| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College women's basketball team makes its 2016-17 home debut Wednesday when it plays host to New York Institute of Technology in an East Coast Conference game…it will mark the first of six-straight home games for the Wildcats. |
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| SALUTING OUR HOMETOWN HEROES |
| Wednesday has been designated as "Hometown Heroes Game"...the Daemen College community will honor all active and retired military personnel, local police officers, firefighters, EMT's and all first responders during Wednesday's hoop doubleheader…military personnel, police officers, firefighters, EMT's and first responders receive FREE admission, and their families are eligible for the group rate of $2 per person…the night will feature in-game giveaways as well as door prizes and raffles—with proceeds raised being donated to the Wounded Warrior Project…halftime entertainment will also take place. |
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| SHOOTING STAR |
| Former Daemen guard Raeann Stilwell, who graduated last May, will be honored in a pre-game ceremony commemorating her accomplishment of becoming the Wildcats' all-time leader in three-point field goals...in the final game of her career last February, Stilwell knocked down three shots from long distance vs. Queens College, including the 243rd of her career, surpassing the previous record of 242 set by Jessica Ruddell from 2001-05...in 114 games from 2012-16, Stilwell scored 1,340 points to rank ninth all-time at Daemen...she also left as the program's all-time leader in three-pointers made in a season (77), three-pointers attempted in a season (252) and three-pointers attempted in a career (780). |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
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Date: Wednesday, Dec. 14
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Time: 4 p.m.
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Location:
Lumsden Gymnasium
Amherst, N.Y. |
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| Daemen Roster |
NYIT Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
NYIT Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
NYIT Stats |
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| LIVE STATS |
LIVE VIDEO |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter: |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenWBB |
| Daemen Hashtags: |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| NYIT Twitter: |
@NYITBears |
| ECC Twitter: |
@ECCSports |
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| MEET THE NEW BOSS |
| Jenepher Banker enters her first season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen…Banker comes to Daemen with nearly 30 years of coaching experience at various levels, ranging from Division I to high school…her first collegiate experience came as an assistant coach at Iowa State University (1986-88) and later as an assistant at Canisius College (1993-95)…between assistant coaching stops, Banker served as the head coach at Penn State-Behrend where she led the NCAA Division III program to a 67-61 overall record…her 1991-92 team went 23-4, winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region championship…that team garnered Penn State-Behrend's first-ever national ranking in any sport…she was inducted into Penn State-Behrend's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994…Banker ultimately settled at the high school level, coaching the varsity team at Grand Island High School from 1998-2013, building the Lady Vikings into a regional contender with seven Section VI championships, four appearances in the Far West Regional, and one appearance at the New York State final four. |
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| SUCCESSFUL START TO BANKER ERA |
| Daemen opened the season with wins over Felician (65-54) and Nyack (76-54) during the ECC / CACC Challenge at Roberts Wesleyan College…it marked Daemen's first 2-0 start since the 2013-14 season. |
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| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (3-5, 1-2 ECC) |
| Daemen returns three starters and eight players from last year's team that posted a 9-17 overall record and a 7-13 mark in the East Coast Conference…key losses include shooting guard Raeann Stilwell and forward Somara Colon…Stilwell averaged 8.3 points last year and closed out her career with a program-record 243 three-pointers…Colon averaged 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds…the Wildcats were voted ninth in the 2016-17 ECC preseason poll…junior Sarah Saba tops the list of returning players…she became the first-ever women's basketball player from Daemen to earn first-team All-ECC honors last winter after leading the team in points (432), rebounds (165), blocks (44) and steals (36)…seniors Leah McDonell and Natalie Galus also return…McDonell ranked second on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and assists (69) last year while also contributing 4.7 rebounds…Galus averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds and ranked second on the team in three-pointers (35) and blocks (39)…seniors Rachel Pawlak and Jesse DeWaters, juniors Taylor Heinold and Liz Miles and sophomore Erin Egan will provided quality depth…Miles averaged 19 minutes, 5.4 points and 5.7 rebounds last year…five freshmen join the fold, all with impressive credentials…guard Tiara Filbert was expected to make immediate contributions, but a preseason injury will sideline her for the entire season…she collected first-team Class A all-state honors and was named the All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year last winter after leading Batavia High School to its first-ever NYSPHSAA Section V title…the 5-9 guard averaged 19.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.6 steals per game last year…Jordan Heinold joins her sister Taylor following an outstanding career at Immaculata Academy…the 6-foot G/F closed out her career as the school's all-time leading scorer and collected second-team Class B all-state and second-team All-Western New York honors last year…guards Carina Pringle, Alexis Perdue and Sydney Jones also join the fold…Pringle earned five varsity letters at Greece Athena High School, picking up two first-team All-Monroe County selections…Perdue comes to Daemen from Lindenhurst High School on Long Island..a ninth-team Class AA all-state selection last year, she was three-time all-league and all-county selection…Jones played five varsity seasons at Midlakes High School…she was a sixth-team Class B all-state pick last winter after averaging 19.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists…the 2015-16 Finger Lakes East Player of the Year, she was also a first-team All-Greater Rochester selection…Daemen opened the year with wins over Felician (65-54) and Nyack (76-54), before suffering five-straight losses to Edinboro (90-59), Notre Dame College (80-74), Le Moyne (77-68), LIU Post (69-59) and District of Columbia (56-54)…the Wildcats are coming off a 72-68 win over Bridgeport…McDonell (16.0 ppg) and Saba (14.9 ppg) and have paced the Wildcats thus far…McDonell scored a career-high 23 points in the win over Felician and netted 22 points in the win over Bridgeport…she leads the team in assists (3.3 apg) and steals (18)…Saba scored 24 points in the loss to Notre Dame and is averaging a team-high 6.9 rebounds…Jordan Heinold (8.4 ppg) scored 21 points in the loss to UDC and has made a team-high 15 three-pointers…Galus (7.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg) totaled 14 points and eight boards against Nyack, while Pringle (6.7 ppg) stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals against Nyack. |
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| NYIT SCOUTING REPORT (6-5, 1-3 ECC) |
| New York Tech returns 10 players and four starters from last year's team that finished 26-9 (18-2 ECC), claimed the ECC regular-season championship and advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Division II Tournament…first-year head coach Kenny Parham must overcome the loss of 2015-16 ECC Player of the Year Dina Ragab…NYIT was voted second in the 2016-17 ECC preseason poll…the Bears won four their first five games, but are just 2-4 over their last six…NYIT snapped a three-game losing streak and picked up its first ECC win following a 68-54 win at St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday…league losses have come against LIU Post (62-57), Bridgeport (82-73) and Queens (72-61)…senior forward Shannon Duer, a second-team All-ECC pick last year, leads the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 rpg) and has registered five double-doubles on the year…she totaled 14 points and eight boards in a 72-60 win over defending regional champion Bentley College…freshman Margaret Knollmeyer is off to an impressive start and is averaging 13.6 points and 9.1 rebounds…she netted a season-high 27 points in a 70-67 loss to Goldey-Beacom last week…junior Nina Vukosavljevic (13.1 ppg, 18 3pt fgs, 7.5 apg, 22 stls) and seniors Shanice Allen (11.0 ppg, 15 3pt fgs, 21 stls) and Julie Williams (9.9 ppg, 14 3pt fgs) and have also produced…Vukosavljevic was a second-team All-ECC pick last year and totaled 20 points and five assists in the win over Bentley. |
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| THE HISTORY vs. NYIT |
| New York Tech has prevailed in each of the previous six meetings. |
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| Previous Results: |
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| Feb. 21, 2016 - NYIT 75, Daemen 58 |
@ Daemen | BOX SCORE | RECAP |
| Jan. 17, 2016 - NYIT 76, Daemen 48 |
@ NYIT | BOX SCORE | RECAP |
| Feb. 28, 2015 - NYIT 88, Daemen 59 |
@ NYIT | BOX SCORE | RECAP |
| Jan. 24, 2015 - NYIT 71, Daemen 67 |
@ Daemen | BOX SCORE | RECAP |
| Feb. 2, 2014 - NYIT 81, Daemen 73 |
@ Daemen | BOX SCORE | RECAP |
| Dec. 15, 2013 - NYIT 79, Daemen 62 |
@ NYIT | BOX SCORE | RECAP |
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| THAT'S A FIRST |
| Daemen's 72-68 win at Bridgeport this past weekend marked the first time since the Wildcats started playing a predominantly NCAA Division II schedule in 2013-14 that they have defeated a team ranked in the D2SIDA Division II East Region media poll…Bridgeport entered the game riding a seven-game winning streak and ranked fourth in the region. |
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| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Seniors Natalie Galus and Leah McDonell have been a constants in the starting lineup since their freshman season…Galus has started 86 of a possible 89 games over the past four seasons and has totaled 834 points, 576 rebounds and 165 blocks over her career…she ranks fifth among Daemen's all-time leaders in career blocks…McDonell has started all 89 games and has racked up 750 points, 414 rebounds, 217 assists and 77 steals…she established career-highs for points (248), assists (69) and steals (34) in a season last year. |
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| SABA MAKES HISTORY |
| Sarah Saba became the first-ever women's basketball player from Daemen to earn first-team All-ECC honors last winter…Saba closed out the 2015-16 season as Daemen's leader in points (432), rebounds (165), blocks (44) and steals (36), and became the first player since former great Sarah Soroka in 2010-11 to lead the team in points, rebounding, blocks and steals…Saba has played in all 63 games over the past three seasons (60 as a starter) and has totaled 962 points (15.3 ppg) and 430 rebounds (6.8 rpg)…she has scored in double figures in 54 of her 63 career games and stands just 38 points shy of becoming the 23rd player in program history to score 1,000 points. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| The Wildcats return to action Monday (Dec. 19) when they host Saint Anselm College of the Northeast-10 Conference in a non-league tilt. |
