GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (2-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. #19 St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (7-0, 1-0 ECC)
Friday, Dec. 8 | 6 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
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THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball team opens East Coast Conference play by hosting unbeaten and nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas 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. Banker served as the head coach at Penn State-Behrend for five seasons (1988-93) 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 her four-year career and totaled 965 points, 646 rebounds and 198 blocks. 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 six-straight since. The Wildcats are coming off a 70-69 loss at Mercyhurst University 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 seven-straight games this season and ranks first among all East Coast Conference players in scoring average (17.3 ppg). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (6.3), blocks (7) and steals (13) and is tied for the team lead in assists (20). She scored a career-high 30 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia Union and netted 25 in the loss to Mercyhurst.
SABA CRACKS TOP-10
Sarah Saba has moved into eighth place in career scoring among Daemen's all-time leaders. She has played in all 89 games over the past four seasons (85 as a starter) and has totaled 1,395 points (15.7 ppg), 617 rebounds (6.9 rpg), 180 assist, 126 blocks and 118 steals. She has scored in double figures in 75 of her 89 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 89 games over her career. She made her 2017-18 debut last 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 13 minutes a game off the bench this season. She totaled 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench in a win over American International.
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 second among ECC players in three-pointers made (21) and leads the ECC in three-point field goal percentage (.477). She is averaging 8.9 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 all eight games this season and is averaging 8.4 points with 17 three-pointers and 20 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 seven 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 19 minutes a game off the bench over the first eight games and scored a season-high 16 points against Nyack. She ranks fifth on the team in scoring average (6.5 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 and Young have both started all eight games. Sinnott registered a double-double (12 pts, 13 rebs) in the win over Nyack and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. Young registered a double-double (14 pts / 13 rebs) against Mercyhurst and is averaging 5.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. White has started four games and scored a team-high 15 points in the season-opening win over AIC.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SCOUTING REPORT
St. Thomas Aquinas returns 11 players and three starters from last year's team that finished 19-11 overall (12-6 in the ECC) and advanced to the semifinals of the ECC Tournament. STAC was voted first in the 2017-18 ECC preseason poll. The Spartans are ranked 19th in the D2SIDA National poll and third in the D2SIDA East Region poll. STAC opened league play last weekend with a 74-68 win at Roberts Wesleyan. The Spartans feature one of the top defenses in the nation, ranking fifth among all Division II schools in scoring defense (48.9 papg) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (.329). Senior guard Jenna Erickson, the ECC Rookie of the Year three years ago and a first-team All-ECC pick last year, tops the list of returning players. She scored a season-high 23 points in the win over RWC and ranks third among ECC scoring leaders (16.7 ppg). She also ranks second in the league in assist (39) and fourth in three-pointers made (19). Senior forward Adiya Henderson earned third-team All-ECC honors last winter and is averaging 8.1 points and 6.0 rebounds this year, with a team-high 15 blocks. Freshmen Zaria Thomas and Emily Preston have made immediate contributions. Thomas scored 18 points in a season-opening win over Bloomfield and is averaging 8.9 points with 14 three-pointers. Preston contributed 13 points and eight rebounds in a recent 86-54 win over Caldwell and is averaging 6.4 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Thomas Aquinas: 2-7
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: STAC 61, Daemen 46 | Feb. 15, 2017 | Sparkill, N.Y.
More Details
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen ranks first among ECC schools in three-point field goals made per game (8.6) and attempted (25.0) per game. The Wildcats also rank third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.345). STAC ranks second among ECC schools in three-pointers made per game (8.0) and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.378).
ON THE HORIZON
Wildcats are idle until next weekend when it travels to Mercy College (Dec. 15) and the University of Bridgeport (Dec. 17) for ECC games.
