As the basketball season winds down, the Daemen College women’s basketball team has one thing on their mind – winning.  The top six teams in the East Coast Conference (ECC) will advance to play in the ECC Tournament.  With this impressive 70-50 win over regionally-ranked Molloy College, Daemen now holds the sixth and final playoff spot in the ECC.

Leah McDonell led the way for the Wildcats with 17 point, four assists and five steals.  Jordan Heinold finished with 12 points for the game.  Jesse DeWaters and Natalie Galus each contributed with 10 points.

The Wildcats have been on a roll lately, posting a 6-2 record over their last eight games.  Senior forward Natalie Galus had the following to say about her team’s recent stretch: “We’ve been really focusing on our defense at practice and making sure everyone knows each opponent’s personnel.  It’s important to know who the good shooters are, who will drive, etc.  In terms of offense, we’ve been playing great team basketball.  Making the next pass is something our coaches always stress, and I think we’ve all been working hard to move the ball around and find who is open.”

For the second time this season, the Daemen College men’s basketball team has fallen to Molloy College in the final seconds of the second half.  Molloy’s Charlie Marquardt hit a step-back three with 4.4 seconds remaining, securing the Lions’ 73-71 victory over Daemen.

Deion Hamilton had a strong performance for the Wildcats, leading all scorers with 22 points.  Arif Mehmetaj and Jaleo Wilkes provided 14 points and 13 points, respectively.

Currently, Daemen sits in fourth place in the East Coast Conference standings.  With a strong finish to the season, they could potentially retake second place, but would need to climb over Bridgeport and Molloy to do so.

The women and men’s Wildcats play their final home games of the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m., respectively.  Senior Night recognition will take place during the games for both teams.