INDIANA, Pa. – Three days after knocking off the #5 ranked team in the nation, the Daemen University women's basketball faltered on Saturday, snapping their five-game win streak with a 73-56 loss to Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Wildcats fall to 8-4 on the season and finish non-conference play with a 5-4 record. IUP improves to 9-2 on the year.
The Wildcats shot 37% (20-of-54) from the field and banked just three of 14 from beyond the arc in the loss, while the Crimson Hawks shot 44% (28-of-63) from the field. Senior guard
Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Wildcats for the ninth straight game, finishing with 17 points. IUP guard Rahmena Henderson led all players with 21 points.
Daemen resumes East Coast Conference play with a pair of home games against Staten Island and District of Columbia on Friday, January 12 and Sunday, January 14, respectively.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Paige went 4-of-13 from the field, connecting on just one of six triples throughout the game. She banked all eight free throws and finished with three rebounds and four assists in the game.
- Sophomore forward Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) totaled 13 points after shooting 6-of-7 from the field and making one of two three point field goals in the game. Pikett added three rebounds, two steals and two assists to her stat line.
- Senior guard Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished with 13 points after going 5-of-15 from the field, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc and nailing both shots from the charity stripe, while totaling seven rebounds and three assists.
- Sophomore forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) led the Wildcats defensively with eight rebounds and added one block, one steal, one assist and two points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Wildcats opened the scoring with a layup from McDuffie. After the Crimson Hawks went on an 8-2 run, the Wildcats went on a 7-2 run of their own to take a one point lead halfway through the quarter. Daemen and IUP traded points through the rest of the quarter until IUP shot a buzzer beater to tie the game up at 19 a piece after the first quarter.
- Daemen shot 54% (6-of-11) from the field in the first, while IUP shot 61% (8-of-13) in the quarter.
- The back-and-forth scoring continued in the second until the Crimson Hawks scored 10 unanswered points in two minutes, leaving the Wildcats down by eight with two and a half minutes left in the half. A pair of Daemen layups made it a four-point game, but a late triple by IUP lifted the Hawks up 39-32 at the half.
- IUP outscored Daemen 20-13 in the second. The Crimson Hawks shot 52% (16-of-31) in the first half, while the Wildcats shot 50% (12-of-24). McDuffie led the Cats with eight first-half points followed by Pikett with seven.
- After jumping out to a quick start in the third, IUP went scoreless for five minutes during the middle of the quarter while Daemen went on a 6-0 run to bring the game within four. Daemen made it as close as a one-point game in the final 17 seconds of the quarter, but another buzzer beater by the Crimson Hawks made it 52-49 after three quarters of play.
- Paige led the way for the Wildcats with 11 third-quarter points. The Wildcats banked just five of 13 shots from the field in the third, shooting 38%.
- The Crimson Hawks outscored the Wildcats 21 to 7 in the final quarter of play.
- Today marked the second time Daemen and IUP squared up. The Crimson Hawks have won both games.
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.
Follow the Daemen women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.
