ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Freshman Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) totaled a team-high 15 points and added seven rebounds in her collegiate debut to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 70-61 victory over American International College here tonight during opening round action of the East Region Tip-Off. The two-day tournament is being hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College. The game marked the 2017-18 season opener for both teams.
AIC, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, is coming off a 19-10 season and was was the preseason favorite to win the NE-10 Southwest Division. Daemen, which started three newcomers tonight, is coming off an 11-15 campaign and was picked eighth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll. It marked the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
White, a first-team All-Greater Rochester selection as a junior and senior at Fairport High School, played a team-high 31 minutes tonight. She connected on 4-of-9 shots overall and was 2-for-5 from three-point land. She scored 10 of her 15 points after halftime, as she helped the Wildcats maintain a double-digit lead throughout most of the second half. Junior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) totaled a team-high nine points in the first half and finished with 11 points and four rebounds (three offensive) in just 15 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) added nine points.
Red-shirt senior Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy), her sophomore sister Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) and red-shirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) also contributed to the win. Taylor Heinold, who missed all of last season due to injury, buried 2-of-3 three-pointers and totaled eight points, while Jordan Heinold also went 2-of-3 from downtown and totaled six points and a team-high eight rebounds. Filbert, who missed her entire freshman season last year after suffering a pre-season knee injury, played 28 minutes off the bench and totaled seven points, five rebounds and two assists.
Junior Dana Watts (Rochester, N.Y.) enjoyed a solid homecoming for AIC, as she finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Nadia Wooten (Piscataway, N.J.) added 12 points for the Yellow Jackets, while junior Alyssa Guyon (Ludlow, Mass.) registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
The teams were knotted at 14-14 heading into the second quarter, and after AIC opened the second frame for a three-pointer by sophomore Rashana Siders (Waterbury, Conn.), the Wildcats responded with a 13-4 run and never trailed after that. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jordan Heinold capped the run and gave Daemen a 27-21 lead midway through the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets eventually pulled to within three points, 29-26, following another triple by Siders with 3:58 left before halftime, but Daemen quickly regained a six-point lead when Taylor Heinold answered with a three-pointer from the top of the key at the other end. Neither team scored until the 2:25 mark of the second quarter, when the Wildcats struck for seven unanswered points. Another triple by Taylor Heinold with 1:02 left before the break capped the spurt and gave Daemen a 39-26 lead. The Wildcats would take a 39-27 advantage into halftime.
Daemen opened the third quarter with a layup by senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster), and the Wildcats later took a 44-29 lead following a conventional three-point play by White with 8:39 left in the quarter. Both teams struggled to score for the remainder of the quarter, and Daemen held a 47-36 lead with 1:28 left in the frame when sophomore Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) drilled a three-pointer to give the Wildcats a 50-36 lead. Daemen took a 52-39 lead into the final quarter.
A key point of the fourth quarter came with just over six minutes to play. Guyon drilled a three-pointer for AIC to cut the lead to 10 points, 57-47, and after Jones was off the mark with a triple on the ensuing possession, Filbert came up with a big offensive rebound and scored to give the Wildcats a 59-47 lead. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes and Daemen held a 63-51 lead when White drilled a three-pointer with 3:13 left to secure the win. AIC came no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Daemen shot 42-percent (22-for-53) from the field overall and was 9-for-25 (36%) from behind the arc. Six different players hit a three-pointer in the game for the Wildcats. AIC shot just 31-percent (21-for-67) from the field overall and went 6-for-23 (26%) from three-point land. Daemen was 17-for-27 from the charity stripe, while the Yellow Jackets were just 13-for-23.
The Yellow Jackets posted a slim 45-42 edge in total rebounds. AIC collected 18 offensive rebounds, which led to a 14-11 edge in second-chance points for the Yellow Jackets. AIC also held a 28-18 edge in points-in-the-paint, but Daemen finished with a 41-12 advantage in bench points.
The tournament continues tomorrow (Nov. 11), as Daemen will face Nyack College from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference at 3 p.m. Nyack suffered a 104-65 loss to host Roberts Wesleyan College in tonight's other opening round game.
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