GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (3-8, 1-2 ECC) vs. St. Anselm Hawks (7-5, 4-3 NE-10)
Friday, Dec. 29 | 12 p.m.
Manchester, N.H. | Stoutenburgh Gymnasium
Daemen Wildcats (3-8, 1-2 ECC) vs. St. Michael's Purple Knights (5-5, 2-5 NE-10)
Saturday, Dec. 30 | 3 p.m.
Colchester, Vt. | Ross Sports Center
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THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball return from the holiday break with back-to-back road contests against Northeast-10 conference opponents, beginning Friday at St. Anselm followed by a mid-afternoon matchup Saturday against St. Michael's.
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. The Wildcats, who snapped their seven-game streak with a 72-52 win at Mercy on Dec. 15, are coming off a 64-60 loss at Bridgeport on Dec. 17.
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 ten-straight games this season and ranks second among the ECC scoring leaders (16.6 ppg). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (6.5) and steals (16) and ranks second on the team in assists (23). 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 92 games over the past four seasons (88 as a starter) and has totaled 1,440 points (15.7 ppg), 638 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 183 assist, 129 blocks and 121 steals. She has scored in double figures in 78 of her 92 career games and has registered 19 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 (25) and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.397). She is averaging 8.9 points and 4.8 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 6.6 points with 19 three-pointers and 23 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 nine 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 21.3 minutes a game off the bench over the first 11 games and scored a season-high 19 points against Bridgeport. She ranks third on the team in scoring average (7.1 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.
WINTER WHITE OUT
Rookie Caroline White was named the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Co-Rookie of the Week for games played December 11-17. The freshman forward came off the bench to help the Wildcats earn a victory over Mercy, followed by the loss to Bridgeport. White was anything but ice cold as she averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field (11-for-23) and 50 percent from three-point range (5-for-10). White's Rookie of the Week selection marks Daemen's first since teammate Sarah Saba earned the accolade six times during the 2014-15 season.
ST. ANSELM SCOUTING REPORT
St. Anselm is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (Northeast Division), and the Hawks are led by Corey Boilard who is in his first season as the team's head coach after spending the previous five seasons leading the Division III program at Johnson & Wales (R.I.). The Hawks, who advanced to the NE-10 Tournament semifinals as part of their 19-10 season a year ago, return seven players including two starters - senior guards Clairee Putnam and Ali Glennon. St. Anselm was picked fourth in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason poll. After getting off to a fast start (5-2), the Hawks are just 2-3 in the month of December. They are coming off a 77-71 loss at NYIT before the NCAA-mandated holiday break. Newcomer Shannon Ryan, a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward who began her career at Division I Boston College, is averaging team-highs of 19.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, second-best in the NE-10 in both categories. Ryan opened the season with six consecutive games of at least 20 points, including 30 in a season-opening loss to Caldwell. Putnam (7.7 ppg) and Glennon (8.8 ppg) have started all 12 contests and produced thus far.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Anselm: 0-1
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: St. Anselm 77, Daemen 69 | Dec. 19, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.
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ST. MICHAEL'S SCOUTING REPORT
St. Michael's is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (Northeast Division), and the Purple Knights are led by fifth-year head coach Shannon Kynoch who has posted a 42-72 record in her tenure to date. The Purple Knights return nine players, including three starters, from their 2016-17 team which went 12-14 overall and 10-11 in league play. Among the returners is senior guard Leah Spencer who earned third-team All-NE-10 honors last season after averaging 15.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The Purple Knights were picked seventh in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason poll, and they've started the season by splitting 10 contests with a perfect 3-0 mark in non-league play. Non-league wins have come over American International and ECC affiliates Bridgeport and District of Columbia. Junior forward Samantha Delaney has been the catalyst thus far, producing 13.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Spencer (8.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) is among three players averaging between 8.5 and 9.0 points per game; fellow returners Brianna Purcell (9.0 ppg) and Emily Ferreri (8.5 ppg) are the others. The Purple Knights are coming off a 65-60 win over Merrimack on Dec. 9, and they'll host Roberts Wesleyan on Friday before facing Daemen on Saturday.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Michael's: 1-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: St. Michael's 59, Daemen 58 | Dec. 30, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.
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ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats begin the New Year by jumping back into ECC action against longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, January, 6.
