GAME INFORMATION
Game #15: Daemen Wildcats (6-8, 3-2 ECC) vs. Mercy Mavericks (3-12, 0-5 ECC)
Friday, Jan. 18 |  5 p.m.
Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. |  Victory Hall

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Game Day

Game #16: Daemen Wildcats (6-8, 3-2 ECC) vs. Bridgeport Purple Knights (8-7, 4-1 ECC)
Sunday, Jan. 20 |  1 p.m.
Bridgeport, Conn. |  Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium

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JUMP BALL
The Daemen College women's basketball team hits the road for East Coast Conference games this weekend against Mercy (Jan. 18) and Bridgeport (Jan. 20). Daemen enters the weekend in fourth place in the league standings.

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

BANKER NEARS MILESTONE WIN
Jenepher Banker stands just four wins shy of her 100th career win as a collegiate coach. She is in her third season as head coach at Daemen and previously spent five seasons (1988-93) as head coach at Penn State Behrend. Her overall collegiate record currently stands at 96-101. 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's 1991-92 team at Penn State Behrend went 23-4 and 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 snapped a five-game losing streak with league wins over Molloy (65-42) and Queens (54-51) last weekend.

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 13.5 points. She also leads the team in minutes played (414), field goal percentage (.458), three-pointers made (27), three-point field goal percentage (.409), assists (37) and steals (26).

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 10 of the first 14 games in 2018-19 and ranks second on the team in scoring average (9.2), steals (21) and rebounds per game (5.4). The team leader in blocks (18), 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 started the first 13 games this season before being sidelined due to injury. She is averaging 23 minutes and 5.2 points a game. She ranks second on the team in assists (30) and three-pointers made (15). 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.

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 85 three-pointers over her career. She drilled five three-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the loss to St. Michael's on Jan. 5. 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 3.6 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 a loss at LIU Post this year and is averaging 6.8 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).

TITUS NAMED ECC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman forward Katie Titus was named ECC Player of the Week on this past Monday after averaging 23.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks during wins over Molloy and Queens last weekend. She scored a career-high 23 points against Molloy and equaled the mark against Queens two days later. She also collected 13 rebounds against Queens for her second career double-double. Titus is the first freshman to earn ECC Player of the Week honors this season, and the first Daemen player to collected the honor since Sarah Saba last January. It's the second weekly accolade this season for Titus. She was previously named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week for Nov. 12-18 when she registered 12 defensive rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a come-from-behind victory over Mercyhurst. Titus has played in all 14 games (7 starts) and is averaging 7.7 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds.

RICHARDS GOES THE DISTANCE
Junior college transfer Ranaveya Richards made her first career start and played all 40 minutes in last Sunday's win over Queens. She totaled six points, six rebounds and two assists in the win. She has played in all 14 games and is averaging 18.2 minutes and 4.8 points.

MERCY SCOUTING REPORT
Mercy returns six players and three starters from last year's team that finished 8-20 overall and 3-15 in the ECC. Mercy was voted 10th in the ECC preseason poll. Scott Lagas is in his first season as head coach. The Mavericks won three of their first six games, but are winless in their last nine outings. Mercy dropped to 0-5 in the ECC following an 89-56 loss to Bridgeport last week and is coming off a non-league loss at Post (85-70) this past Wednesday. Sophomore forward Amber Brown returns after averaging 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds as a rookie. She has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and netted a season-high 34 points in a recent 74-70 loss to Dominican. She leads the ECC in points per game (18.5) and leads the team in rebounds per game (6.8), three-point field goals made (24) and assists (29). Freshman guard Taysha Bender has started 13 games and is averaging 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds. She is tied for the team lead in assists (29) and leads the team in and steals (21). Additional production has come from junior forward Destinee Hall (8.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and freshman forward Alexis Lake  (7.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Mercy: 8-2
Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 81, Mercy 46 | Jan. 26, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
Recap

BRIDGEPORT SCOUTING REPORT
Bridgeport returns nine players and two starters from last year's team that finished 9-19 overall and 6-12 in the ECC. UB was voted seventh in the ECC preseason poll. Janie Mitchell is in her first season as head coach. The Purple Knights won seven of their first 11 games, before suffering three-straight losses to nationally-ranked Jefferson (70-54), American International (69-49) and Merrimack (91-61). The Purple Knights snapped the slide with an 89-56 win over Mercy last week. UB hosts Roberts Wesleyan Friday, before taking on Daemen Sunday. 6-foot-5 senior center Samnell Vonleh tops the list of returning players after earning second-team All-ECC honors last year. She totaled 29 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Merrimack and is averaging 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds. She ranks second among the league leaders in field goal percentage (.521) and leads the league in blocks (33). NK Ilang, a graduate transfer from Division I Loyola Marymount, is contributing 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Additional production has come from freshman guard Gianna Gotti (7.1 ppg) and junior guard Briana Stoddart (6.5 ppg, 24 3pt FGs).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Bridgeport: 7-3
Streak: W 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 63, Bridgeport 44 | Jan. 28, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
Recap

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats will begin a stretch of three-straight home games when they host St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 25) and District of Columbia (Jan. 27) next weekend.