ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Four players scored in double figures to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 67-48 victory over Nyack College here today during second round action of the East Region Tip-Off. The two-day tournament was hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College.
Daemen, which posted a 70-61 victory over American International College in the opening round Friday, improved to 2-0 on the year. It marks the second-straight year, and the sixth time over the past eight seasons, that the Wildcats have opened the year with two-straight wins. Nyack, a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, dropped to 0-2.
It marked the third-straight year the two teams have met during a season-opening tournament hosted by RWC. Nyack posted a 64-56 victory over Daemen two years ago, before the Wildcats answered with a 76-54 win last year.
Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) and junior Erin Sinnott (Owego, Ill./Evansville) both registered a double-double for the Wildcats today. Saba connected on 6-of-17 shots and totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Sinnott, who played the last two seasons at Division I University of Evansville, was good on 5-of-11 shots and totaled 12 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
Red-shirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) went 3-for-4 from three-point land and equaled Saba's team-high for points (16), while sophomore Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) went 4-for-5 from downtown and totaled 14 points.
Senior Audrey Matteson (Monticello, Ind.) paced the Warriors with 16 points, while sophomore Bryanna Brown (Harlem, N.Y.) added 11.
The teams traded three-pointers at the start of the game, before Daemen ran off seven unanswered points and took a 10-3 lead after sophomore Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) made one-of-two free throws with 6:18 left in the first quarter. Daemen would take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter.
Nyack scored the first two points of the second quarter, but another 7-0 run by Daemen gave the Wildcats a 22-10 lead less than three minutes into the frame. The Wildcats later took a 28-14 lead following a conventional three-point play by Filbert with 4:24 left before halftime, and then look a 33-18 advantage following a three-pointer by Heinold with 2:15 left before intermission. Daemen committed four fouls, turned the ball over three times and was 0-for-2 from the field over the final two minutes of the half, which allowed Nyack to cut the lead to 10 points, 33-23 at the break.
Both teams continued to struggle on the offensive end at the start of the third quarter, as neither team converted a field goal until a three-pointer by Filbert with 6:50 left in the quarter gave the Wildcats a 39-25 lead. Nyack regrouped following a timeout and quickly cut the lead to nine points, 39-30, but the Wildcats regained a double-digit lead following a three-pointer by Sinnott midway through the frame. Daemen took a 15-point lead, 47-32, after Heinold hit two free throws with 2:18 left in the third, and the Wildcats eventually took a 53-37 edge into the final frame.
Nyack went scoreless for the first 3:39 of the fourth quarter, which allowed Daemen to build the lead to 21 points, 58-37. Nyack came no closer that 18 points the rest of the way.
Daemen shot 37-percent (23-for-62) from the field overall and was 9-for-26 (35%) from behind the arc. Nyack shot just 23-percent (14-for-61) from the field overall and went 3-for-17 (18%) from three-point land. Daemen was 12-for-18 from the charity stripe, while the Warriors were 17-for-25.
Daemen posted a big advantage in bench points for the second-straight game. After posting a 41-12 advantage in bench points in the win over AIC last night, the Wildcats finished with a 35-8 edge this afternoon.
Daemen is idle until next weekend when it returns to RWC to take part in the Redhawk Alumni Classic. Daemen will face Lake Erie College in the opening round Friday (Nov. 17), before squaring off against Virginia Union University on Saturday (Nov. 18). VUU advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Division II Tournament last year.
TOURNAMENT NOTES: Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) scored a team-high 15 points in the season-opening win over American International and becomes the first freshman to lead the team in scoring in a season-opener since Natalie Galus scored a team-high 13 points in a 60-50 win over Carlow University in 2013. Sara Saba totaled 19 over the two games and now stands 24 points shy of becoming the 13th player in program history to score 1,300 points. Today marked the 17th career double-double for Saba, who has now scored in double figures in 69 of 83 career games.
Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
