from last year's team that finished 7-22 overall and 7-12 in the CACC…the Eagles were voted fourth in the 2015-16 CACC North Division preseason poll…Taj McWilliams-Franklin, a former assistant coach at Division I Rice and Boston University, enters her first season as head coach…senior guard Deaisia Acklin and sophomore guard Lexus Childs-Harris top the list of returning players…Acklin started 28 games last year and led the team in scoring (13.9 ppg), assists (2.5 apg) and steals (59)…she also ranked second in rebounding (6.3 rpg)…Childs-Harris started all 29 games as a rookie and averaged 10.5 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds…sophomore guards Toni Deren (6.9 ppg, 49 3pt fgs) and Nicole Viselli (6.7 ppg, 53 3pt fgs) and junior forward Nicole Sheloski (4.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) are also coming off productive seasons.
THE WARRIORS (0-0): Nyack returns seven players and four starters from last year's team that finished 3-22 overall and 3-16 in the CACC…the Warriors were voted sixth in the 2015 CACC North Division preseason poll…sixth-year head coach David Julien will look to seniors Jamie McKeither and Raven Makins for leadership in 2015-16…McKeither, a 5-10 forward, led the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg) last winter…Makins made an immediate impact last winter after transferring from Division I Central Connecticut State University…a 5-foot-7 guard, she started 24 of 25 games and ranked second in scoring (12.0 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg) and assists (41)…she also led the team in steals (61)…additional production is expected from junior guard Jessica Logemann (6.9 ppg, 25 3pt fgs), sophomore point guard Alyssa Gatti (6.9 ppg, 3.3 apg) and senior guard Tori Trader (25 3pt fgs).
THE HISTORY VS. POST: Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Post.
THE HISTORY VS. NYACK: Saturday's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and Nyack, and the first in 12 years…Nyack holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series…the teams first met during the 1998-99 season and Nyack posted a 75-73 victory…Nyack also posted a 72-51 win during the 2000-01 season…Daemen prevailed 76-43 in the last meeting between the two schools on Nov. 16, 2003.
SHOOTING STAR: Senior Raeann Stilwell enters the 2015-16 season ranked among Daemen's all-time leaders in several categories…she ranks 14th in career points (1,123), 10th in career points per game (12.8), second in career three-pointers made (205), second in career three-pointers attempted (614) and ninth in career three-point field goal percentage (.334)…she set the school-record for three-pointers made (77) and attempted (252) in a season as a sophomore and has become the first player in program history to record 60 or more three-pointers in three-straight seasons…Jessica Ruddell (2001-05) owns the school-record for career three-pointers made (242) and career three-point field goals attempted (721).
SUDDEN IMPACT: Sophomore Sarah Saba is coming off an impressive rookie season in which she scored in double figures 24 times and was a six-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection…she led the team and ranked first among ECC freshman in scoring (14.2 ppg) and also ranked second on the team and led all ECC freshmen in rebounding (7.2 rpg)…Saba connected on 7-of-11 shots and totaled a team-high 24 points in an exhibition game loss to Division I University at Buffalo last weekend.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until Nov. 21 when they travel to Lake Erie College in Painsville, Ohio for a non-league game…click HERE for the complete 2015-16 schedule.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College women's basketball on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics and @DaemenWBB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
