AMHERST, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2015) - The LIU Post women's basketball team continued its solid East Coast Conference play Friday night with a 79-69 win on the road at Daemen.

Senior guard Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) topped the 20-point mark for the for the 11th time this season with a 21-point effort. She also contributed four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Junior center Nyasia Davis (Rahway, N.J.) posted her eighth double-double, collecting 17 rebounds and 11 points.

In the first half, the two squads traded buckets with no team leading by more than three points until the 11-minute mark. After red-shirt senior forward Jessica Little (Wyandanch, N.Y.) hit one of her three trifectas on the evening, Williams came away with a steal and a fast-break lay-up to give the green and gold a five-point cushion (23-18). Freshman forward Alexis Beene (New Haven, Conn.) scored her first career points with a lay-up to extend the Pioneers' lead to seven (25-18). 

Daemen (8-7, 5-4 ECC) responded though with a 7-0 run to tie the score, but LIU Post (11-6, 7-2 ECC) scored four straight points to claim a four-point edge (29-25). The WIldcats would answer with another 7-0 run to grab a three-point cushion (32-29). Yet, the Pioneers countered with an 11-5 run to close out the half, en route to taking a 40-37 lead into the break.

In the second half, Daemen erased the deficit and took the lead with just under 17 minutes to go in regulation. Then, with the Wildcats holding a one-point lead (48-47), junior guard Jalyn Brown (Riverhead, N.Y.) hit one from downtown to give the Pioneers a 50-48 advantage.

Later in the half, with LIU Post leading 53-51, senior guard Ashley Castle (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sparked an 11-0 spurt with a three-ball. Williams capped the run with a fast-break lay-up at the 8:24 mark to give the Pioneers their largest lead of the contest (64-51).

Daemen would later close the gap to five (68-63), but a Castle trey squashed the comeback attempt. The Pioneers went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.

Castle finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench. Junior guard Quanisha Ratley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 points, while Little finished with nine points. Junior forward Kalinka DeRoche (New Haven, Conn.) hauled in 11 boards and chipped in four points in reserve duty. As a team, the Pioneers out-rebounded the Wildcats, 52-49, and turned 18 Daemen turnovers into 20 points.

Head Coach Deirdre Moore and the Pioneers have a quick turnaround, as they take on Roberts Wesleyan in the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday (Jan. 24). The opening tip is slated for 2 p.m.