GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 24
Daemen Wildcats (10-13, 7-6 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (16-7, 10-3 ECC)
Friday, Feb. 9 |Â 6 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. |Â Lumsden Gymnasium
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Game Day
THE LEAD
The Daemen College women's basketball team hosts long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College Friday (Feb. 9) in an East Coast Conference game. The two teams played a triple overtime thriller in Rochester last month, with the Redhawks prevailing 97-91. Daemen has won five of its last seven games and enters the weekend in fifth place in the ECC standings with five games remaining in the regular-season. The top six teams earn a bid to the upcoming ECC Championship Tournament. Daemen is looking to make its first-ever appearance in the ECC Tournament since joining the league in 2013-14.
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 five of their last seven games and are 8-6 since ending the seven-game losing streak. Daemen lost to regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College (73-54) and defeated the District of Columbia (71-62) 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 22 games this season—the longest streak of double-digit scoring for her career—and leads the ECC in scoring average (17.8 ppg.). She also leads the team in rebounds per game (7.0) and steals (30) and ranks second in blocks (31) and assists (54). 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.
CLOSING IN ON 1,700
Sarah Saba scored her 1,500th career point during the triple overtime loss to Roberts Wesleyan last month and enters Friday's game 34 points shy of becoming the sixth player in program history to reach 1,700 points. She has played in all 104 games over the past four seasons (100 as a starter) and has totaled 1,666 points (16.0 ppg), 728 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 214 assist, 150 blocks and 139 steals. She ranks sixth in career points, 10th in career rebounds and sixth in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. She has scored in double figures in 90 of her 104 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. Saba has also scored 400 or more points in each of her four seasons—making her just the second player in program history to do so. Amy King (1995-99) was previously the only player to score 400 or more points in four-straight seasons.
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 84 of a possible 104 games over her career. She has been limited to just six games this season. 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 over 17 minutes a game off the bench this season. She scored a career-high 18 points in the win over UDC last weekend and is averaging 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. She presently ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in both total blocks (33) and fifth in blocks per game (1.4).
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 ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in assists per game (3.6). She has totaled 40 assists and just 12 turnovers over the last eight games and leads the ECC in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.3). 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 23 games this year (8 starts) and is averaging 6.1 points with a team-high 36 three-pointers (11th in the ECC). She drilled five three-pointers and scored 17 points a recent win over Mercy.
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 19 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 nine times and ranks second on the team in points per game (8.6). 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 23 games and contributed a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds in a recent win over Mercy. She is averaging 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. White has started 16 games and is averaging 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds with 28 three-pointers. She has scored in double figures in eight of the last 14 games and has recorded two double-doubles on the year.
ROOKIE HONORS FOR WHITE AND FILBERT
Daemen has collected ECC Rookie of the Week honors four times in the past seven weeks. Caroline White collected the honor for the second-straight week (and the third time this season) this past Monday for games games played January 29-February 4. White also collected the honor for games played January 22-28 and December 11-17. Redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert earned the honor for games played January 1-7. Filbert has totaled 198 points this year, while White has contributed 189. 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.
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 had a five-game winning streak snapped following a 71-53 setback at St. Thomas Aquinas last weekend and are ranked ninth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll. The Redhawks feature a balanced offense that leads the ECC in points per game (75.7) and ranks second in three-pointers made per game (7.6). Sophomores Emily Miller and Taya Andrews and senior Lucy Covley have paced the Redhawks thus far. Miller has scored in double figures in 22 of 23 games and has registered a league-high 12 double-doubles. She is averaging 14.9 points and 9.1 rebounds. Andrews scored 29 points in the triple OT win over Daemen last month and is averaging 11.7 points. Covley has led the ECC in three-pointers made the past three seasons and has made a league-high 70 this year. She had six three-pointers and 18 points in the loss to St. Thomas Aquinas last weekend and is averaging 11.9 points. Additional production has come from senior Nacedah James (10.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, 26 stls) and sophomore Sara Nady (9.0 ppg, 44 3pt fgs). Nady also leads the ECC in three-point field goal percentage (.444), while Covley ranks fourth (.400).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 33-22
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: RWC 97, Daemen 91 (3 OT) | Jan. 6, 2018 | Rochester, N.Y.
More Details
DID YOU KNOW?
Close games between Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan have been the norm in recent years, as six of the last seven meetings have been decided by eight points or less—and two of those games were decided by just a single point. Last month's triple overtime thriller marked the first time since January 10, 2012 that a game between the two rivals has been decided in overtime—and the first time in the 27-year history between the schools that a game has gone into triple overtime.
ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they close out their 2017-18 home schedule by hosting Molloy College Friday (Feb. 16) and Queens College (Feb. 18) in ECC games.
Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
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