AMHERST N.Y. - Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y.) of the Daemen College women's basketball team has been named to the Division II Conference Commisioner's Association (D2CCA) 2017-18 All-East Region second team. Saba, who earlier this month earned her third straight first team All-East Coast Conference selection, becomes the first Daemen player to be named to the All-East Region team since the Wildcats transitioned to NCAA Division II, beginning with the 2013-14 season. 

Saba, a 6-foot senior guard, joins fellow East Coast Conference players Jenna Erickson and Sasha Patterson on the All-East Region team. Erickson, a senior guard from Saint Thomas Aquinas College, was named to the first team, while Patterson, a senior forward from Long Island University Post, was named to the second team. In addition to the All-Region teams, Stonehill College's senior guard Kelly Martin was named the 2017-18 D2CCA East Region Player of the Year. 

Saba led the Wildcats to their first-ever ECC Tournament berth this year and closed out the season as Daemen's leader in minutes played (977), points (517), rebounds (203), steals (52) and blocks (38). She also managed to rank second on the team in assists (74). She becomes the first player in program history to lead the team in total points four straight years, and also the first player in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds, blocks and steals twice during their career. Saba also accomplished that as a sophomore. She also closed out the regular season as the ECC scoring leader (495 points / 17.7 ppg.) making her the first women's basketball player from Daemen to claim the ECC regular season scoring title. Not to be overlooked, Saba is the first Daemen women's basketball player to score 500 points in a season since Sarah Soroka scored a program-record 755 in 2010-11.

After scoring just three points in a season-opening win over American International College, Saba scored in double figures in all 28 games after that—the longest streak of double-digit scoring in her career. She scored 20 or more points 11 times during the year, and poured in a career-high 30 points in a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia Union University. She was named ECC Player of the Week after totaling 50 points, 20 rebounds, six blocks and three steals during a pair of non-conference road games at Saint Anselm College and Saint Michael's College. She also totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to their first-ever win over New York Institute of Technology, and registered 24-points and a career-high 15-rebounds in a 55-50 win over Molloy College. She capped her outstanding career by totaling 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in a 76-64 loss to Roberts Wesleyan College in the opening round of the ECC Tournament on February 28. 

Including postseason play, among the ECC leaders she ranks first in points per game (17.8) and field goals made (191), second in total points (517), fourth in free throws made (101), fifth in minutes per game (33.7) and blocks per game (1.3), ninth in steals per game (1.8), 10th in rebounds per game (7.0) and 11th in assists per game (2.6). 

Saba burst onto the collegiate scene four years ago. A six-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she led the team and ranked first among ECC freshmen in scoring (14.2 ppg) and also ranked second on the team and led all ECC freshmen in rebounding (7.2 rpg). Her efforts earned her second team All-America honors from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). As a sophomore she became the first player since former great Sarah Soroka in 2010-11 to lead the team in points, rebounding, blocks and steals and collected first-team All-ECC honors. She repeated as a first-team All-ECC selection as a junior after averaging 15.9 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds.

Saba played in all 110 games over the past four seasons (106 as a starter) and totaled 1,774 points (16.1 ppg), 770 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 234 assist, 157 blocks and 157 steals. She is just the third player in program history to total at least 1,700 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks. She ranks fifth in career points, seventh in career scoring average, seventh in career rebounds, tenth in career rebound average and sixth in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. She scored in double figures in 96 of her 110 career games.

Daemen closed out the year with an 12-17 overall record and a 9-9 showing in the ECC under the guidance of second-year head coach Jenepher Banker. The nine conference wins were the most in a season since the Wildcats started playing a full ECC schedule in 2013-14.

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