VALHALLA, N.Y. – Senior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and five steals to lead Daemen College to a 64-59 victory over Mercy College here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball play.
It marked the fourth-straight win for Daemen (9-11, 6-6 ECC), which is 6-3 over its last nine games. It is the first four-game winning streak for the Wildcats since February of last year. Mercy dropped to 3-17 overall and 1-11 in the ECC.
McDonell, who scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half, was one of only two Daemen players to score in double figures today. Freshman Sydney Jones (Clifton Spring, N.Y./Midlakes) sparked the Wildcats off the bench with three three-pointers and 11 points. It marked the second time this season Jones has reached double figures against Mercy, as she scored a season-high 15 points in a 79-66 win over the Mavericks earlier this month. Junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) failed to score in double figures for just the third time this season and finished with eight points, a team-high 11 rebounds and three steals. Senior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier), who played in her 100th career game today, added eight points, four rebounds and three blocks. She now stands just 10 blocks shy of 200 for her career. Freshman Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) added six points and five boards, while fellow rookie Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) chipped in five points.
Four of Mercy's five starters scored in double figures. Junior Latisha Clark (Peekskill, N.Y.) led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Monet Keane-Dawes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went 3-for-5 from three-point land and totaled 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Cynthia Perez (Middle Village, N.Y.) went 4-for-6 from downtown and notched 12 points, while classmate Destinee Hall (Spring Valley, N.Y.) contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams struggled to score during a back-and-forth first quarter that featured five ties. Daemen took the largest lead of the quarter, 10-6, following a layup by McDonell with 3:34 left in the frame, but the Wildcats managed just two free throws the rest of the quarter and the game was tied at 12 after one.
The game was tied at 14 three minutes into the second quarter, when the Wildcats caught fire from three-point land. Daemen canned four unanswered three-pointers during a 12-0 run that gave the visitors a 26-14 lead with just under four minutes left before halftime. Jones drilled two triples during the run, while the other two came from Galus and Heinold. Mercy halted the run with a layup by Hall, and eventually cut the lead to five points, 26-21, after Keane-Dawes hit one-of-two free throws with 49 seconds left in the half. Jones drilled her third three-pointer from the top of the key just before the halftime buzzer and Daemen took a 29-21 lead into the break.
McDonell sparked the Wildcats on a 12-3 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter, as she scored 10 of Daemen's 12 points during the spurt. Her steal and layup with 5:19 left in the frame capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 41-24 lead. Mercy was able to cut the lead to 10 points over the final five minutes of the quarter, as Daemen managed just one field goal and committed six turnovers down the stretch. A buzzer-beating jumper by Keane-Dawes made the score 46-36 Daemen after three.
Mercy struck for eight unanswered points in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and the Mavericks later took their first lead since scoring the first basket of the game after Perez drilled back-to-back triples that gave the hosts a 52-50 lead. Daemen came up empty on the next possession and Mercy took a four-point lead, 54-50, following a layup by Clark with 5:33 left. Daemen answered with a 7-2 run and regained the lead, 57-56, after Heinold hit a three-pointer with 3:31 left. Keane-Dawes answered with her third three-pointer of the game 20 seconds later, but those would end up being the final points scored by Mercy.
A big offensive rebound by Heinold led to a corner three-pointer by McDonell with 2:30 left, and neither team scored after that until Galus drilled a corner three with 1:18 remaining to give Daemen a 63-59 lead. The teams traded turnovers, before Galus came up with a big block on a layup attempt by Hall with 26 seconds left that kept the lead at four points. Mercy was then called for an offensive foul, and after another foul by the Mavericks, Pringle closed out the scoring by hitting one-of-two free throws with 10 seconds left.
After connecting on just 5-of-19 shots in the first quarter, Daemen shot 43-percent the rest of the game and finished 24-for-63 (38%) overall. The Wildcats went 8-for-24 from long range and canned 8-of-14 free throws. Mercy also overcame a slow start (5-for-14 in the first quarter) and finished 22-for-61 (36%) from the field overall and 7-of-18 from three-point land. The Mavericks made 8-of-10 free throws. Daemen finished with a slim 44-40 edge in total rebounds and a 23-4 advantage in bench points.
Daemen returns to action Thursday (Feb. 2) when it hosts the University of Bridgeport in an ECC game. The Wildcats posted a 72-68 win over the Purple Knights last month in Connecitcut.
Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
