ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After dropping their season opener last night, the Daemen University women's basketball team got back on track on Saturday afternoon with a 74-57 win over Felician University in their final game of the Redhawks Classic tournament. The Wildcats notched their first win of the season to move to 1-1, while the Golden Falcons dropped to 0-2 to start the year.
The Wildcats took a lead halfway through the first quarter and never relinquished it. Four Wildcats totaled double-digit points in the victory. Daemen shot 40-percent from the field (24-of-59), 28-percent from beyond the three (5-of-18) and 66-percent from the free throw line (21-of-32). Every single Wildcat that stepped onto the court scored points today.
Senior guard
Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) led all shooters on the floor with 18 points after shooting 33-percent (4-of-12) from the field, knocking down a three-ball and dominating from the free throw stripe with 9-of-10 on the day.
The Wildcats will host Bloomsburg in their 2023-24 home opener on Wednesday for a 6 PM non-conference matchup at Lumsden Gym.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Sophomore transfer Cecelia Lapertosa (Whiteseboro, N.Y.) posted her first double-digit outing as a Wildcat, totaling 11 points after shooting 63-percent (5-of-8) from the field. The forward pulled down seven rebounds and added one assist and one block to her day.
- Junior forward Julia Hauer (Binghamton, N.Y.) shot 43-percent from the field (3-of-7) and knocked down 4-of-8 free throws while adding a team-high nine rebounds, including four offensive boards, three assists and three steals.
- Senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) totaled 10 points after going 3-of-11 from the field, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 1-of-2 from the stripe. She added four defensive rebounds, four assists and one steal.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Wildcats had as much as a 10-point lead in the first and led 22-14 after the first 10 minutes of play after shooting 50-percent (8-of-16) from the field and knocking down two of five three balls in the quarter.
- Felician made a comeback in the second, outscoring the Wildcats 20-13 after going on an 11-3 run in the final five minutes of the quarter to make it a one-point game at the half, 35-34.
- The Wildcats went on a tear in the third quarter with a 23-8 outing, shooting 41-percent (7-of-17) from the field, 40-percent (2-of-5) from beyond the arc and 70-percent (7-of-10) from the free throw stripe. Daemen led 58-42 after three quarters.
- Despite Felician's fourth-quarter surge, Daemen's 16-point lead was too much for the Golden Falcons to overcome.
- Daemen held onto a lead for 35 game minutes.
- The Wildcats totaled 40 points off the bench on the day, and earned 15 points off of turnovers compared to just nine for the Falcons.
- Daemen out-stole Felician 12-7 in the game. Hauer and redshirt freshman guard Kayla Campbell (Franklin, N.Y.) each posted a team-high three steals.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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