ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Freshman Shareka McNeill (Charlottle, N.C.) scored a team-high 25 points and senior Rachael Pecota (San Francisco, Calf.) added 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead nationally-ranked Virginia Union University to a 97-76 victory over Daemen College in women's basketball action here today during second round of the Redhawk Alumni Classic. The two-day tournament was hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College.
VUU, a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), 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. The Panthers improved to 4-1 following their fourth-straight win. Daemen, which suffered a 68-62 loss to Lake Erie College during the opening round yesterday, dropped to 2-2.
Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) paced the Wildcats, as she established a new career-high for points (30) and also added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Saba's 30 points moved her into 10th place in career scoring at Daemen with 1,321 points. Junior transfer Erin Sinnott (Owego, Ill./Evansville) added 13 points, while red-shirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) scored 12 points in just 14 minutes off the bench. Sophomore transfer Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds.
McNeill connected on 11-of-20 shots and also registered five rebounds, six assists and seven steals for the Panthers. Pecota, who led the Panthers to a 95-82 victory over RWC last night with 33 points and 11 rebounds, collected 11 rebounds today en route to her fourth double-double of the season. Senior Alexis Johnson (Hamilton, N.J.) added 19 points and nine rebounds.
VUU held a 19-12 lead with just over three minutes left in the first quarter, when the Wildcats cut the lead to two points following a three-pointer by sophomore Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) and a layup by Young. The Panthers responded with a 7-1 spurt and took a 26-18 lead following a conventional three-point play by Johnson with 18 seconds left in the quarter.
The Panthers took a 26-20 lead into the second quarter, and quickly opened up a 13-point lead, 33-20, after scoring the first seven points of the frame. The lead was 14 points, 36-22, when a layup by Saba sparked the Wildcats on a 9-2 run. Saba scored seven of the nine points during the spurt, and her three-pointer with 3:44 left before halftime capped the run and cut the VUU lead in half, 38-31. The Panthers answered with back-to-back jumpers by McNeill and eventually took a 49-38 lead into the break after a Johnson buzzer-beater.
The VUU lead was 17 points, 57-40, four minutes into the third quarter, but Daemen put together an 8-2 run and cut the to 11 points, 59-48, midway through the frame. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes, before the Panthers got a jumper from Johnson and a three-pointer from Pecota to regain a 16-point lead, 64-48. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter and VUU took a 72-56 lead into the fourth quarter.
The lead was 14 points, 83-69, six minutes into the fourth quarter, when the Panthers secured the win with an 8-1 run.
Daemen shot 39-percent (25-for-64) from the field overall and went 7-of-22 (32%) from three-point land. The Wildcats attempted 26 free throws and made 19. VUU shot 55-percent (18-33) from the field in the second half and finished 39-of-78 (50%) from the field overall. The Panthers went 12-of-16 from the charity stripe. Both teams collected 41 rebounds in the game.
The Wildcats begin a busy stretch of four games in nine days on Wednesday (Nov. 22) when they host Notre Dame College in a non-league game.
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