AMHERST, N.Y. – Freshman Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) totaled 23 points, 13 rebounds and three steals to lead Daemen College to a 54-51 victory over Queens College here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action. Neither team led by more than six points during the game, which featured seven ties and 23 lead changes.
Daemen, which posted a 65-42 victory over Molloy College Friday night, improved to 6-8 overall and 3-2 in the ECC. Queens suffered its fifth-straight loss and fell to 2-12 overall and 1-5 in the league. It marked the second-straight win over Queens for Daemen, which also posted a 57-55 win over Queens at DC's Lumsden Gymnasium last February. Queens had prevailed in the first nine meetings between the two teams before the Wildcats posted the 57-55 win last year.
Today's effort capped off an outstanding weekend for Titus. The Our Lady of Mercy product scored a career-high 23 points in back-to-back games and registered her second career double-double this afternoon. She connected on 10-of-18 shots today and made 20-of-38 (53%) from the field over the past two games. She also totaled 21 rebounds, three blocks and two steals over the two wins.
Redshirt sophomore Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.), who entered the game averaging a team-high 14 points for Daemen, scored seven clutch points over the final 5:20 after being held scoreless for three and a half quarters. Filbert, who also handed out five assists, hit a big three-pointer that gave Daemen a 43-40 lead and later went 4-for-4 from the charity stipe in the final seconds. Senior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y.) added 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the hosts. Junior point guard Ranaveya Richards (Albany, N.Y.) made her first career start, played the entire 40 minutes and recorded six points and six rebounds.
Junior Beth Bonin (Cicero, N.Y.) scored 13 of her team-high 16 points after halftime for Queens. One of the top three-point shooters in the league, she went 3-of-8 from downtown and also collected six rebounds. Sophomore Lucy Tougas (Queensbury, N.Y.) scored 11 points in the first half and finished with 14 points for the Knights.
Queens took an early 8-2 lead, but Daemen scored 10 of the next 14 points and the hosts tied the game at 12-12 following a jumper by Egan with 1:33 left in the first quarter. Queens regained a five-point lead, 17-12, following a put back by junior My'eesa Grant (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) a minute into the second quarter, but Daemen responded with three unanswered buckets and the hosts took their first lead of the game 18-17, following a layup by Titus with 7:13 left before halftime. Both teams struggled to score the rest of the half and Queens took a 23-22 lead into intermission.
The second half would feature 16 lead changes and the fourth quarter would include five ties. A three-pointer by Bonin with 5:30 left in the third quarter gave Queens a 29-25 lead, but Daemen scored the next five points and the hosts took a 36-34 lead into the final quarter.
The game was tied at 40 midway through the fourth when Filbert drilled her three-pointer—Daemen's only three-pointer in the game. Queens answered with a layup by Tougas and the Knights later look a 46-45 lead following a jumper by senior Emer Moloney (Glendale, N.Y.) with 3:21 left. That would be the final lead of the game for Queens, as Daemen got a layup from Richards and later took a 49-47 lead after Titus hit two free throws with 46 seconds left. Queens came up empty on their next possession and Richards made one of two from the charity stripe with 24 seconds left to make it 50-47. Tougas was fouled on QC's next possession and made one of two free throws, and Filbert's two free throws with 15 seconds left gave the hosts a 52-48 lead. Bonin made things interesting when she swished a triple with six seconds left, but Filbert made two free throws to give Daemen a 54-51 lead. Bonin's off-balance three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Daemen shot 32-percent (21-for-65) from the field and connected on just 1-of-17 from downtown. The hosts made 11-of-16 from the charity stripe. Queens made 7-of-15 shots (46%) in the first quarter, but finished just 20-for-52 (38%) from the field overall. The Knights went 3-of-9 from three-point land and made just 8-of-17 free throws. Daemen finished with a 44-39 edge in total rebounds, and the hosts also posted an 17-9 edge in second-chance points and a 30-18 advantage in points in the paint.
The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they travel to Mercy College (Jan. 18) and the University of Bridgeport (Jan. 20) for ECC games.
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