WASHINGTON, D.C. – Freshman Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) and junior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) both scored 18 points to lead Daemen College to a 71-62 victory over the University of the District of Columbia here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action. Daemen has now won five of its last seven games and improved to 10-13 overall and 7-6 in the ECC. UDC dropped to 3-20 overall and 1-12 in the league.
Daemen, which posted a 78-58 win over UDC last month at Lumsden Gymnasium, swept the season series with the Firebirds for the first time since joining the ECC in 2013-14. The Wildcats also took over sole possession of fifth place in the ECC standings.
White scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half and also recorded eight rebounds, a block and two steals. The 18 points is a career-high for Egan, who connected on 7-of-8 shots and also collected six rebounds. Senior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) played just six minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls. She would play all 20 minutes in the second half and finished with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Saba, who is averaging a league-high 17.8 points per game, has now scored in double figures in 22-straight games—the longest double-digit scoring streak of her career.
Junior Natasha Roy (Gambrills, Md.) paced the Firebirds with five three-pointers and 25 points. Freshman Danielle Harrington (Gainsville, Va.) added eight points and nine rebounds.
The teams traded baskets early in the game and Daemen held a 5-3 lead when a layup by sophomore Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y./St. Bonaventure) sparked the Wildcats on a 10-0 run. Two free throws by redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) with 5:11 left in the first quarter capped the run and gave Daemen a 15-3 lead. Daemen managed just three points over the next two minutes, which allowed UDC to cut the lead to eight points (18-10), but the Wildcats closed out the quarter with a 10-5 run. A steal and layup by Egan with just five seconds left in the frame capped the run and gave the visitors a 28-15 lead.
Daemen opened the second quarter with a three-pointer by sophomore Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) and a jumper by White, but the Firebirds scored the next eight points and cut the lead to 10 points, 33-23, midway through the second quarter. Egan would give the Wildcats a 37-25 lead with just over a minute to play in the half, but UDC closed out the frame with a three-pointer by Roy and a layup by sophomore Sarah Hare (Upper Marlboro, Md.). Daemen took a 37-30 lead into intermission.
White scored all seven points during a 7-2 Daemen run to start the third quarter, but the hosts responded with a 13-4 run and cut the lead to three points, 46-43, following a jumper by Roy with 3:14 left in the quarter. Daemen would take a 51-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Daemen lead was five points, 56-51, three minutes into the fourth quarter when the Wildcats got a layup from Egan and a three-pointer by White to take a 61-51 lead. Neither team scored again for nearly two minutes, and the lead was still 10 points (63-53) with 3:55 to play when sophomore Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) canned two free throws to give Daemen a 12-point advantage. Back-to-back three-pointers by Roy quickly cut the lead in half, but Daemen took a 67-59 lead following a layup by Saba with just under three minutes to play. UDC came no closer than six points down the stretch.
Daemen shot 47-percent (25-for-53) from the field overall and made 4-of-15 from three-point land. UDC shot 38-percent (21-for-55) from the field overall and made 6-of-15 from downtown. A total of 40 fouls were called in the game. Daemen attempted 26 free throws and made 17, while the Firebirds went 14-for-20 from the charity stripe. UDC finished with a 38-31 edge in total rebounds, while Daemen held a 38-22 edge in points in the paint.
The Wildcats are idle until Friday (Feb. 9) when they host long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College in an ECC game.
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