SPARKILL, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's basketball team hit the road and dropped their first East Coast Conference game of the season, falling 70-59 at St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday night. The Spartans snap Daemen's 14-game conference win streak which was the fourth-longest in NCAA Division II women's basketball. With the loss, Daemen moves to 9-5 on the year and 4-1 in ECC games.
The Wildcats and Spartans were evenly matched throughout the game, but the fourth quarter was the difference maker, with STAC out-scoring Daemen 27-17-. The win snapped the Spartans' three-game losing streak and moves STAC to 8-8 overall and 3-2 in ECC play.
A trio of Wildcats scored in the double-digits in the loss, with senior guard
Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) leading the way offensively for the tenth game this season with 19 points. Sophomore forward
Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) finished with 17 points, while senior guard
Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) totaled 12 points in the loss.
Daemen wraps up their road trip on Sunday with a noon game at Mercy.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Paige shot 5-of-17 from the field, with all five baskets coming from beyond the arc (5-of-9), and added four of five from the charity stripe, adding four assists and one rebound.
- Pikett went 7-of-16 from the field, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc and 1-of-2 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and three assists.
- McDuffie finished shooting 5-of-12 from the field and knocked down one triple and one of two free throws, adding five rebounds and three assists on the night.
- Sophomore forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) totaled 11 rebounds, four points and one assist on the night.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Spartans opened the game with a 9-2 run after a trio of triples and a series of turnovers for the Wildcats. After Daemen went on a 5-0 run of their own, the Wildcats and Spartans traded buckets throughout the rest of the quarter to end the first with a score of 15-12.
- Daemen shot 28% in the first (5-of-18) while STAC shot 35% (6-of-17) with Paige leading the Cats with six first-quarter points. The Wildcats scored eight points off five STAC turnovers but didn't allow the Spartans to score any points off their five turnovers.
- The Wildcats took the lead for the first time in the game with a wide open three from Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) with seven minutes left in the second, taking an 18-16 lead over the Spartans. Daemen and STAC exchanged points throughout the rest of the quarter, and STAC took a 28-25 lead into the half after a 7-2 run.
- Daemen shot 30% (10-of-33) from the field and 44% (4-of-9) beyond the arc in the first half.
- The Spartans got off to a 9-5 start in the third quarter, but the Wildcats crawled back with a 7-3 run of their own to make it a three-point game. Daemen went on a 6-3 run at the end of the quarter, outscoring STAC 17-15 in the third, and trailed by one, 43-42 after three quarters.
- STAC opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and held onto the lead for the rest of the game with the Spartans finishing the quarter outscoring the Wildcats 27-17.
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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