Rockville Centre, N.Y. – The Molloy women's basketball returned to East Coast Conference play Friday evening falling to the Daemen University Wildcats, 74-65, on Bob Houlihan Court. The Lions move to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while the Wildcats improve to 9-5 and 5-0 in league play.
 
How it Happened

• The Lions kicked off the game on an 11-4 rally through the first 6:13 while causing five Wildcat turnovers. The run was sparked by senior Samantha Muller who netted seven points.
• Daemen would settle down and come within one, 13-12, following a 8-2 run with 1:30 remaining in the opening stanza.
• Muller would go on and drain a three with 21 seconds left on the clock but was answered with a jumper from Daemen's Joline Raposo as time expired in the opening stanza. Molloy held a four-point lead, 18-14, heading into the second quarter.
• The two squads traded baskets in the first three minutes of the second stanza, with the Lions getting field goals from three different scorers to maintain its four-point lead, 24-20.
• For the remainder of the half, the Wildcats would go on a 15-4 rally, force eight turnovers, and swipe four steals to open a 35-28 advantage going into halftime.
• The road team would bring its lead to 10, 38-28, 45 seconds into the third quarter, but a three-point basket from senior Janel Moore and a layup from junior Rosa Rizzitelli cut the deficit in half, 38-33, with over seven minutes left in the quarter.
• Daemen would get its lead back to 10 and continue to go back and forth with the Lions for the remainder of the quarter while holding a 52-43 lead heading towards the fourth quarter.
• Junior Sophia Yearwood looked to spark the cardinal and white in the fourth, hitting a three-point shot in the first possession of the quarter to bring the Lions within six, 52-46.
• Yearwood would continue to stay hot from long range, connecting on another two three-point shots, but both would be answered by the road team as Molloy would trail by nine, 63-54, with 6:47 left on the scoreboard.
• Daemen would open up its largest lead of the contest, 69-54, midway through the fourth quarter and go on to solidify the victory, 74-65.

Top Performances

• Muller tallied a game-high 21 points shooting 50 percent from the floor (8-of-16).
• Yearwood collected 15 points and eight rebounds.
• Rizzitelli added 12 points while shooting six-of-six from the foul line.

Up Next
The Lions conclude its homestand Sunday, January 12 with a ECC matchup against D'Youville beginning at 12:00 p.m.