THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to the University of the District of Columbia for an East Coast Conference game Friday (Jan. 29)…UDC is undefeated in league play and enters the game riding a 12-game winning streak, which ranks as the longest winning streak in the East Region and seventh nationally among NCAA Division II teams.
Friday, Jan. 22, 2016
Daemen at #21 District of Columbia - 5 p.m.
UDC Sports Complex, Washington, D.C..
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / UDC ROSTER / UDC STATS / LIVE STATS / 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 462-263 (.637) 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 (4-12; 2-8 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 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 contributed 12.7 points per game last year and 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…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 are 2-2 over theyr last four games…DC snapped a nine-game losing streak following a 76-68 win at LIU Post two weeks ago, before suffering a 76-48 loss at league-leading New York Tech…last weekend the Wildcats defeated Molloy (87-68) and lost to Queens (85-62)…Saba has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 14 games and is averaging a team-high 15.9 points…she also leads the team in blocks (27) and steals (24) and ranks third in rebounding (5.8 rpg)…she scored a career-high 26 points in the win over LIU Post…Stilwell went 4-for-4 from three-point land and scored 12 points in the win overr Molloy and is averaging 9.6 points…she leads the team in three-pointers (32) and assists (51)…additional production has come from Galus (8.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 21 3pt fgs), McDonell (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Colon (6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Heinold (5.6 ppg, 17 3pt fgs)…Miles has averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over the past six games and recorded a career-high 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in a 73-69 loss to Roberts Wesleyan.
THE FIREBIRDS (14-3; 9-0 ECC): District of Columbia returns nine players and three starters from last year's team that finished 25-5 (18-2 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second-straight year…all-conference selections Telisha Turner and Denikka Brent were lost to graduation and head coach Lester Butler, the 2014-15 ECC Coach of the Year, left to become the men's basketball coach at Virginia Union…De Wayne Burroughs, who served as an assistant at UDC the past four years, took over as head coach…UDC was voted third in the 2015-16 ECC preseason poll…senior guard Taj Baldwin-Kollore returns after averaging 11.4 points and collecting honorable mention All-ECC honors last year…the Firebirds dropped three of their first five games, but enter Friday's game riding a 12-game winning streak…UDC is ranked 21st nationally and second in the East Region in the D2SIDA poll…UDC will be playing its first game since posting a 70-47 win over LIU Post on Jan. 20…Baldwin-Kollore and senior forward Iman Scott have paced the Firebirds…Baldwin-Kollore drillsd five three-pointers and scoreed 25 points in a recent win over Dowling and is averaging 18.2 points…Scott scored 18 points in an 82-72 win over St. Thomas Aquinas and is averaging 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds…additional production has come from senior forwards Tatyana Calhoun (9.1 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Tiara Goode (11.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 35 3pt fgs).
THE SERIES vs. UDC: Friday's game will mark the sixth all-time meeting between Daemen and UDC…the Firebirds have prevailed in each of the previous five meetings…UDC posted a 66-60 win over the Wildcats last month at Daemen…Daemen held a 45-38 lead after three quarters, but UDC outscored the Wildcats 28-15 in the fourth quarter to secure the win…Taj Baldwin-Kollore scored 15 of her game-high 21 points after halftime to lead the Firebirds…Sarah Saba led Daemen with 14 points…UDC swept the season series last year…UDC posted an 86-62 win over the Wildcats last year at Lumsden Gymnasium…Denikka Brent led the way with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks…Natalie Galus drilled three three-pointers and totaled 17 points and eight rebounds for Daemen…the Firebirds also posted a 72-60 victory over the upset-minded Wildcats earlier in the year at UDC…Telisha Turner led the way with 25 points…Saba totaled 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks for Daemen.
SHOOTING STAR: Senior Raeann Stilwell entered the 2015-16 season ranked among Daemen's all-time leaders in several categories…she has played in 104 games over her career and currently ranks 11th in career points (1,276), 10th in career points per game (12.3), second in career three-pointers made (237), first in career three-pointers attempted (736) and 11th in career three-point field goal percentage (.322)…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).
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 71 games over the past three seasons…Galus has totaled 716 points, 493 rebounds and 138 blocks over her three-year career and ranks seventh among Daemen's all-time leaders in career blocks…McDonell has racked up 509 points, 316 rebounds and 165 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 13 times this season and ranks seventh among the ECC scoring leaders (15.9 ppg).
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen leads the ECC and ranks fourth among all Division II schools in defensive rebounds per game…the Wildcats are averaging 32 defensive rebounds per game and trail only Southwest Oklahoma (35), California Baptist (34) and West Liberty (34) in this category nationally…Daemen ranks second in the ECC and 22nd nationally in total rebounds per game (43.8)…the Wildcats also lead the ECC in three-point field goals made per game (7.1) and total three-point field goals attempted (422).
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to action Feb. 5 when they host Dowling College in an ECC contest…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.
