BUFFALO, N.Y. - The D'Youville women's basketball team wrapped up their early-season non-conference slate Saturday afternoon, defeating Bryant & Stratton Albany, 88-39, at the College Center Gym. Saturday's win improves the Saints to 5-1, marking their best start since 2014-15, when D'Youville began the campaign 6-1. 

D'Youville raced out to a big lead in the first quarter, putting up 26 points in the opening 10 minutes, led by 10 points from sophomore guard Sara Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer cashed in on two three-pointers in the first quarter as freshman guard Anna Jankovic chipped in eight points on three-of-five shooting. As a team, D'Youville took advantage of their free-throw opportunities, knocking down their first six attempts to begin the game.  

D'Youville extended their lead to 23, 44-21, at the halftime buzzer, holding the Bobcats to under 20 points until a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Saige Roberts.  

The Saints cruised to their fourth home victory of the season in the second half, thanks to 14 fourth-quarter points from freshman guard Haleigh Schafer. Schafer got hot from beyond the three-point arc, hitting all four of her attempts while adding a layup in the quarter to add to her game-high 16 points.  

Notables 

Four Saints landed in double figures in scoring, led by Schafer's 16 (6-15 FG) … She was followed up by Pfeiffer (15 points, 5-15 FG), Jankovic (14 points, 6-10 FG), and freshman guard Sydney Ottomano (10 points, 2-8 FG) 

D'Youville controlled the boards Saturday, outrebounding the Bobcats, 56-47, led by 10 rebounds from sophomore forward Sofie Fuglsang's 10 rebounds while Schafer collected seven boards … The Saints cashed in on 12 three-pointers, a single game-high for the Saints this season, and shot 42.9 percent (12-28) from beyond the arc.  

D'Youville's 37.6-percent shooting was their best performance from the field this season and the Saints hit 12 of their 14 attempts from the charity stripe, making it their fifth game this season hitting at least 70-percent of their free throws. 

Up Next

The Saints open up East Coast Conference action on Friday, Dec. 10 when they host Bridgeport for a 6 p.m. tip-off. 

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