GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (2-7, 0-1 ECC) vs. Mercy Mavericks (3-7, 0-2 ECC)
Friday, Dec. 15 |  6 p.m.
Nyack, N.Y. | Bowman Gymnasium - Nyack College

Daemen Wildcats (2-7, 0-1 ECC) vs. Bridgeport Purple Knights (3-6, 0-2 ECC)
Sunday, Dec. 17 |  1 p.m.
Bridgeport, Conn. |  Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
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Game Day

THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball travels to Mercy College (Dec. 15) and the University of Bridgeport (Dec. 17) for East Coast Conference games this weekend. The game against Mercy will be played at Nyack College.

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). Daemen opened the 2017-18 schedule with two-straight wins, but has dropped seven-straight since. The Wildcats opened ECC play with a 65-44 loss to nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College last week.

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. She has scored in double figures in eight-straight games this season and ranks fifth among the ECC scoring leaders (16.9 ppg). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (6.2) and steals (13) and is tied for the team lead in assists (21). She scored a career-high 30 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia Union and netted 25 in a loss to Mercyhurst.

SABA CRACKS TOP-10
Sarah Saba has moved into seventh place in career scoring among Daemen's all-time leaders. She has played in all 90 games over the past four seasons (86 as a starter) and has totaled 1,409 points (15.7 ppg), 623 rebounds (6.9 rpg), 181 assist, 127 blocks and 119 steals. She has scored in double figures in 76 of her 90 career games and has registered 18 career double-doubles.

SELECT COMPANY
With her 30-point performance against Virginia Union, Sarah Saba becomes just the fifth Daemen women's basketball player since the 2010-11 season to score 30 or more points in a game. Only Leah McDonell (2016-17), Raeann Stillell (2013-14), Ellie Allen (2011-12) and Sarah Soroka (2010-11) have reached the 30-point milestone over that span.

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 81 of a possible 90 games over her career. She made her 2017-18 debut against Le Moyne on Nov. 25 and totaled four rebounds in 17 minutes. Egan played in 20 of 26 games last year and has is averaging 14 minutes a game off the bench this season. She totaled 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench in a win over American International and registered career-highs for rebounds (9) and blocks (6) in the loss to STAC.

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 made a career-high six three-pointers and scored 20 points in a loss to Le Moyne and registered her first career double-double (15 pts / 10 rebs) in a loss to Gannon. She ranks fourth among ECC players in three-pointers made (23) and third in three-point field goal percentage (.451). She is averaging 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. Pringle started 20 games and averaged 27.8 minutes, 6.3 points and 2.6 assists last year. She played 36 minutes and totaled seven points and five assists against Gannon. Jones played in all 26 games (5 starts) last year and averaged 14.2 minutes and 4.7 points with 22 three-pointers. She has started eight games this season and is averaging 7.4 points with 17 three-pointers and 21 assists. She went 5-for-5 from downtown and scored a career-high 18 points in a loss to Notre Dame.

BACK FROM INJURY
Redshirt senior Taylor Heinold and redshirt 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 has played in eight games this season 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 has averaged 20 minutes a game off the bench over the first nine games and scored a season-high 16 points against Nyack. She ranks fifth on the team in scoring average (6.1 ppg).

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 started the first eight games before sitting out the STAC game. She registered a double-double (12 pts, 13 rebs) in the win over Nyack and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. Young has started all nine games and registered a double-double (14 pts / 13 rebs) against Mercyhurst. She is averaging 5.0 points and 5.6 rebounds. White has started four games and scored a team-high 15 points in the season-opening win over AIC.

MERCY SCOUTING REPORT
Mercy returns nine players and five starters from last year's team that finished 4-22 overall and 2-16 in the ECC. Mercy was voted 10th in the 2017-18 ECC preseason poll. Head coach Jim Harter returns for his second season. The Mavericks opened the year with non-league wins over Dominican (73-70) and Boomfield (80-59), but are just 1-7 over their last eight games. MC opened ECC play with losses to NYIT (80-49) and LIU Post (77-59) and is coming off an 81-76 loss at Chestnut Hill on Tuesday. The Mavericks feature a balanced scoring attack led by freshman forward Amber Brown, who is averaging 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. She registered her first career double-double (19 pts, 10 rebs) in the loss to Chestnut Hill Tuesday. Senior forward Latisha Clark scored 15 points in the early season win over Bloomfield and is averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds. Additional production has come from senior forward Monet Keane-Dawes and sophomore guard Caralie Wilson. Keane-Dawes totaled 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 75-60 loss to Georgian Court and is averaging 8.0 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds. Wilson is tied for the team lead in three-pointers (13) and is averaging 8.8 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Mercy: 6-2
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 64, Mercy 59 | Jan. 28, 2017 | Valhalla N.Y.
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BRIDGEPORT SCOUTING REPORT
Bridgeport returns eight players and two starters from last year's team that finished 15-14 overall and 9-9 in the ECC. UB was voted fourth in the 2017-18 ECC preseason poll. The Purple Knights won three of their first five games, but are winless in the last four over. UB suffered a 60-56 loss to American International on Tuesday. The Purple Knights host Roberts Wesleyan College Friday, before taking on Daemen Sunday. UB opened ECC play with losses to LIU Post (68-61) and New York Tech (62-50). Sophomore guard Kadijah Dickson and 6-foot-5 junior center Samnell Vonleh have paced the Purple Knights. Dickson totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to LIU Post. She leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg) and ranks third in rebounding (6.8 rpg). Vonleh, a third-team all-conference pick last year, had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks against AIC and is averaging 12.2 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds. She also leads the ECC in blocks with 25. Additional production has come from senior guard Sofia Ermeidou (7.3 ppg, 17 3pt FGs) and senior forward Morgen Caution (7.9 ppg, 7.9 reg).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Bridgeport: 6-2
Streak: W 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 83, UB 78 | Feb. 2, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.
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ON THE HORIZON
Wildcats are idle until after Christmas when they travel to Saint Anselm College (Dec. 29) and Saint Michael's College (Dec. 30) for non-league games. Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.