OAKDALE, N.Y. – Senior guard Krstina Surlan (Novi Grad, Bosnia) totaled 30 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three steals to help Dowling College rally to a 74-68 victory over Daemen College here tonight in women's basketball action. Dowling, which trailed by 13 points just before halftime, has now won two of its last three games and improved to 2-6 overall and 2-1 in the East Coast Conference. Daemen saw its losing streak grow to four games and dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.

Senior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) led a balanced Daemen attack with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. The 17 points puts her over 1,200 for her career and she now ranks 12th among the program's all-time leading scorers with 1,206 points. Junior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) connected on 6-of-10 shots and totaled 14 points and four steals, while classmate Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) added 12 points. Sophomore Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) also reached double digits in points with 10.

Sophomore Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), who entered the game averaging a team-high 13.5 points, saw limited action due to foul trouble and finished with just four points in 18 minutes.

Surlan, who has now averaged 27 points over her last three games, connected on 11-of-24 shots overall and made 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Freshman Kayla Hill (Massapequa, N.Y.) helped the Dowling cause with 14 points and eight rebounds, while fellow rookie Julia Winnik (New York, N.Y.) added eight points and seven assists.

The Wildcats held a 7-6 lead early on when a three-pointer by Galus sparked the visitors on an 8-2 run. A jumper by McDonell with just over five minutes to play in the opening frame capped the spurt and gave Daemen a 15-8 lead. The teams traded hoops the rest of the quarter and Daemen took a 20-17 lead into the second quarter.

Dowling scored the first five points of the second quarter and the hosts later pulled to within a point, 24-23, following a three-pointer by Surlan with 6:49 left in the quarter. Daemen held a two-point lead (26-24) with just under four minutes left before halftime when the Wildcats put together an 11-0 run. Galus scored six of the 11 points and her three-pointer with 1:37 left in the half capped the spurt and gave Daemen a 37-24 lead. Dowling scored the final four points of the half and Daemen took a 37-28 lead into halftime.

Dowling chipped away at the lead and eventually cut it to three points, 41-38, following a jumper by Surlan with 6:22 left in the third quarter. Daemen got the lead back up to seven points, 49-42, after Stilwell drained a three-pointer with 2:54 left in the third, but Dowling closed out the quarter with an 8-3 run and Daemen took a 52-50 lead into the final quarter.

The Golden Lions opened the fourth with six unanswered points and the hosts later took an eight-point lead, 65-57, following a jumper by Surlan with five minutes to play. A jumper by freshman Tanna Mohammed (Huntington, N.Y.) with just over three minutes to play gave the Golden Lions a 10-point cushion, 69-59. Daemen cut the lead to eight points on its next possession, but neither team scored again until McDonell made the score 69-63 with 45 seconds left. Two free throws by Surlan with 39 seconds left gave Dowling a 71-63 lead, and after Daemen came up empty on its next possession Surlan canned two more from the charity stripe to seal the win.

Daemen shot 42-percent (15-for-36) from the field in the first half, but made just 11-of-37 field goals during the second half. The Wildcats attempted 30 three-pointers in the game and made 10. Dowling rebounded from a poor shooting effort in the opening half (10-of-36) and shot a solid 50-percent (17-for-34) from the field over the final 20 minutes. Dowling held a slim 52-50 edge in total rebounds and the hosts forced the Wildcats into 18 turnovers—which the Golden Lions converted into 17 points.

Daemen returns to action Sunday when it plays an ECC game at the University of Bridgeport. Tipoff is 1 p.m.

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