GAME INFORMATION
Game #11: Saint Anselm Hawks (8-2, 5-2 NE-10) vs. Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 1-2 ECC)
Thursday, Jan. 3 |  6 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. |  Lumsden Gymnasium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats
Watch Live on ECC Network
Game Day

Game #12: Saint Michael's Purple Knights (3-7, 1-6 NE-10) vs. Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 1-2 ECC)
Saturday, Jan. 5 |  2 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 closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule by hosting Saint Anselm College (Jan. 3) and Saint Michael's College (Jan. 5) this week. Saint Anselm is ranked seventh in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) East Region poll. It will mark the seventh time over the past eight games that Daemen's opponent has been regionally ranked by the D2SIDA.

HOME SWEET HOME
Daemen will be playing its first game at Lumsden Gymnasium since posting a 74-67 win over Mercyhurst on Nov. 15. Nine of Daemen's first 10 games were road or neutral site games.

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 have lost their last three games to regionally-ranked LIU Post (70-54), regionally-ranked New York Tech (84-46) and regionally-ranked Le Moyne (70-48).

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 scored a career-high 21 points in the win over Mercyhurst on Nov. 15 and is averaging a team-high 14.7 points. She also leads the team in field minutes played (291), field goal percentage (.509), three-pointers made (21), three-point field goal percentage (.477) and steals (20). 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 10 games in 2018-19 and ranks second on the team in scoring average (9.1) and steals (15) and leads the team in rebounds per game (4.8). She registered a season-high 14 points and nine rebounds in a season-opening loss to St. Rose.

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 10 games this season and is averaging 23 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 three-pointers made (12) and is averaging 5.6 points with a team-high 24 assists.

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 77 three-pointers over her career. She scored 14 points in the season-opening loss to St. Rose. 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 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).

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 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

SAINT ANSELM SCOUTING REPORT
Saint Anselm is located in Manchester, N.H. and is a long-time member of the Northeast-10 Conference. Corey Boilard is in his second season as head coach and returns 12 players and three starters from last year's team that finished 17-12 overall and 13-8 in the NE-10. St. Anselm was voted second in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason poll. The Hawks are ranked seventh in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll. The Hawks opened the year with four-straight wins before suffering a 74-65 loss to nationally-ranked Stonehill. They rebounded with another four-game winning streak before suffering a 60-51 loss to nationally-ranked Bentley. Shannon Ryan, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, tops the list of retuning players after collecting first-team all-conference honors last year. She ranks third nationally in double-doubles (8) and is averaging 17.4 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. She totaled 25 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in a recent 74-63 win over cross-town rival Southern Hew Hampshire. Sophomore forward Peyton Steinman (11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and junior forward Sara Messler (10.1 ppg) have also produced. Steinman totaled 17 points and 18 boards in the win over SNHU.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Anselm: 0-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Saint Anselm 69, Daemen 56 | Dec. 29, 2017 | Manchester, N.H.
Recap

SAINT MICHAEL'S SCOUTING REPORT
Saint Michael's is located in Colchester, Vt. and the Purple Knights are long-time members of the Northeast-10 Conference. Shannon Bollhardt is in her sixth season as head coach and returns eight players and three starters from last year's team that finished 8-18 overall and 5-16 in the NE-10. SMC was picked seventh in NE-10 Northeast Division preseason poll. The Purple Knights snapped a four-game losing streak following a 110-52 victory over Vermont Tech on Dec. 16 and will play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Jan. 4) before squaring off against Daemen. Senior guard Emily Ferreri (13.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.2 apg) and sophomore guard Nicole Anderson (11.9 ppg, 17 3pt FGs) have paced the Purple Knights. Ferreri totaled 23 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Vermont Tech, while Anderson drilled six three-pointers and totaled 26 points in a 77-59 loss to Merrimack on Dec. 8. Junior guard Brianna Purcell is contributing 6.8 points and a team-high 5.2 assists per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Michael's: 2-2
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 69, Saint Michael's 56 | Dec. 30, 2017 | Colchester, Vt.
Recap

DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 3-4 against Northeast-10 teams over the past two seasons, which includes a 73-48 win over regionally-ranked Assumption College earlier this year during the Redhawks Classic.

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play next weekend when they host Molloy (Jan. 11) and Queens (Jan. 13).