AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College Head Women's Basketball Coach Jenepher Banker announced today the signing of Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) to a National Letter of Intent.  Filbert, a 5-foot-9 guard, will join the program when enrolling in classes for the Fall 2016 semester.

Filbert comes to Daemen after completing a stellar scholastic career for coach Marty Hein and the Batavia Blue Devils.  She was labeled the "best girls basketball player to ever grace the hardwood at Batavia High School" in a recent article in The Daily News, earning five varsity letters and becoming the school's first 1,000-point scorer.  She concluded her career with 1,574 points and also holds school records for career rebounds (969) and steals (399).

"We are very excited to have Tiara choose Daemen College to continue her basketball career," said Banker.  "She is an ultimate team player who has a relentless work ethic, three-point shooting range and is an energetic defender who can guard multiple positions.  She will have an immediate impact on our program and we are delighted to welcome Tiara and her family to the Daemen program."

Filbert racked up a myriad of accolades throughout her high school career while leading the Blue Devils to four Monroe County Division II championships.  The 2015-16 season would prove to be her finest as she led Batavia to its first-ever Section V championship by averaging 19.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.6 steals per game.  She was named All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year by the Democrat and Chronicle, in addition to earning Monroe County Division II Player of the Year and first-team All-State honors.  She was also named the MVP of the Section VI Class A-2 tournament.

In addition to her time on the hardwood, she also excelled in cross country, track and field and lacrosse, earning a combined eight varsity letters in those sports.

An honor roll student and scholar-athlete, Filbert plans to major in Physical Therapy at Daemen.  She is the second high-profile student-athlete to commit to Daemen in recent weeks, joining Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) whose signing was announced earlier this month.

Filbert joins a Wildcat team which is coming off a 9-17 season, including a 7-13 mark in East Coast Conference play which had them in contention for a conference tournament berth until the final weekend of the regular season.  The Wildcats are set to return 10 players to their roster next season, including first-team All-ECC pick Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster).

For continuing news and updates on the Daemen College women's basketball team, follow the team on Twitter (@DaemenWBB / @DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics).