Women's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule Announced

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Women's Basketball | 7/25/2018 12:30:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Three home games, three road games and three neutral site games comprise the Daemen College women's basketball team's 2018-19 non-conference schedule which officially gets underway November 9-10 with back-to-back contests at the East Region Tip-Off Classic, head coach Jenepher Banker announced today.

"Our non-conference slate is extremely challenging," said Banker, the Wildcats' veteran mentor who has led them to 23 wins in her first two seasons at the helm, and the team's first-ever conference tournament berth at the NCAA Division II level this past season. "We play games against five teams from the Northeast-10 Conference which has traditionally been the strongest league in our region. The schedule also includes games against two NCAA Tournament teams from Florida and two games against strong teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. We know it will be a challenge night in and night out, but I expect that this schedule will prepare us well for conference play."

In addition to Daemen and host Roberts Wesleyan College, the East Region Tip-Off Classic features NE-10 affiliates College of St. Rose and Assumption College. The Wildcats open against the former in the event's first game (6 p.m., Nov. 9). Less than 24 hours later, they'll be back to face Assumption (12 p.m., Nov. 10). Daemen will be facing both St. Rose and Assumption for the first time in team history. It marks the fourth consecutive season that the Wildcats will open with consecutive neutral site games at the Voller Athletic Center, a gym where Daemen has played 12 total games and posted record of 5-3 against neutral site opponents in that span.

The Wildcats make their home debut the following week when Mercyhurst University out of the PSAC visits Lumsden Gymnasium (5:30 p.m., Nov. 15) for the first time this millennium. Daemen will be seeking redemption from a 60-59 loss at Mercyhurst last season in the teams' first meeting since 2005. The Wildcats' last win in the series came in Mercyhurst's last jaunt to Amherst on November 20, 1999.

The highlight of the early non-conference schedule comes over a holiday weekend as the Wildcats fly south to Florida where they'll face two of the top teams from the Sunshine State Conference at the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic. Opponents that weekend include the host Eckerd Tritons (3 p.m., Nov. 23) and Florida Southern College (1 p.m., Nov. 24), both of which have earned NCAA Tournament berths in each of the last two seasons. The FSC Mocs, who Daemen last faced during the 2000-01 season, chased their 2016-17 South Region championship with a 25-5 record and both the SSC regular season and tournament championships in 2017-18. The Wildcats will be playing their first games in the state of Florida since participating in the Trip Sports Cruzin' Classic during the 2014-15 season.

Shortly after returning to Western New York, Banker's squad will trek southwest to Erie, Pennsylvania for a meeting with Gannon University (5:30 p.m., Nov. 28) at the historic Hammermill Center, Gannon's home court since 1949. The Wildcats and Golden Knights met for the first time after a 10-year hiatus last season with the latter scoring a four-point win at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The Wildcats' lone non-conference contest in the month of December comes against regional rival Le Moyne College (1 p.m., Dec. 19). Daemen will be making their third trip to Syracuse and Ted Grant Court since the 2013-14 season, and the latest go-round will mark the fourth consecutive season that the teams have met. Le Moyne, whose head coach Gina Castelli was recently announced as a member of the 2018 induction class to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, is coming off a 17-11 campaign in 2017-18 which saw them advance to the NE-10 Tournament semifinals.

After flipping the calendar to 2019, the Wildcats host a pair of NE-10 affiliates over a three-day span as St. Anselm College (6 p.m., Jan. 3) and St. Michael's College (2 p.m., Jan. 5) each visit Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats and Hawks of St. Anselm square off for the third consecutive season with Daemen looking to jump into the win column in the series. The Wildcats will be seeking their second straight win over the Purple Knights of St. Michael's after winning on the road last season.

Daemen is coming off a 12-17 campaign that saw them post a 9-9 record in East Coast Conference play, marking the team's highest ECC win total since joining the league back in 2013-14. Gone will be standout guard Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y.) who finished her career with 1,774 points, good for fifth among the program's all-time leaders. But the Wildcats are set to return seven players, including six who saw double-figure minutes per game last season. That group is headlined by guard Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) and forward Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) who became the first pair of Wildcat freshmen to average at least eight points per game since Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y.) and Taylor Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) in 2013-14. The Wildcats will also regain the services of forwards Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) and Erin Sinnott (Oswego, Ill.) who each missed significant time with injuries last season.

The East Coast Conference portion of the team's 2018-19 schedule will be announced at a later date. Below is an in-depth look at the team's 2018-19 non-conference schedule...

ST. ROSE GOLDEN KNIGHTS	Friday, Nov. 9 \| 6 PM ^	Rochester, N.Y. \| Voller Athletic Center
2017-18 Record: 10-17, 8-12 NE-10	2017-18 Conference Finish: 5th of 7 (NE-10 Southwest)	2017-18 Postseason: NE-10 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
All-Time Series: 0-0	Last Meeting: N/A
ASSUMPTION GREYHOUNDS	Saturday, Nov. 10 \| 12 PM ^	Rochester, N.Y. \| Voller Athletic Center
2017-18 Record: 10-16, 7-14 NE-10	2017-18 Conference Finish: 6th of 8 (NE-10 Northeast)	2017-18 Postseason: None
All-Time Series: 0-0	Last Meeting: N/A
MERCYHURST LAKERS	Thursday, Nov. 15 \| 5:30 PM	Amherst, N.Y. \| Lumsden Gymnasium
2017-18 Record: 10-18, 8-14 PSAC	2017-18 Conference Finish: 7th of 9 (PSAC West)	2017-18 Postseason: None
All-Time Series: Mercyhurst leads 7-3	Last Meeting: Mercyhurst 60, Daemen 59 \| Nov. 30, 2017 @ Mercyhurst
ECKERD TRITONS	Friday, Nov. 23 \| 3 PM %	St. Petersburg, Fla. \| McArthur Center
2017-18 Record: 22-8, 15-5 SSC	2017-18 Conference Finish: 3rd of 11	2017-18 Postseason: SSC Tournament Semifinals, NCAA South Regional 1st Round
All-Time Series: 0-0	Last Meeting: N/A
FLORIDA SOUTHERN MOCS	Saturday, Nov. 24 \| 1 PM %	St. Petersburg, Fla. \| McArthur Center
2017-18 Record: 25-5, 17-3 SSC	2017-18 Conference Finish: 1st of 11	2017-18 Postseason: SSC Tournament Champions, NCAA South Regional 1st Round
All-Time Series: Florida Southern leads 1-0	Last Meeting: Florida Southern 92, Daemen 58 \| Jan. 2, 2001 @ Florida Southern
GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS	Wednesday, Nov. 28 \| 5:30 PM	Erie, Pa. \| Hammermill Center
2017-18 Record: 16-13, 13-9 PSAC	2017-18 Conference Finish: 5th of 9 (PSAC West)	2017-18 Postseason: PSAC Tournament 1st Round
All-Time Series: Gannon leads 9-4	Last Meeting: Gannon 68, Daemen 64 \| Nov. 28, 2017 @ Daemen
LE MOYNE DOLPHINS	Wednesday, Dec. 19 \| 1 PM	Syracuse, N.Y. \| Ted Grant Court
2017-18 Record: 17-11, 12-8 NE-10	2017-18 Conference Finish: 2nd of 7 (NE-10 Southwest)	2017-18 Postseason: NE-10 Tournament Semifinals
All-Time Series: Le Moyne leads 9-2	Last Meeting: Le Moyne 67, Daemen 55 \| Nov. 25, 2017 @ Daemen
ST. ANSELM HAWKS	Thursday, Jan. 3 \| 6 PM	Amherst, N.Y. \| Lumsden Gymnasium
2017-18 Record: 17-12, 13-8 NE-10	2017-18 Conference Finish: 3rd of 8 (NE-10 Northeast)	2017-18 Postseason: NE-10 Tournament Quarterfinals
All-Time Series: St. Anselm leads 2-0	Last Meeting: St. Anselm 69, Daemen 56 \| Dec. 29, 2017 @ St. Anselm
ST. MICHAEL'S PURPLE KNIGHTS	Saturday, Jan. 5 \| 2 PM	Amherst, N.Y. \| Lumsden Gymnasium
2017-18 Record: 8-18, 5-16 NE-10	2017-18 Conference Finish: 7th of 8 (NE-10 Northeast)	2017-18 Postseason: None
All-Time Series: Tied 2-2	Last Meeting: Daemen 69, St. Michael's 56 \| Dec. 30, 2017 @ St. Michael's
^ denotes East Region Tip-Off Classic
% denotes Eckerd Collge Thanksgiving Classic

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Players Mentioned

#33 Natalie Galus: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#23 Taylor Heinold: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

#11 Sarah Saba: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#1 Tiara Filbert: G; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

#2 Jordan Heinold: G/F; 6' 0"; Junior

#32 Erin Sinnott: G/F; 5' 11"; Senior

#21 Caroline White: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#33 Natalie Galus
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#23 Taylor Heinold
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#11 Sarah Saba
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#1 Tiara Filbert
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#2 Jordan Heinold
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G/F

#32 Erin Sinnott
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G/F

#21 Caroline White
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F