OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Junior Dina Ragab (Cairo, Egypt) led a balanced attack with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five steals to lead New York Institute of Technology to an 88-59 victory over Daemen College here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action.
It marked the regular-season finale for both teams. Daemen finished 11-15 overall and 8-12 in the ECC. The Wildcats, who were picked 10th out of 11 teams in the ECC preseason poll, finished seventh in the league standings. The host Bears are now 18-10 overall and 13-7 in the league and will now take part in the six-team ECC championship tournament. The ECC Tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Daemen's season will continue as well, as the Wildcats will take part in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship tournament this week. Daemen is seeded fifth in the eight-team tournament and will face fourth-seeded The Apprentice School of Newport News, Va. in the quarterfinals Wednesday (Mar. 4). The tournament is being hosted by Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, Pa. A complete tournament preview will be posted Tuesday on the Daemen athletic website.
Senior Shy Britton (Rochester, N.Y./Niagara University) paced the Wildcats today with 16 points, six rebounds and five blocks. It marked the ninth time Britton has registered five or more blocks in a game this season. She has now totaled a conference-high 83 blocks on the year and has become just the sixth player in program history to record 80 or more blocks in a season. Sophomore Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) added 10 points and five rebounds, while junior Raeann Stilwell (Cheektowaga, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) drained two three-pointers and scored eight points. Stilwell now stands just two triples shy of 200 career three-pointers. Freshman Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), who had scored in double figures in each of the previous 13 games, struggled with her shot today but still managed to total seven points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Sophomore Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village Prep) chipped in six points and 11 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
Ragab was one of four NYIT players to score in double figures. Sophomore Shanice Allen (Riverhead, N.Y.) totaled 15 points, while graduate student Savannah Donarski (Powell, Wy.) added 14 points and eight rebounds.
NYIT jumped out to an early 9-0 lead, but the Wildcats answered with an 8-2 run, with all eight points coming from Stilwell, and cut the lead to 11-8 following a three-pointer by Stilwell with 13:18 left in the half. The Bears held a 13-10 lead with just under 11 minutes left in the half when the hosts put together a 12-2 run over the next three minutes. Back-to-back layups by sophomore Shannon Duer (Islip, N.Y.) capped the spurt and gave the Bears a 25-12 lead. The teams then traded baskets before the Wildcats got back into the game with a 14-3 run. A three-point play by McDonell with just under four minutes left before the break capped the run and made the score 31-28 NYIT. The Bears quickly regained a nine-point lead, 37-28, but Daemen outscored NYIT 10-5 over the final 2:18 of the half and the Bears took a 42-38 lead into the break.
The teams traded baskets early in the second half and NYIT held a 47-45 lead when the hosts scored 10-straight points and took a 57-45 lead following a layup Allen with 13:05 left to play. The Bears later increased the lead to 20 points, 67-47, following a layup by sophomore Audrey Knowlton (Gloucester, Mass.) with 10:24 remaining. Daemen came no closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Daemen shot 40-percent (14-for-35) in the first half but connected on just 8-of-31 shots (26%) over the final 20 minutes. NYIT shot 42-percent from the field in the second half and finished 32-for-82 (39%) from the field overall. The Bears finished with a 53-44 edge in total rebounds and the hosts collected 22 offensive boards—which led to 21 second-chance points. Turnovers hurt the Wildcats, as the they committed 27 miscues and the Bears took advantage with a 37-15 edge in points off turnovers.
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