THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team hosts Le Moyne College in its 2015-16 home opener Saturday (Nov. 28) at 2 p.m…it will mark the first of three-straight home games for the Wildcats.
Saturday, Nov. 28 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Le Moyne at Daemen, 2 p.m.
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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 in his 24th season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen…he has posted a 460-252 (.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 (2-1; 0-0 ECC): 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)…Galus averaged 9.9 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds last year, while McDonell averaged a steady 7.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists…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 comes onboard 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 Wildcats opened the 2015-16 season two weeks ago with a victory over Post University (75-70) and a loss to Nyack College (64-56) during the ECC-CACC Challenge hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College…Heinold scored a team-high 15 points in the win over Post, while Colon totaled 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds off the bench in the loss to Nyack…Daemen improved to 2-1 following a 69-65 win at Lake Erie College last weekend…Saba led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
THE DOLPHINS (1-4; 0-2 NE-10): Le Moyne is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference…the Dolphins return eight players and two starters from last year's team that finished 17-14 (10-10 NE-10)…the 17 wins were the most in one season since 2001-02…Le Moyne was voted third in the 2015-16 NE-10 Southwest Division preseason poll…the Dolphins opened the 2015-16 season with a 92-51 win over Georgian Court, but have dropped their last four contests…the Dolphins are coming off a 79-76 loss at Roberts Wesleyan Tuesday…additional losses have come against to Caldwell (69-62), New Haven (81-63) and Pace (60-55)…senior guard Vandell Andrade tops the list of returning players…Andrade collected third-team All NE-10 honors last year after averaging 13.8 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds…she also led the team and ranked third among the NE-10 leaders in steals (68)…Andrade erupted for 33 points and 16 rebounds in the loss to Caldwell and is averaging a team-high 19.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists…senior guard Maggie Brown totaled 24 points and 10 boards in the win over Georgian Court and is averaging 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds…additional production has come from senior guard Lauren Salzbrenner (8.2 ppg, 8 3pt fgs) and freshman guard Madison Purcell (6.8 ppg, 6 3 pt fgs).
THE HISTORY VS. LE MOYNE: Saturday's game will mark the ninth all-time meeting between Daemen and Le Moyne…the Dolphins are making their first trip to Amherst since the 2004-05 season…the teams played seven times between 1996 and 2004…the Dolphins prevailed in the first five meetings and own a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series…the teams last met during the 2013-14 season in Syracuse and Le Moyne posted and 80-68 victory…Emily Greer paced a balanced Le Moyne attack with four three-pointers and 16 points…Lindsay Stoddard and Raeann Stilwell both scored 16 points for Daemen…Daemen prevailed 89-70 on Dec. 19, 2004, the last time the teams met at Lumsden Gymnasium.
SHOOTING STAR: Senior Raeann Stilwell entered the 2015-16 season ranked among Daemen's all-time leaders in several categories…she currently ranks 13th in career points (1,158), 10th in career points per game (12.7), second in career three-pointers made (211), second in career three-pointers attempted (641) and 10th in career three-point field goal percentage (.329)…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).
SOLID START: Senior Somara Colon is off to a solid start to the season and is the only player that has scored in double figures in each of the first three games…she opened the year with back-to-back double-doubles against Post (12 pts, 10 rebs) and Nyack (12 pts, career-high 16 rebs) and totaled 10 points and eight boards against Lake Erie…it marks the first time in her four-year career she has scored in double figures in three-straight games…she ranks first on the team in field goal percentage (.500) and rebounding (11.3 rpg) and second in scoring (11.3 ppg).
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until Dec. 12 when they host Edinboro University in 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.
