BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Junior center Samnell Vonleh (Swampscott, Mass.) totaled 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and sophomore Kadijah Dickson (Queens, N.Y.) added 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals to lead the University of Bridgeport to a 64-60 victory over Daemen College here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action. The host Purple Knights snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 4-7 overall and 1-3 in the ECC. Daemen dropped to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in the league.
Redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) paced Daemen with a career-high 19 points, as she connected on 7-of-13 field goals. Fellow rookie Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) equaled her career-high with 15 points off the bench, as she connected on 3-of-5 from downtown and also grabbed six rebounds. Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) registered her third double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore Kayla Hill (Massapequa, N.Y.) helped the Bridgeport cause with 12 points, six rebounds and four steals in 18 minutes off the bench, while junior Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.) scored nine points and dished out a team-high six assists.
The game featured six ties and seven lead changes and neither team led by more than nine points in the game. Daemen took a 52-46 lead after Saba converted a conventional three-point play with just over nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but the Purple Knights responded with ten unanswered points and maintained the lead down the stretch.
The teams traded baskets for most of the first half, and Daemen held a 24-23 lead midway through the second quarter when they got back-to-back three-pointers from Filbert and White. A layup by sophomore Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) with 3:22 left before halftime gave the visitors their largest lead of the game (32-23), but Bridgeport closed the half with a 7-3 spurt and Daemen took a 35-30 lead into intermission.
Much like the first quarter, the teams traded baskets for the entire third quarter and Daemen took a 47-41 lead into the fourth quarter. Bridgeport opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer by sophomore Briana Stoddart (Brooklyn, N.Y), and the teams traded buckets before Saba's three-point play gave the Wildcats a 52-46 lead with 9:08 left. UB then put together its momentum-turning 10-0 run. A putback by Hill with 5:39 left capped the spurt and gave UB a 56-52 lead. Daemen made is one-point game, 56-55, following a layup by White with 4:27 left, but UB took a five-point lead, 60-55, following a back-to-back layups by Dickson and Stoddard. Saba made it a two-point game, 62-60, with 33 seconds left, and UB closed out the scoring at the charity stripe.
After shooting a season-high 44-percent from the field during a win at Mercy College Friday night, Daemen shot just 31-percent (21-for-68) from the field today and made just 4-of-20 from three-point land. The Wildcats made good on 14-of-19 from the charity stripe. Bridgeport shot 37-percent (25-68) from the field overall and made just 2-of-14 (14%) from downtown. The Purple Knights went 12-for-25 from the charity stripe. Bridgeport finished with a 50-49 edge in total rebounds.
The Wildcats are idle until after Christmas when they travel to Saint Anselm College (Dec. 29) and Saint Michael's College (Dec. 30) for non-league games.
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