GAME INFORMATION
Game #13: Molloy Lions (6-8, 1-3 ECC) vs. Daemen Wildcats (4-8, 1-2 ECC)
Friday, Jan. 11 |  6 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. |  Lumsden Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats
Watch Live on ECC Network
Game Day

Game #14: Queens Knights (2-10, 1-3 ECC) vs. Daemen Wildcats (4-8, 1-2 ECC)
Sunday, Jan. 13 |  1 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. |  Lumsden Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats
Watch Live on ECC Network


JUMP BALL
The Daemen College women's basketball team gets back into East Coast Conference play by hosting Molloy (Jan. 11) and Queens (Jan. 13) this weekend.

HOMETOWN HEROES











Sunday's doubleheader is Daemen's annual celebration of hometown heroes. Free admission will be offered to veterans and active duty military personnel, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other first responders. 

BATTLE TESTED
Eight of Daemen's first 12 opponents have been regionally ranked by the Division II Sports Information Director's Association (D2SIDA) at some point this season.

BANKER'S BACK
Jenepher Banker enters her third season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen. Over the past two seasons she has led the Wildcats to a 23-32 overall record and a 17-19 mark in the ECC. Last year she led Daemen to its first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship Tournament. Banker arrived at Daemen with nearly 30 years of coaching experience at various levels, ranging from Division I to high school. Banker served as the head coach at Penn State-Behrend for five years (1988-93) and 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 most recently coached at the high school level, guiding the varsity team at Grand Island High School from 1998-2013. She built 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 eight players from last year's team that posted an 12-17 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the East Coast Conference. The Wildcats earned a bid to the ECC Championship Tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2013-14. Daemen suffered a 76-64 loss to Roberts Wesleyan in the ECC Tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats are ranked eighth in the ECC preseason poll. The Wildcats opened ECC play with a 72-70 win at rival Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 5, but have lost their last five games. Daemen is coming off losses to regionally-ranked Saint Anselm (64-56) and Saint Michael's (65-56) last week.

COMEBACK KIDS
The Wildcats have overcome second-half deficits in the three wins over Mercyhurst (74-67), Gannon (58-52) and Roberts Wesleyan (72-70). Daemen trailed Mercyhurst by 10 points (59-49) late in the third quarter, before outscoring the Lakers 25-8 the rest of the way. Gannon held a five-point lead (52-47) before Daemen scored the final 11 points of the game. Roberts Wesleyan was up eight points (58-50) with seven minutes to play before Daemen closed out the game with a 12-4 run.

HISTORIC WINS
Daemen's win over Mercyhurst marked its first win over a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team since the 2004-05 season when the Wildcats posted a 90-82 win over Gannon. Daemen's win over Gannon marked its first win in the series since the 2004-05 season, and its first at Gannon's Hammermill Center since the 1996-97 season.

A NEW ERA
A familiar face will be missing from the Daemen lineup following the graduation of Sarah Saba. A four-year starter for the Wildcats, she played in all 110 games over her career and totaled 1,774 points (16.1 ppg), 770 rebounds (7.0 rpg), 157 blocks and 157 steals. She scored in double figures in 96 of her 110 career games and ranks fifth in career points among Daemen's all-time leaders. She also ranks seventh in career rebounds and sixth in career blocks. 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 as a junior and senior. She averaged an ECC-best 17.7 points last year and became the first women's basketball player from Daemen to lead the league in scoring average.

SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Tiara Filbert enjoyed a solid rookie season last winter and is off to a strong start this year. Filbert, who sat out the 2016-17 season due to injury, played in all 29 games last year and started 20 of the final 21 games. She ranked second on the team in total points (252), scoring average (8.7) and defensive rebounds (115). A one-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she scored in double figures 12 times, including 10 of her final 19 games. Filbert equaled her career-high for points (21) in the loss to Saint Anselm last week and is averaging a team-high 14.9 points. She also leads the team in minutes played (358), field goal percentage (.489), three-pointers made (26), three-point field goal percentage (.441), assists (29) and steals (26). Her three-point field goal percentage ranks first among all ECC players.

SUPER SUB TO SENIOR STARTER
Senior Erin Egan played in 27 of 29 games last year and averaged 17 minutes a game off the bench. She averaged 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds and ranked second on the team in blocks (34) and steals (26). She has started eight of the first 12 games in 2018-19 and ranks second on the team in scoring average (9.4), steals (18) and rebounds per game (4.8). The team leader in blocks (15), she returned to action against St. Michael's after missing three games due to injury and totaled 12 points, five rebounds, four blocks and three steals in 27 minutes.

BIG SHOT BUCHSENSCHUTZ
Sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz is playing a much larger role this year after seeing limited playing time as a freshman. She has started all 12 games this season and is averaging 24 minutes a game. She scored a career-high 13 points and handed out four assists in the win over Gannon and followed up with 10 points and three assists in the win over Roberts Wesleyan. She drilled a big three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the win over Gannon and her triple with 56 seconds left gave Daemen the lead for good (69-66) against RWC. She ranks second on the team in assists (28) and three-pointers made (13) and is averaging 5.1 points.

BACK FROM INJURY
Junior Jordan Heinold and senior Erin Sinnott both had their 2017-18 seasons cut short by injury. Heinold played in the first 13 games (7 starts) before missing the remainder of the regular-season due to injury. She averaged 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds and ranked fourth on the team in three-pointers made (27) despite missing 15 games. She has canned 84 three-pointers over her career. She drilled five three-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the loss to St. Michael's last week. Sinnott started the first eight games last year before missing the remainder of the season. A transfer from Division I Evansville, she was averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds prior to the injury. She is averaging 4.0 points this season. She hit two clutch free throws with 11 seconds left and totaled eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the 72-70 win over Roberts Wesleyan.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Sophomore Caroline White and junior Sarah Young both made an immediate impact with the team last year. White played in all 29 games as a freshman and was in the starting lineup 22 times. She ranked third on the team in total points (249), scoring average (8.6), minutes per game (29.9), total rebounds (149) and rebounds per game (5.1). A three-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she ranked second in three-pointers made (36) and scored in double figures 11 times. She equaled her career-high for points (19) in the loss at LIU Post this year and is averaging 6.6 points. Young contributed right away after transferring from Division I St. Bonaventure. She started 28 games last year, averaged 6.3 points and led the team in offensive rebounds (80) and field goal percentage (.500). She also ranked second in rebounds per game (5.9) and third in blocked shots (22).

TALENTED NEWCOMERS
The 2018-19 roster features six newcomers—one junior college transfer and five freshmen. Junior guard Ranaveya Richards joins the Wildcats after playing the last two seasons at Finger Lakes CC. She earned NJCAA Division III all-America honors last year after averaging 21.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Freshman guard Sydney Barney was a four-year starter at Beaver Area (Pa.) High School and earned all-district honors as a senior. Freshman forward Mickayla Ivy led East Grand Rapids (Mich.) to a 20-4 record and its first Class A District championship since 2009 last year. Freshman guard Vivian Ladd is a product of Johnson City (N.Y.) High School and collected first-team all-region and fifth-team all-state (Class A) as a junior. Freshman guard Katie Price led Fredonia (N.Y.) High School to back-to-back Section VI Class B titles as a junior and senior. Freshman forward Katie Titus enjoyed an outstanding career at regional power Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester, N.Y. A two-time first-team All-Greater Rochester selection, she led the Monarchs to 63 wins, two Section V titles and two NYSPHSAA Class AA "Final Four" appearances.

TITUS COLLECTS CONFERENCE HONOR
Freshman forward Katie Titus was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 19 after totaling 12 defensive rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the win over Mercyhurst. For the game, she totaled 14 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 22 minutes off the bench. It marked her first career double-double. Titus scored a career-high 19 points in a loss to Eckerd and is averaging 5.2 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game.

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Molloy returns eight players and all five starters from last year's team that finished 9-19 overall and 4-14 in the ECC. Molloy was voted sixth in the ECC preseason poll. Head coach Joe Pellicane enters his fourth season at Molloy. He led the Lions to a school-record 24 wins and the program's first ECC Tournament title in 2016-17. The Lions have lost three-straight games and are coming off a 58-49 non-league loss to Pace on Jan. 4. MC opened ECC play with losses to LIU Post (59-46), New York Tech (73-45) and Bridgeport (57-48), before posting a 60-55 win over Mercy on Dec. 19. Senior guard Ihnacinse Grady and sophomore guard Melody Prichard top the list of returning players. Grady has started every game over her four-year career and averaging 7.7 points this year. She ranks second among the ECC leaders in assists (60) and leads the league in steals (43). Prichard totaled 19 points and seven rebounds in the loss to Pace and is averaging a team-high 9.9 points. Newcomer Tyra Harrison, who most recently played at Division III SUNY Farmingdale, scored 25 points in an early-season win over Chestnut Hill and is averaging 9.8 points. Junior forward Jenna Silletti, who spent the past two seasons at Division I Sacred Heart, is averaging 7.7 points, while junior guard Kathryn Gibson has made a team-high 21 three-pointers and is averaging 6.8 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Molloy: 7-3
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 48, Molloy 35  | Feb. 16, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
Recap

QUEENS SCOUTING REPORT
Queens returns just four players and three starters from last year's team that finished 13-14 overall and 9-9 in the ECC. Queens was voted fifth in the ECC preseason poll. Head coach Elizabeth Naumovski enters her eighth season at Queens. The Knights play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday night, before taking on Daemen Sunday. QC has lost three-straight and is coming off a 92-76 non-league loss at Southern New Hampshire on Jan. 6. The Knights opened ECC play with losses to New York Tech (76-35) and LIU Post (69-47), before posting an 83-73 win over Mercy. QC dropped to 1-3 in the league following a 67-51 loss to Bridgeport on Dec. 15. Junior guard Beth Bonin returns after earning first-team All-ECC honors last year. She earned ECC Player of the Week honors this week after draining six three-pointers and scoring a career-high 34 points in the loss to SNHU. She leads the team in scoring average (13.3 ppg), three-pointers (29) and steals (19). Newcomer My'eesa Grant and sophomore Lucy Tougas have also contributed. Grant scored 22 points in the win over Mercy and is averaging 9.6 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Tougas registered a double-double in an early-season loss to nationally-ranked Jefferson and is averaging 9.5 points and 3.3 assists. Senior guard Kaitlyn Mahon was expected to play a big role this year, but has missed the last 10 games.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Queens: 1-9
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 57, Queens 55  | Feb 18, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
Recap

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they travel to Mercy (Jan. 18) and Bridgeport (Jan. 20) for ECC games.