GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (2-2, 0-0 ECC) vs. Notre Dame Falcons (3-2, 0-0 MEC)
Wednesday, Nov. 22 | 1 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
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THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball team makes its 2017-2018 home debut Wednesday when it plays host to Notre Dame College in a non-conference matchup. It marks the first of three-straight home games for the Wildcats. Both schools recently made the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II, the two squads were both long-time member of the now defunct American Mideast Conference during their NAIA days.
BANKER'S BACK
Jenepher Banker enters her second season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen after leading the Wildcats to an 11-15 overall record (8-10 ECC) last year. Banker arrived at 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.
DAEMEN QUICK FACTS
Daemen returns three starters and six players from last year's team that posted an 11-15 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the East Coast Conference. The Wildcats were voted eighth in the 2017-18 ECC preseason poll. Key losses include guard Leah McDonell and forward Natalie Galus. McDonell collected second-team All-ECC honors last year after ranking fifth among the ECC leaders in both scoring average (15.9) and field goal percentage (.498) and second in steals per game (2.6). She started 105 of a possible 107 games over her career and has racked up 1,005 points, 511 rebounds, 258 assists and 150 steals. Galus was a steady contributor over four-year career and totaled 965 points, 646 rebounds and 198 blocks over her career. She ranks fifth among Daemen's all-time leaders in career blocks and eighth in career three-point field goals made (144).
SUPERIOR SENIOR
Senior 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 as a sophomore and repeated the honor last year after averaging 15.9 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds. Saba scored her 1,000th career point during a loss to Saint Anselm last December—making her the 23rd player in program history to reach the 1,000 point plateau. She closed out her sophomore 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 83 games over the past three seasons (79 as a starter) and has totaled 1,321 points (15.5 ppg), 594 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 124 blocks and 111 steals. She has scored in double figures in 71 of her 85 career games and is just the 13th player in program history to score 1,300 points. She currently ranks 10th in program history for total points (1,321) behind Raeann Stillwell's 1,340 career points.
MORE EXPERIENCE
Senior Liz Miles and junior Erin Egan also return to the line up. Miles is entering her fourth season with the team and has played in 78 of a possible 83 games over the past three seasons. Egan played in 20 of 26 games last year and has appeared in 42 games over her two-year career. She totaled 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench in the win over AIC.
SEASONED SOPHOMORES
Sophomores Jordan Heinold, Carina Pringle and Sydney Jones all played significant minutes this season. Heinold started 21 games last year and averaged 26.2 minutes, 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds with a team-high 44 three-pointers. She hit four three-pointers and scored 14 points in just 19 minutes off the bench in the win over Nyack. Pringle started 20 games and averaged 27.8 minutes, 6.3 points and 2.6 assists last year. She played 30 minutes in the win over AIC and scored nine points, Jones played in all 26 games (5 starts) and averaged 14.2 minutes and 4.7 points with 22 three-pointers. She started both games last weekend and contributed 14 points in the loss to Lake Erie.
BACK FROM INJURY
Red-shirt senior Taylor Heinold and red-shirt freshman Tiara Filbert will look to contribute after missing the entire 2016-17 season due to injury. Heinold started all 26 games as a freshman in 2013-14 and averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She played in all 26 games two years ago (2015-16) after injuries limited her to just four games as a sophomore (2014-15). She averaged seven minutes a game off the bench in the opening weekend and totaled eight points against AIC. Filbert missed her freshman season after suffering a pre-season knee injury. She was a first-team Class A all-state and Greater Rochester girls basketball Player of the Year selection following her senior year at Batavia High School. She averaged 14.5 minutes a game off the bench last weekend and scored 12 points in the loss to Virginia Union.
THE NEWCOMERS
The 2017-18 roster features six newcomers—four freshmen and two transfers. Junior Erin Sinnott joins the Wildcats after playing the last two seasons at Division 1 University of Evansville. Sophomore Sarah Young, a former standout at Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, was a member of the women's basketball team at St. Bonaventure University last year. Freshman guard Khamera Muhammad and freshman forward Caroline White both enjoyed outstanding high school careers in the Rochester area. Muhammad was a first-team All-Greater Rochester selection following her senior season at Rochester Early College. White played at Airport High School and was a first-team All-Greater Rochester selection as a junior and senior. Freshmen Autumn Buchsenschutz and Taylor Perry will provide depth at guard. Buchsenschutz was a three-time all-district selection at Port Allegany High School. Perry was a three-time all-conference pick at Ogdensburg Free Academy. Sinnott and Young were in the starting lineup for both games last weekend. Sinnott knocked in 13 points in the loss to Lake Erie, while Young totaled 16 rebounds over the weekend.
NOTRE DAME SCOUTING REPORT
Notre Dame is a member of the Mountain East Conference and was voted to finish fourth in the 2017-18 MEC preseason poll. Lauren Macer, who was an assistant coach on the staff last season, is in her first season leading the Flacons as head coach this year. The Falcons graduated their lead scorer from last season, but return the rest of the top five in scoring from last year's team that finished 15-13 overall and 14-8 in the MEC. Senior Katie Cook returns after she was named to the All-MEC Second Team last season, she ranked in the top 10 in the MEC in rebounding (7.0 per game), field goal percentage (.459), blocks (0.75 per game), and assist-turnover ratio (+1.55 per game). Seina Adachi is also back, as a freshman she averaged 10.2 points per game despite only starting in 10 of the team's 28 games. NDC's 19-player roster features two true freshman, 13 sophomores, no juniors and four seniors. The Falcons enter the game with a 3-2 overall record and 2-0 conference mark. NDC defeated Mercyhurst (74-72 OT), Concord (66-64) and The University of Virgina's College at Wise (90-63), while dropping contests to California University of Pennsylvania (76-85) and the NCAA Division II defending champions Ashland University (71-108). Cook and Adachi have paced the Falcon offense thus far, netting 69 and 68 points thus far respectively. Sophomore Marisa Finazzo ranks first on the team in assists with 26 and second in rebounds with 22.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Notre Dame College: 17-3
Streak: Lost 3
Last Meeting: Notre Dame College 80, Daemen 74 | Nov. 23, 2016 | South Euclid, Ohio.
Recap
ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats continue a busy stretch of four games in nine days on Saturday, November 25, when it hosts Le Moyne College followed by another non-conference home contest against Gannon University on Tuesday, November 28.
