Women's Basketball | 4/11/2018 4:01:00 PM
AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College head women's basketball coach Jenepher Banker has announced the signing of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) will join the Wildcats for the 2018-19 academic year.
Ivy, a 5-foot-10 guard/forward, was a four-year member of the varsity girls' basketball team at East Grand Rapids High School and this winter led the Pioneers to their first Class A District championship since 2009. She averaged 14 points and nine rebounds as a junior en route to earning all-conference and honorable mention Class A all-state honors. This past winter she led the Pioneers to a 20-4 record and once again collected all-conference and honorable-mention all-state honors. She totaled 12 points and 15 rebounds to help the Pioneers defeat Rockford High in the Class A District championship game. Ivy plans on majoring in athletic training at Daemen.
"Mikki is an athletic player with a very high motor," said Banker, who will enter her third year with the program next fall. "She is capable of playing inside and out on both ends of the floor, and she is a powerful rebounder. She is a smart player and her infectious personality will make her a great teammate."
Titus, a 6-foot-1 forward, recently closed out an outstanding career at regional power Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester under the direction of coach Tom Vasey. Titus drew considerable interest from several Division I programs before ultimately opting for Daemen. A two-time All-Greater Rochester selection, she led the Monarchs to 63 wins, two Section V titles and two NYSPHSAA "Final Four" appearances over the past three years. As a junior she registered 19 double-doubles and averaged 17.5 points and 11.8 rebounds while leading Mercy to a 23-2 record and the semifinals of the NYSPHSAA Class AA tournament. Her efforts earned her Private-Parochial League Player of Year, first-team All-Greater Rochester and fifth-team Class AA all-state. A preseason injury caused her to miss several games at the start of her senior season, but she still managed to average a double-double and lead the Monarchs to an 18-6 record and a Section V Class AA runner-up showing. She once again collected first-team All-Greater Rochester honors. A four-time NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete, Titus plans on majoring in physical therapy at Daemen.
Titus will join a Daemen team that already features three former All-Greater Rochester selections. That list includes redshirt freshman Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) and freshmen Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) and Khamera Muhammad (Rochester, N.Y.). Filbert and White account for two of the team's three returning starters.
"Katie has an unbelievable IQ for the game," said Banker. "She sees things happening steps ahead of other players. At 6'1", she's a great stretch player with a soft shooting touch. She can score inside and out, and I expect her to have an immediate impact on our program."
Ivy and Titus join fellow class of 2018 recruits Sydney Barney (Midland, Pa.) and Vivian Ladd (Johnson City, N.Y.). Barney, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, led Beaver Area High School to a 19-7 record, a section championship and an appearance in the championship game of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Class 4-A tournament this past winter. The Bobcats also advanced to the second round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) playoffs. Barney averaged 13 points a game, earned a spot of the Beaver County Top-20 all-star team for the second-straight year and also collected all-district honors. Ladd, a 5-foot-8 point guard, sat out her senior season at Johnson City School while recovering from an injury. A three-time Souther Tier Athletic Conference (STAC) all-star selection, she earned first-team all-region and fifth-team Class A all-state honors as a junior. Both players had their commitments to Daemen announced during the early signing period last November.
Daemen is set to return nine players and three starters from the 2017-18 roster. Banker must overcome the loss of senior guard Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y.), who collected first-team All-East Coast Conference honors the last three seasons and closed out her career ranked fifth in career points (1,774) among Daemen's all-time leaders. Daemen earned its first-ever appearance in the East Coast Conference Championship Tournament this past winter and finished with 12-17 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the ECC. The nine conference wins were the most since Daemen joined the ECC in 2013-14.
For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's basketball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenWBB on Twitter.
