AMHERST, N.Y. – Junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) totaled 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks to lead Daemen College to a 79-66 victory over Mercy College here tonight in East Coast Conference women's basketball action.

Daemen is now 3-3 over its last six games and improved to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in the ECC. Mercy dropped to 1-11 overall and 0-5 in the league.

Saba, who registered her 13th career double-double, was one of four players to score in double figures today. Senior Jesse DeWaters (Lockport, N.Y./Niagara County CC) connected on 5-of-8 shots and scored a career-high 18 points, while freshmen Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) and Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) both turned in strong efforts. Jones played a season-high 32 minutes off the bench, went 3-for-6 from three-point land and scored a season-high 15 points. Jones, who also added four rebounds, four assists and two steals, scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half. Pringle played a team-high 37 minutes and totaled 11 points—one point shy of her season-high. She also collected five rebounds, equaled her season-high for assists (5) and grabbed a season-high four steals. Senior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) added nine points and four blocks for the hosts.

Daemen was without the services of senior guard Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara), who sat out the game due to injury. McDonell, the team's second-leading scorer (15.7 ppg), had started all 93 games over the past four seasons before sitting out tonight's contest.

Mercy got four three-pointers and 14 points from sophomore Cynthia Perez (Middle Village, N.Y.), while sophomore Destinee Hall (Spring Valley, N.Y.) added 13 points and five rebounds.

Mercy held a seven-point lead (11-6) midway through the first quarter, before the Wildcats closed out the quarter with 11 unanswered points and took a 15-11 lead into the second quarter.

The Mavericks regained the lead (18-17) following a three-pointer by Perez 2:17 into the second quarter, and the game was later tied at 21-21 when the visitors put together a 7-2 run. A layup by junior Casey Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn.) with 4:12 left before halftime capped the spurt and gave Mercy a 28-23 lead. Daemen answered with a conventional three-point play by Saba, and the Mavericks went on to take a 29-28 lead into halftime.

Daemen opened the second half with a 13-2 run and never trailed after that. Pringle scored five points during the run and a layup by Jones following a steal by DeWaters capped the rally and gave the Wildcats a 41-31 lead midway through the third quarter. Mercy came as close as six points, 46-40, with just over a minute left in the third, but Jones answered with a three-pointer and the hosts eventually took a 49-42 lead into the final quarter.

The teams traded buckets to start the fourth, before Mercy cut the lead to four points, 51-47, following a three-pointer by freshman Caralie Wilson (Gold Coast, Australia). Jones again answered with a timely three-pointer, and the Wildcats later took a 58-47 lead following a steal and layup by Pringle with 7:30 to play. Mercy cut the lead to single digits four times over the next three minutes, before the hosts secured the win with an 8-0 run that featured a conventional three-point play by Saba, a jumper by Pringle and a triple by DeWaters with 2:18 left. The hosts maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Daemen shot 53-percent (18-for-34) from the field in the second half and finished 29-for-65 (45%) from the field overall. The Wildcats finished 9-for-25 from downtown (8-for-14 in the second half) and made 12-of-13 from the charity stripe. Mercy shot 40-percent (23-for-58) from the field overall and canned 7-of-18 from behind the arc. The Mavericks made 13-of-16 free throws. Daemen finished with a 38-36 edge in total rebounds.

Daemen returns to action Wednesday (1/4) when it hosts league-leading St. Thomas Aquinas College at 5 p.m. STAC comes to town boasting an 11-3 overall record and a 5-1 league mark.

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