NYACK, N.Y. – The Daemen College women's basketball team evened its East Coast Conference record at 1-1 following a 72-52 victory over Mercy College here tonight. The game was played at Bowman Gymnasium on the campus of Nyack College.
The Wildcats snapped a seven-game losing streak and improved to 3-7 overall, while the host Mavericks dropped to 3-8 overall and 0-3 in the ECC. Daemen has now prevailed in the last four meetings between the two schools, and the Wildcats now own a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) paced a balanced Daemen attack with 18 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Saba has now led the team in scoring in seven of the last eight games and is averaging a team-high 17.0 points. Sophomore Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata Academy) added 15 points and five rebounds, while freshman Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) registered 14 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
Freshman Amber Brown (South Brunswick, N.J.) led the Mavericks with 14 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Caralie Wilson (Gold Coast, Australia) added 12 points and four steals.
Neither team scored for the first four minutes of the game and the Mavericks held a 7-2 lead when Heinold was fouled attempting a three-pointer. She made all three of the ensuing free throws to make it a two-point game. The teams traded baskets over the final three minutes of the first quarter and Daemen took a 12-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Wildcats made three three-pointers during an 11-2 spurt to start the second quarter. Sophomore Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) started and ended the run with a three-pointer, and Daemen was up 23-13 midway through the second. The Daemen lead was six points, 25-19, with two minutes to play before halftime, when the Wildcats closed the half with seven unanswered points. A fast-break three-pointer by Saba with 1:05 left before intermission capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 32-19 halftime lead.
Daemen converted on its first three possessions of the second half and took a 19-point lead, 38-19, following a jumper by Saba 1:40 into the third quarter. Daemen went scoreless for the next two minutes, but Mercy was unable to take advantage and a back-to-back jumpers by White and a triple by Saba made it a 45-20 lead with 4:32 left in the frame. Both teams struggled to score the rest of the quarter and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Heinold gave Daemen a 50-28 lead after three quarters.
Daemen exploded for 14 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats took their largest lead of the game, 64-33, following a layup by sophomore Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) with 6:09 left to play. Mercy came no closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Daemen shot 44-percent (28-for-64) from the field overall and went 8-of-21 (38%) from three-point land. The Wildcats attempted nine free throws and made eight. Mercy shot 32-percent (18-56) from the field overall and made just 2-of-19 (11%) from downtown. The Mavericks went 14-for-18 from the charity stripe. Daemen collected 15 offensive rebounds in the game—which led to a 17-6 advantage in second-chance points. The Wildcats finished with a commanding 46-30 edge in total rebounds.
The Wildcats return to action Sunday (Dec. 17) with an ECC game at the University of Bridgeport.
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