AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior Emily Ferreri (Hyde Park, N.Y.) scored 18 points and junior Brianna Purcell (Bedford, N.H.) added 17 points to lead Saint Michael's College to a 65-56 victory over Daemen College here today in non-conference women's basketball action. Saint Michael's, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), ran its winning streak to three-straight games and improved to 5-7. It marked the final non-conference game of the year for Daemen, which suffered its fifth-straight loss and dropped to 4-8.
Junior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) led Daemen, as she drilled five three-pointers and totaled a season-high 17 points. Heinold also grabbed five rebounds. Senior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y.) returned to action after missing the last three games due to injury and totaled 12 points, five rebounds, four blocks and three steals in 27 minutes. Redshirt sophomore Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) added 11 points and five assists, while freshman Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) netted four points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Junior Alyssa Breunig (Trumbull, Conn.) helped the St. Michael's cause with nine points, while junior Taylor Miller (Falmouth, Mass.) totaled eight points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.
St. Michael's, which posted a 70-69 win at Roberts Wesleyan College Friday, took an early 8-3 lead following a three-pointer by Breunig, but the Wildcats eventually cut the lead to a point, 11-10, after Heinold drilled a three-pointer with 3:40 left in the opening frame. Daemen went scoreless the rest of the quarter and the Purple Knights took a 16-10 lead into the second quarter.
Daemen's scoring drought continued into the second quarter, as the hosts managed just four free throws over the first six minutes of the frame, which allowed the Purple Knights to build a 23-14 lead. Daemen later cut the lead to five points, 23-18, after Egan drained two free throws with 2:54 left before halftime, but St. Michael's answered with a three-pointer by Purcell and a layup by Miller to open up a 28-18 lead. The visitors took a 33-20 lead into the intermission.
Daemen opened the third quarter with a three-pointer by sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) and the teams traded baskets for the first four minutes of the quarter. The St. Michael's lead was 11 points (42-31), when a layup by Purcell sparked the visitors on a 10-2 run. A jumper by Ferreri with 1:41 left in the quarter capped the spurt and gave the Purple Knights a 52-33 lead. SMC took a 52-36 lead into the final quarter.
A three-pointer by Filbert sparked the Wildcats on a quarter-opening 6-2 run that cut the lead to 54-42 three minutes into the frame. Both offenses went cold over the next four minutes and the SMC lead was 56-42 when back-to-back three-pointers by Heinold cut the lead to eight points, 56-48, with just under three minutes to play. The teams traded turnovers before a triple by Filbert cut the lead to five points, 56-51, with 2:25 remaining, but Purcell came through with a clutch three-point play on SMC's next possession to push the lead back to eight points. Heinold's fifth three-pointer of the day with 1:42 left once again made it a five-point game (59-54)—and the hosts had a chance to make it a one-possession game following a SMC turnover—but a three-pointer by Buchsenschutz was off the mark with 1:24 left.The Purple Knights secured the win by going 6-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
Daemen shot just 19-percent (6-for-31) in the first half and finished just 19-of-66 (29%) from the field overall. The hosts went 9-for-29 from three-point land and made 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. St. Michael's finished 23-for-60 (38%) from the field overall and made 6-of-18 from downtown. SMC converted 13-of-17 from the free throw line. Daemen finished with a 45-40 edge in total rebounds, and the hosts also posted an 18-10 edge in second-chance points. The Purple Knights posted a commanding 30-14 edge in points in the paint.
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play next weekend when they host Molloy College (Jan 11) and Queens College (Jan. 13).
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