GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (4-9, 1-2 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (9-5, 3-1 ECC)
Saturday, Jan. 6 |  2 p.m.
Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center

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Game Day

THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball travels to long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College Saturday for an East Coast Conference game Saturday (Jan. 6). It will mark Daemen's fifth game at RWC's Voller Athletic Center this season. The Wildcats opened the 2017-18 season with back-to-back tournaments hosted by RWC.

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 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, before struggling through a seven-game losing streak. The Wildcats are 2-2 over their last four games and are coming off a 69-56 win at St. Michael's College last weekend.

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 the last 12 games this season and leads the ECC in scoring average (17.9 ppg.). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (7.0) and steals (19) and ranks third in assists (25). She scored a career-high 30 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia Union and was named ECC Player of the Week this past Monday following her efforts against St. Anselm and St. Michael's. Saba's accomplishments were featured in her hometown newspaper The Lancaster Bee.

SABA CRACKS TOP-10
Sarah Saba has moved into seventh place in career scoring among Daemen's all-time leaders, and enters Saturday's game just four points shy of moving into sixth place. She has played in all 94 games over the past four seasons (90 as a starter) and has totaled 1,490 points (15.9 ppg), 658 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 185 assist, 135 blocks and 124 steals. She has scored in double figures in 80 of her 94 career games and has registered 20 career double-doubles.

SELECT COMPANY
With her 30-point performance against Virginia Union, Sarah Saba became 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 94 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 15 minutes a game off the bench this season. She totaled nine points in 18 minutes off the bench in the win over St. Michael's.

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 both three-pointers made (27) and three-point field goal percentage (.391). She is averaging 8.0 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 38 minutes and totaled a career-high 16 points in the win over St. Michael's and is averaging a team-high 3.2 assists per game. 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 5.6 points with 19 three-pointers and 26 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 11 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 9.4 points since entering the starting lineup five games ago. She scored a career-high 19 points in a loss to Bridgeport and contributed 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds in the win over St. Michael's.

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, but has missed the last five games due to injury. 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 13 games and registered a double-double (14 pts / 13 rebs) against Mercyhurst. She is averaging 5.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. White has started six games and is averaging 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds with 14 three-pointers.

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.

ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Roberts Wesleyan returns nine players and four starters from last year's team that finished 21-13 overall (11-7 ECC) and qualified for the six-team ECC Tournament. RWC was voted tied for second in the 2017-18 ECC preseason poll. The Redhawks have won four of their last five games and are ranked 10th in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll. RWC has a four-game winning streak snapped following a 77-59 loss at Stonehill College on Monday. The Redhawks lead the ECC in points per game (76.1) and rank second in three-pointers made per game (7.2) and three-point field goal percentage (.345). Sophomores Emily Miller and Taya Andrews and senior Lucy Covley have paced the Redhawks thus far. Miller has scored in double figures in all 14 games and has registered a league-high seven double-doubles. She is averaging 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds. Andrews scored 20 points in a recent 82-72 win over St. Michael's and is averaging 11.3 points. Covley has led the ECC in three-pointers made the past three seasons and has made a league-high 43 this year. She had four three-pointers and 14 points in the loss to Stonehill and is averaging 11.1 points. Additional production has come from senior Nacedah James (9.4 ppg, 3.3 apg, 25 stls) and sophomore Sara Nady (8.4 ppg, 24 3pt fgs).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 33-21
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: RWC 69, Daemen 68 | Feb. 25, 2017 | Rochester, N.Y.
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ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats return to action Wednesday (Jan. 10) when it hosts the University of the District of Columbia in an ECC game.

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