GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 22
Daemen Wildcats (9-12, 6-5 ECC) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (18-3, 10-1 ECC)
Friday, Feb. 2 | 5:30 p.m.
Sparkill, N.Y. | Aquinas Hall

Game No. 23
Daemen Wildcats (9-12, 6-5 ECC) vs. District of Columbia Firebirds (3-18, 1-10 ECC)
Sunday, Feb. 4 | 1 p.m.
Washington, D.C. | UDC Sports Complex

GAME LINKS vs. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Live Stats
Watch Live on ECC Network
Game Day

GAME LINKS vs. DISCTICT OF COLUMBIA
Live Stats
Watch Live on ECC Network
Game Day

THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball team hits the road this weekend to face St. Thomas Aquinas College (Feb. 2) and the University of the District of Columbia (Feb. 4) in ECC games. Daemen has won four of its last five games and enters the weekend in fifth place in the ECC standings.

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 have won four of their last five games and are 7-5 since ending the seven-game losing streak. Daemen defeated Mercy (81-46) and Bridgeport (63-44) 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. 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 20 games this season and leads the ECC in scoring average (18.2 ppg.). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (7.2) and steals (30) and ranks second in blocks (29) and assists (46). She scored a career-high 30 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia Union and was named ECC Player of the Week on Jan. 2 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 on Jan. 6. She has played in all 102 games over the past four seasons (98 as a starter) and has totaled 1,640 points (16.1 ppg), 719 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 206 assist, 148 blocks and 135 steals. She ranks sixth in career points, 10th in career rebounds and seventh in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. She has scored in double figures in 88 of her 102 career games and has registered 22 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 in her fourth season with the team and has played in 83 of a possible 102 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 17 minutes a game off the bench this season. Over the last nine games, Egan is contributing 6.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game off the bench. She presently ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in both total blocks (31) and blocks per game (1.5).

SEASONED SOPHOMORES
Sophomores Jordan Heinold, Carina Pringle and Sydney Jones all played significant minutes as rookies last 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 started seven of the first 13 games this season before suffering a season-ending injury. She made a career-high six three-pointers and scored 20 points in a loss to Le Moyne on Nov. 25 and registered her first career double-double (15 pts / 10 rebs) in a loss to Gannon three days later. She was averaging 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds with 27 three-pointers prior to the injury. 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 a win over St. Michael's and is averaging a team-high 3.6 assists per game. She has totaled 33 assists and just eight turnovers over the last six games and leads the ECC in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.4). 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 played in all 21 games this year (8 starts) and is averaging 6.3 points with a team-high 34 three-pointers (9th in the ECC). She drilled five three-pointers and scored 17 points in the win over Mercy last weekend.

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 18 games this season and totaled eight points in a recent win over UDC. 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 scored in double figures in seven of the last 11 games and ranks second on the team in points per game (8.9). She scored a career-high 19 points in a loss to Bridgeport on Dec. 17 and registered her first career double-double (19 pts, 10 rebs) in the triple overtime loss to Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 6.

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 suffering a season-ending injury. She registered a double-double (12 pts, 13 rebs) a win over Nyack and was averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds before the injury. Young has started all 21 games and contributed a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over Mercy this past weekend. She is averaging 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. White has started 12 games and is averaging 7.8 points and 5.1 rebounds with 25 three-pointers.

ROOKIE HONORS FOR WHITE AND FILBERT
Daemen has collected ECC Rookie of the Week honors three times in the past six weeks. Caroline White collected the honor for the second time this season on Monday for games games played January 22-28. White also collected the honor for games played December 11-17. Redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert earned the honor for games played January 1-7. Filbert has totaled 186 points this year, while White has contributed 163. They are looking to become the first freshmen to score 200-plus points in the same season since 2013-14 when Taylor Heinold (240) and Natalie Galus (290) did so.

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 were ranked nationally earlier this year and enter Friday's game ranked fifth in the D2SIDA East Region poll. STAC went 7-2 during the month of January and is coming off a 71-52 win over Queens on Tuesday. The Spartans feature one of the top defenses in the nation, ranking fourth among all Division II schools in scoring defense (53.3 papg). Senior guard Jenna Erickson, the ECC Rookie of the Year three years ago and a first-team All-ECC pick last year, has paced the Spartans this season. She drilled six three-pointer and scored 21 points in STAC's win over Daemen in December and ranks fifth among ECC scoring leaders (16.7 ppg). She also ranks second in the league in assists per game (4.7) three-pointers made (58). Senior forward Adiya Henderson earned third-team All-ECC honors last winter and is averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds this year. She leads the team and ranks second among the ECC leaders in blocks (42). Senior Alex Bertolino and junior Julia Winnik are both averaging 8.0 points, while freshmen Zaria Thomas and Emily Preston have made immediate contributions. Thomas scored 18 points in a season-opening win over Bloomfield and is averaging 7.1 points with 31 three-pointers. Preston contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Molloy last week is averaging 6.8 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Thomas Aquinas: 2-8
Streak: Lost 3
Last Meeting: STAC 65, Daemen 44 | Dec. 8, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.
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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, before suffering through a 16-game losing streak. UDC snapped the skid with a 63-59 win over Molloy last week, and is coming off a 61-60 loss to Queens on Saturday. The Firebirds host Roberts Wesleyan Friday, before taking on Daemen Sunday. Freshman guard Daeja Quick has paced the Firebirds thus far. A four-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she has scored in double figures in 18 of 21 games and ranks fourth among all ECC players in points per game (15.7) and steals (48). She totaled 17 points and five steals in the loss to Queens last weekend. Additional production has come from junior transfers Natasha Roy and Mia-Alexis Lloyd. Roy, a 5-3 guard, had four three-points and 13 points in the win over Molloy and is averaging 9.7 points with a team-high 34 three-pointers. Lloyd, a 5-6 guard, scored a team-high 18 points in the win over Molloy and is averaging 11.1 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. District of Columbia: 2-7
Streak: Won 2
Last Meeting: Daemen 78, UDC 58  | Jan. 10, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Daemen posted wins over Mercy (81-46) and Bridgeport (63-44) last weekend, which marked the first time since the 2012-13 season that the Wildcats have held back-to-back opponents to less than 50 points. In addition, the 44 points allowed against Bridgeport were the fewest points scored by an opponent during Daemen's NCAA Division II era which began in 2013-14.

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats are idle until Friday (Feb. 9) when they begin a stretch of three-straight home games by hosting long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College in an ECC game.

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