THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's basketball team travels to St. Thomas Aquinas College (Feb. 11) and Mercy College (Feb. 13) for East Coast Conference games this week…Daemen has won four of its last seven games and is within one win of sixth place in the ECC standings…the top six teams advance to the ECC Tournament at the end of the regular season.
Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016
Daemen at St. Thomas Aquinas - 5:30 p.m.
Aquinas Hall, Sparkill, N.Y.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / STAC ROSTER / STAC STATS / LIVE STATS / VIDEO
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016
Daemen at Mercy - 12 p.m.
Mercy Gym, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / MC ROSTER / MC 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 464-264 (.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 (6-13; 4-9 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…sophomore Sarah Saba is coming off an impressive rookie season in which she was a six-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection and averaged 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds…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…the Wildcats are 4-3 over the last seven games and are coming off a weekend sweep of ECC foes Dowling (71-67 OT) and Bridgeport (88-70)…Saba has scored in double figures in 16 of the last 17 games and is averaging a team-high 16.6 points…she also leads the team in blocks (36) and steals (27) and ranks second in rebounding (5.9 rpg)…she scored a career-high 26 points in a recent 76-68 win over LIU Post and totaled 25 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Bridgeport this past weekend…Galus equalled her season-high for points (19) in the win over Bridgeport and is averaging 9.0 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds…McDonell has scored in double figures in nine of the last 14 games and is contributing 9.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game…she totaled 12 points, 16 rebounds and five assists in the win over Dowling…Stilwell went 4-for-4 from three-point land and scored 12 points in a recent 87-68 win over Molloy and is averaging 8.4 points…she leads the team in three-pointers (32) and assists (70)…additional production has come from Colon (6.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Heinold (5.3 ppg, 17 3pt fgs)…Miles has averaged 8.0 points and 6.9 rebounds over the past nine games and recorded her second double-double (11 pts, 11 rebs) in the win over Dowling.
ECC HONORS FOR SABA: Sophomore Sarah Saba was named ECC Player of the Week after averaging 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game during the wins over Dowling and Bridgeport this past weekend.
THE SPARTANS (13-9; 6-8 ECC): St. Thomas Aquinas returns 10 players and all five starters from last year's team that finished 14-17 overall (9-11 in the ECC) and advanced to the semifinals of the ECC Tournament…STAC was voted sixth in the 2015-16 ECC preseason poll…the Spartans were ranked in the D2SIDA East Region poll after winning 10 of their first 13 games, but are just 3-6 over their last nine games…STAC has lost four-straight games and is coming off a 64-62 loss to LIU Post last weekend…the Spartans feature one of the top defenses in the ECC and rank first among all ECC teams in scoring defense (57.8 papg) and turnovers forced per game (20.8)…sophomore guard Jenna Erickson, last year's ECC Rookie of the Year, has paced the Spartans thus far…she had three three-pointers and 18 points in the loss to LIU Post last weekend and leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg), three-point field goals (57) and assists (59)…she ranks second among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made…additional production has come from sophomore forward Adiya Henderson, sophomore guard Alex Bertolini and senior forward Alyson Brennan…Henderson scored a season-high 16 points in a non-league win over Pace and is averaging 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds with 19 blocks…Bertolino is contributing 9.2 points, while Brennan is averaging 6.6 points and a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game.
THE SERIES vs. STAC: Thursday's game will mark the seventh all-time meeting between Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas…the Spartans own a 5-1 advantage in the series…STAC connected on 13-of-21 three-point field goal attempts en route to an 81-54 victory over Daemen earlier this year at Lumsden Gym…five players scored in double figures for STAC…freshman Chelsea Murphy drilled three three-pointers and scored 15 points, while Jenna Erickson went 4-for-5 from downtown and totaled 14 points and four assists…Sarah Saba paced the Wildcats with 19 points…the Spartans swept the season series last winter, posting a 70-57 win at STAC and completing the sweep with a 59-55 win at Lumsden Gymnasium.
THE MAVERICKS (6-15; 3-10 ECC): Mercy returns just eight players and three starters from last year's team that finished 9-19 overall and 2-18 in the ECC…Mercy was voted 11th in the 2015-16 ECC preseason poll…the Mavericks have lost four-straight games and are coming off a 68-57 non-league loss at Mansfield this past Tuesday…MC suffered a 73-40 loss to league-leading New York Tech this past weekend…the Mavericks host Roberts Wesleyan Thursday before squaring off against Daemen Saturday…senior forward Deasia Goodson contributed 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the loss to Mansfield and leads the team in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (10.8 rpg) and blocks (55)…she ranks third in rebounding and is tied for first in blocked shots among the ECC leaders…sophomore Casey Sullivan (7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 30 3pt fgs) and freshmen Cynthia Perez (7.3 ppg, 25 3pt fgs), and Chi-la Bady (7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg. 3.8 apg) have also produced.
THE SERIES vs. MERCY: Saturday's game will mark the sixth all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercy…the Wildcats have prevailed in three of the previous five meetings…Mercy rallied for a 70-69 win at Lumsden Gym earlier this year…Daemen held a 16-point lead (38-22) with just 2:26 left before halftime, but Mercy closed out the half with 10 unanswered points and entered halftime trailing by just six points, 38-32…senior Deasia Goodson totaled 14 points and 16 rebounds and freshman Chi-la Bady added 15 points, seven assists and two steals to pace Mercy…Sarah Saba scored a team-high 16 points for the Wildcats…Daemen swept the season series last winter…DC posted a 70-64 win at Mercy…Natalie Galus led a balanced attack with 18 points…Tanayzha Augustine totaled 18 points and 17 rebounds for Mercy…Daemen completed the sweep with a 79-76 OT win at Lumsden Gymnasium…Raeann Stilwell hit the game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation and scored the final six points in overtime…Saba (18 pts, 14 rebs), Shy Britton (18 pos, 6 blks) and Stilwell (17 pts, 10 rebs) paced the Wildcats.
SHOOTING STAR: Senior Raeann Stilwell entered the 2015-16 season ranked among Daemen's all-time leaders in several categories…she has played in 107 games over her career and currently ranks 11th in career points (1,283), second in career three-pointers made (237) and first in career three-pointers attempted (747)…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 74 games over the past three seasons…Galus has totaled 749 points, 510 rebounds and 141 blocks over her three-year career and ranks sixth among Daemen's all-time leaders in career blocks…McDonell has racked up 545 points, 340 rebounds and 175 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 17 times this season and ranks sixth among the ECC scoring leaders (16.6 ppg).
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen leads the ECC and ranks fifth 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), West Liberty (33) and Chestnut Hill (33) in this category nationally…Daemen ranks second in the ECC and 18th nationally in total rebounds per game (44.3)…the Wildcats also lead the ECC in assists per game (14.3), three-point field goals made per game (6.8) and total three-point field goals attempted (491).
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to action Feb. 16 when they host rival Roberts Wesleyan College in an ECC game at 6 p.m…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.
