THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to Dowling College (Dec. 18) and the University of Bridgeport (Dec. 20) this weekend for East Coast Conference games.
Friday, Dec. 18, 2015
Daemen at Dowling - 5 p.m.
Dowling Gymnasium, Oakdale, N.Y.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / DOW ROSTER / DOW STATS / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015
Daemen at Bridgeport - 1 p.m.
Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium, Bridgeport, Conn.
UB ROSTER / UB STATS / 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 in his 24th season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen…he has posted a 460-255 (.643) 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 (2-4; 0-1 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…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…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…redshirt 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…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)…the Wildcats opened the 2015-16 season by winning two of their three games, but are winless in their last three contests…Daemen suffered an 87-84 (OT) loss to Edinboro last Saturday and opened ECC play with a 66-60 loss to District of Columbia on Sunday…Saba has scored in double figures in each of the last four games and is averaging a team-high 13.5 points…she also leads the team in blocks (16) and ranks second in rebounding (7.7 rpg), assists (10) and steals (10)…Stilwell scored a season-high 16 points in the loss to Edinboro and is averaging 11.0 points…she leads the team in three-pointers (13), steals (12) and assists (22)…additional production has come from Heinold (9.7 ppg, 11 3pt fgs), McDonell (8.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Colon (8.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and Galus (6.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
THE GOLDEN LIONS (1-6; 1-1 ECC): Dowling returns five players and two starters from last year's team that finished 5-21 overall and 5-15 in the ECC…Dowling was voted 10th in the 2015-16 ECC preseason poll…Dowling opened the 2015-16 season with five-straight losses before posting a 70-66 victory over LIU Post last weekend…the Golden Lions are coming off a non-league loss to Concordia (73-59) this past Tuesday…veteran Krstina Surlan and newcomers Julia Winnik and Tanna Mohammed have paced the Golden Lions thus far…Surlan totaled 29 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the win over LIU Post and is averaging 13.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists…Winnik drilled four three-pointers and totaled 18 points in a 76-53 loss to NYIT and is averaging 11.8 points with a team-high 17 three-pointers…Mohammed netted 14 points in the loss to Concordia and is averaging 11.8 points with 11 three-pointers…additional production has come from freshman guard Kayla Hill (8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 11 stls) and senior guard Kamille Ejerta (7.0 ppg, 12 3pt fgs).
THE SERIES VS. DOWLING: Friday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Daemen and Dowling…the teams have split their previous four meetings…Daemen swept the season series last winter…the Wildcats posted a 67-59 victory over Dowling at Lumsden Gym…Shy Britton totaled 15 points and five blocks for the Wildcats, while Sarah Saba added 14 points and 11 rebounds…Krstina Surlan scored 27 points for Dowling…Daemen completed the sweep with a 72-60 win at Dowling…Saba led the way with four three-pointers and 18 points…Surlan totaled 18 points, eight redounds and four assists for the Golden Lions.
THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (3-6; 1-1 ECC): Bridgeport returns six players and two starters from last year's team that finished 7-21 overall and 5-15 in the ECC…UB was voted ninth in the 2015-16 ECC preseason poll…the Purple Knights lost four of their first five games, but are 2-2 over their last four…UB had a two-game winning streak snapped following a 73-42 loss to NYIT last weekend and is coming off a non-league loss to Holy Family (69-63) this past Wednesday…the Purple Knights host Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Dec. 18) before facing Daemen Saturday…newcomers Aurelie Leblanc-Florent and Khadijah Dickson and have paced the Purple Knights thus far…Leblanc-Florent has scored in double figures in six of the first nine games and scored 18 points in the loss to Holy Family…she is averaging 11.4 points, leads the team in three-pointers (20) and ranks second in assists (21)…Dickson totaled 19 points and eight rebounds in an early-season 71-64 win over Caldwell and is averaging 10.9 points and 5.0 rebounds…additional production has come from senior center Shannon Holt (6.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg), sophomore forward Morgen Caution (9.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 20 stls, 12 blks) and freshman guard Briana Stoddart (8.1 ppg, 3.3 apg).
THE SERIES vs. UB: Sunday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport…Daemen swept the season series last year and has prevailed in three of the previous four meetings…the Wildcats posted a 75-65 win over the Purple Knights last year at Lumsden Gym…Shy Britton (16 pts, 8 rebs, 5 blks), Natalie Galus (15 pts, 7 rebs) and Sarah Saba (13 pts, 9 rebs) paced a balanced Daemen attack… Jennifer Kucukkaya led UB with 20 points and seven assists…Daemen completed the sweep with a 68-61 win at Bridgeport…Saba scored a career-high 25 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds…Tiara Aziz netted 29 points for the Purple Knights.
SHOOTING STAR: Senior Raeann Stilwell entered the 2015-16 season ranked among Daemen's all-time leaders in several categories…she currently ranks 12th in career points (1,189), 10th in career points per game (12.6), second in career three-pointers made (218), second in career three-pointers attempted (667) and 10th in career three-point field goal percentage (.327)…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).
JUNIOR MINTS: Juniors Natalie Galus and Leah McDonell have been a constants in the starting lineup since their freshman season…both players have started all 61 games over the past three seasons…Galus has totaled 615 points, 423 rebounds and 125 blocks over her three-year career and ranks seventh among Daemen's all-time leaders in career blocks…McDonell has racked up 427 points, 273 rebounds and 130 assists.
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)…she has scored in double figures four times this season and is averaging a team-high 13.5 points.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until Dec. 30 when it travels to Saint Michael's College 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.
