AMHERST, N.Y. – Freshman
Nazjahe Boswell (Rochester, N.Y.) of the women's track and field team and redshirt junior
Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) of the men's basketball team have been named the Daemen College Student-Athletes of the Month presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC for December, 2018.
Boswell made her collegiate debut at the Brockport Alumni and Multi Invitational on Dec. 1 and recorded a pair of top-three finishes during the event. She posted a time of 8.07 seconds in the 60 meter dash preliminary qualifying heat, which was good enough to put her into the race finals. In the finals she finished third with a team-record time of 7.96 seconds, edging the prior record (7.99) set by former Wildcat
Tiffany Cycon by three one-hundredths of a second. Boswell would also go on to place second out of 20 competitors in the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.15 seconds, less than a second off Cycon's record pace (26.21) in that event.
Boswell followed up with another solid showing at the Houghton College December Classic on Dec. 7. She once again posted a pair of top-three finishes competing in the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. Boswell finished first in the 60 meter dash preliminary race with a time of 7.99 seconds, then finished second in the final heat with a time of 8.00 seconds. In the 200-meter, she placed third with a time of 27.03.
The Daemen track and field teams returns to action Jan. 12 when they travel to Rochester, N.Y. to take part in the Rochester Institute of Technology Invitational.
Redband led the regionally-ranked men's basketball team to a perfect 5-0 month. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 15 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and shot 45-percent (17-for-38) from three-point land.
He opened the month with 15 points and six boards to help the Wildcats rally for a 78-70 win at rival Roberts Wesleyan College on Dec. 5. A week later he would help Daemen improved to 3-0 in the East Coast Conference following road wins at Long Island University-Post and New York Institute of Technology. He drilled four three-pointers and totaled 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists against LIU Post and followed up with 17 points and eight boards against NYIT. The highlight of the month came on New Year's Eve, as he went 6-of-7 from downtown and finished with a career-high 23 points in a 74-55 win over The College of Saint Rose.
A starter in all 11 games this year, Redband ranks third on the team in scoring average (13.9 ppg) and steals (13) and second on the team in rebounds per game (5.9) and blocks (10). The team's leading three-point shooter each of the last two seasons, he once again leads the team in three-pointers made (32) and three-point field goal percentage (.478). He is tied for first in three-point field goals made among all ECC players and ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage.
Redband became the seventh player in program history to record 150 three-point field goals earlier this year and has made at least one three-pointer in 15-straight games dating back to last season. He ranks sixth in career three-pointers made (169) and third in career three-point field goal percentage (.437) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
Daemen (10-1) has won a region-best eight-straight games and is now 27-3 over its last 30 games dating back to last season. The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll and are receiving votes in the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Division II poll.
The Wildcats return to action this weekend when they head to Austin, Texas to take on Dallas Baptist University (Jan. 4) and nationally-ranked St. Edward's University (Jan. 6). It will mark the first time the Wildcats have played a game in The Lone Star State.
Additional student-athletes considered for Athlete of the Month honors included
Breon Harris (Niagara Fall, N.Y.) of the men's basketball team, Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) of the women's basketball team and Sullivan Keller (Alden, N.Y.) of the men's track and field team.
