BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Daemen College women's basketball team survived a crazy final minute of play and escaped with a 72-68 win over the University of Bridgeport here today in East Coast Conference play.
Daemen snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the ECC. Bridgeport, which is ranked fourth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. Daemen has now prevailed in five of the last six meetings between the two schools. The win also marked the first time since the Wildcats started playing a predominantly NCAA Division II schedule in 2013-14 that they have defeated a team ranked in the D2SIDA East Region poll.
Senior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) played all 40 minutes for the Wildcats and totaled 22 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals. It marked the second time this season she has eclipsed the 20-point mark. Junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) was hampered by foul trouble in the game, but still managed to contribute 16 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes. Freshman Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) scored in double figures for the second-straight game and totaled 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Senior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) netted a team-high 10 points in the first half, but saw just six minutes of action over the final 20 minutes due to foul trouble.
Junior Aurelie Leblanc-Florent (Longueuil, Quebec) led the Purple Knights with 18 points, while sophomore Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) added 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Camera Miley (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who played the last three seasons at the University at Buffalo, added 10 points and four assists for the hosts.
Daemen appeared to be in control after Saba gave the Wildcats a 70-61 lead with 1:49 left to play. She would pick up her fifth personal foul 10 seconds later, and Leblanc-Florent made two free throws to make it a seven-point game. UB pressured the inbounds pass and that resulted in a Daemen turnover, and the Purple Knights got a layup from junior Morgen Caution (Baltimore, Md.) to make the score 70-65. Daemen called timeout to regroup, but once again the hosts forced a turnover and Leblanc-Florent drained a three-pointer to make it a two-point game, 70-68, with 1:29 left. Bridgeport had two chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute, but came up empty each time. The last chance came when Miley missed a layup with 17 seconds left and Heinold grabbed the rebound for Daemen. McDonell was fouled with 11 seconds left and drained both free throws to secure the win for the Wildcats.
Bridgeport jumped out to an early 7-3 lead an the hosts maintained the lead until the Wildcats ran off eight-straight points and took a 13-9 lead following two free throws by McDonell with 1:49 left in the first quarter. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter and Daemen took a 17-14 lead into the second quarter.
The lead was still three points (21-18) three minutes into the second quarter when Galus drained back-to-back three-pointers to give the Wildcats a 27-18 lead with just over six minutes left in the frame. Both teams struggled to score over the next three minutes and Daemen held a 29-19 lead when the Wildcats got a jumper by freshman Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) and two free throws from McDonell for a 33-19 lead. The Wildcats would take a 37-24 lead into halftime.
A layup by McDonell 2:22 into the third quarter gave Daemen a 41-26 lead, but the Purple Knights responded with eight unanswered points and cut the lead to seven points, 41-34, following a layup by senior Aaliyah Mercer (Bronx, N.Y.) with 5:19 left in the frame. Daemen stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer by McDonell to regain a double-digit lead, and the lead was still 10 points (49-39) with just under three minutes left in the quarter when the hosts ran off seven-straight points and cut the lead to three, 49-46, after Vonleh canned two free throws with 1:28 left in the quarter. The teams traded scores before the Wildcats closed out the frame with a layup by Saba and a triple by Jones for a 56-48 lead.
Daemen opened the final frame with a three-pointer by Heinold and the Wildcats later took a 12-point lead, 62-50, after McDonell made one-of-two free throws two minutes into the quarter. Bridgeport cut the lead to single digits several times over the next six minutes, but Daemen came up with a clutch shot each time to keep the Purple Knights at bay.
Daemen shot 42-percent (27-for-64) from the field overall and connected on 7-of-24 from behind the three-point arc. The Wildcats went 11-for-14 from the charity stripe. UB connected on just 8-of-28 shots in the first half and finished 22-for-56 (39%) from the field overall. The hosts made just 4-of-17 from three-point land and canned 20-of-30 from the charity stripe (including 14-of-19 in the second half).
Daemen took advantage of 17 Bridgeport turnovers and the visitors finished with a 25-16 edge in points-off-turnovers. UB finished with a slim 40-37 advantage in total rebounds.
Daemen will play it first home game of the season on Wednesday (Dec. 14) when it hosts New York Institute of Technology in an ECC contest.
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