ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Senior Kayla Gabor (Mentor, Ohio) scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Lake Erie College women's basketball team to a 68-62 victory over Daemen College here tonight during opening round action of the Redhawk Alumni Classic. The two-day tournament is being hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College.
LEC, a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, improved to 2-1 on the year, while Daemen dropped to 2-1. The Wildcats were looking to start the year 3-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season. It marks the second-straight weekend that Daemen is taking part in the tournament at RWC. Last weekend the Wildcats posted wins over American International College (70-61) and Nyack College (67-48) during the East Region Tip-Off.
Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) paced the Wildcats, as she totaled 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) added 14 points—one shy of her career-high—and also dished out a team-high four assists. Junior transfer Erin Sinnott (Owego, Ill./Evansville) and sophomore transfer Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) both netted eight points for the Wildcats, while Young tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Senior Christine Dawson (Mentor, Ohio) helped the LEC cause with 12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five blocks, while junior Sophie Sonneman (Jamestown, Ohio) totaled 12 points.
Daemen nearly overcame a 19-point second-half deficit in the game—cutting it to a one-possession game three times in the final three minutes—but could not come up the the clutch shot down the stretch.
Lake Erie held an early 6-5 lead before a three-pointer by Gabor sparked the Storm on a 9-0 run. Daemen cut the lead to seven, 17-10, after sophomore Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) drilled a three-pointer, but LEC scored the final five points of the quarter and took a 22-10 lead into the second frame.
Daemen opened the second quarter with back-to-back buckets by Young and Saba, but LEC scored the next six points and later took its largest lead of the first half, 34-17, after sophomore Jordan Joseph (Solon, Ohio) swished two free throws with 2:22 left before halftime. The Storm took a 36-22 lead into intermission.
LEC opened the third quarter with a three-pointer by Gabor and a jumper by Sonneman, but Daemen responded with a 12-4 run and cut the lead to 11 points, 45-34, following a layup by Young with 4:20 left in the quarter. LEC regained a 16-point advantage, 52-36, after Gabor drilled her third three-pointer of the game just over a minute later, and after both teams struggled to score over the final three minutes of the quarter LEC took a 52-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
Daemen quickly cut the lead to six points, 52-46, less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats eventually made it a one-possession game, 60-57, after Sinnott drilled a three-pointer with 3:05 left. Sonneman and Gabor both went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe over the next minute to give LEC a 62-57 lead, before a layup by junior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsvile South) made it 62-59 with 1:56 left. Sonneman once again went 1-for-2 from the free throw line 18 seconds later, and neither team scored again until Gabor swished two free throws with 34 seconds left to make it 65-59. Daemen still had life after sophomore Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) hit a three-pointer with 31 seconds left, but LEC secured the win by going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
After connecting 18-of-51 (35%) three-pointers during last weekend's tournament, the Wildcats made just 4-of-16 from behind the arc in the first half and finished 9-for-30 from three-point land overall.
Daemen shot just 34-percent (24-for-71) from the field overall and attempted just eight free throws (5-of-8) in the game. LEC shot 50-percent (10-20) from the field in the first quarter and finished 24-for-67 (36%) from the field overall and 5-of-17 (29%) from three-point land. The Storm attempted 22 free throws in the games and made 15. LEC posted a commanding 56-38 edge in total rebounds.
The tournament continues tomorrow (Nov. 17), as Daemen will face Virginia Union University from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) at 2 p.m. VUU, which advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Division II Tournament last year and entered this year ranked second in the WBCA Division II preseason poll, posted a 95-82 victory over host Roberts Wesleyan College in tonight's other opening round game.
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