GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (4-10, 1-3 ECC) vs. District of Columbia Firebirds (2-12, 0-5 ECC)
Wednesday, Jan. 10  | 10 a.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium

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THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball team opens a three-game home stand by hosting the University of the District of Columbia Wednesday (Jan. 10) at 10 a.m.

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 2-3 over their last five games and are coming off a 97-91 triple overtime loss at regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan Saturday.

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 13 games this season and leads the ECC in scoring average (18.3 ppg.). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (6.9) and steals (20) and ranks second in assists (32). She scored a career-high 30 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia Union and was named ECC Player of the Week following her efforts against St. Anselm and St. Michael's. Saba's accomplishments were featured in her hometown newspaper The Lancaster Bee.

1,500 AND COUNTING
Sarah Saba became the sixth player in program history to score 1,500 career points during the triple overtime loss to Roberts Wesleyan this past Saturday. She has played in all 95 games over the past four seasons (91 as a starter) and has totaled 1,513 points (15.9 ppg), 663 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 192 assist, 136 blocks and 125 steals. She has scored in double figures in 81 of her 95 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 95 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 fifth among ECC players in three-pointers made (27) and fourth in 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 3.3 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 5.2 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 12 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 11.0 points since entering the starting lineup six games ago. She scored a career-high 19 points in a loss to Bridgeport and registered her first career double-double (19 pts, 10 rebs) in the triple overtime loss to Roberts Wesleyan.

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 six 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 14 games and registered a double-double (14 pts / 13 rebs) against Mercyhurst. She is averaging 5.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. White has started seven games and is averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds with 15 three-pointers.

ROOKIE HONORS FOR WHITE AND FILBERT
Caroline White and Tiara Filbert have both been honored as the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week this season. White collected the honor for games played December 11-17. The freshman forward came off the bench to help the Wildcats earn a victory over Mercy, followed by a loss to Bridgeport. White averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over the two games while shooting 47.8 percent from the field (11-for-23) and 50 percent from three-point range (5-for-10). Filbert collected the honor for games played January 1-7. She played 53 of a possible 55 minutes in Daemen's lone game of the week—a 97-91 triple overtime loss at regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan. She connected of 6-of-14 shots from the field and totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds en route to her first career double-double. She established her career-high for three-pointers (4), rebounds (10) and steals (3) in the game, and the 19 points equaled her career high she posted in a recent 64-60 loss at the University of Bridgeport.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCOUTING REPORT
District of Columbia returns just one player and no starters from last year's team that finished 3-25 overall and 2-16 in the ECC. Former assistant coach John Nakpodia takes over control of the program after Juan Dixon left after one season to become the head men's basketball coach at Coppin State. UDC was voted ninth in the 2017-18 ECC preseason poll. The Firebirds won two of their first three games, but enter Wednesday's game riding an 11-game losing streak. UDC opened the new year with losses to Bridgeport (78-54) and Mercy (53-51). Freshman guard Daeja Quick has paced the Firebirds thus far. A three-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she has scored in double figures in 12 of the first 14 games and ranks second among all ECC players in points per game (16.0). She scored a season-high 27 points in a 79-75 loss to Molloy and also leads the team in three-point field goals (20), assists per game (3.0) and steals per game (2.3). Additional production has come from junior transfers Natasha Roy and Mia-Alexis Lloyd. Roy, a 5-3 guard, scored 25 points in a season-opening win over Southern Connecticut and is averaging 10.5 points with 20 three-pointers. Lloyd, a 5-6 guard, scored 13 points in the loss to Bridgeport last week and is averaging 10.2 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. District of Columbia: 1-7
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 85, UDC 56  | Jan. 21, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.
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ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats return to action Friday (Jan. 12) when it hosts Long Island University—Post in an ECC game.

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