BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Freshmen Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) paced a balanced attack with 21 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks to lead Daemen College to a 75-53 victory over the University of Bridgeport here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action.
Daemen extended its winning streak to four-straight games and improved to 8-8 overall and 5-2 in the ECC. The winning streak is the longest for Daemen since winning five in a row midway through the 2016-17 season. Bridgeport dropped to 8-9 overall and 4-3 in the league. The win gives Daemen sole possession of third place in the league standings.
Titus, the reigning ECC Player of the Week, connected on 6-of-16 shots overall and was 4-of-9 from downtown. It marked the third-straight double-double for Titus, who has now totaled four double-doubles during her rookie season. She is averaging 21.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game during Daemen's four-game winning streak.
Sophomore Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) played possibly her best all-around game of the year for Daemen, as she was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and totaled 17 points and five rebounds. Senior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y.), who scored a career-high 19 points during a win over Mercy College Friday night, totaled 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists today. Redshirt sophomore Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) added 10 points and three assists. Filbert has now scored in double figures in 12 of the team's 16 games.
Senior Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.) led the Purple Knights with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Junior Kayla Hill (Massapequa, N.Y.) also scored 14 points for the hosts.
Bridgeport held an 8-2 lead midway through the first quarter, before the Wildcats got a three-pointer from junior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) and later tied the game at 11-11 following a layup by Egan with 2:19 left in the quarter. A last second jumper by junior Sarah Young (Depew, N.Y.) capped the first-quarter scoring and gave Daemen a 16-12 lead.
Daemen opened the second quarter with a layup by Egan and a three-pointer by sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, N.Y.), and the visitors later took a 13-point lead, 27-14, after Titus scored off a nice feed from freshman Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) with 4:29 left before halftime. The lead was 14 points, 30-16, after White made one of two free throws with 3:06 remaining in the second, but the Wildcats went scoreless the rest of the half. Bridgeport, which went without a field goal during the second quarter (0-9), cut the lead to nine points, 30-21, at the half after making 5-of-6 from the charity stripe over the final 2:32 of the half.
Several three-pointers helped Daemen take control in the third quarter. The Wildcats regained a 13-point lead after opening the third quarter with back-to-back buckets by Egan, and the visitors later took a 40-23 lead following back-to-back triples by Titus. The lead was 22-points, 46-24, when Titus and White hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead to 28 points, 52-24, with just under four minutes left in the frame. Daemen, which connected on 11-of-19 shots during the third, eventually took a 56-31 lead into the final quarter.
The Daemen lead was 26 points, 60-34, two minutes into the fourth quarter when the Purple Knights made things interesting with a 17-4 run. A layup by freshman Jaeonna Sutton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 4:24 left capped the rally and cut the Daemen lead to 13 points, 64-51. Titus came through with her fourth three-pointer on Daemen's next possession and the Wildcats later took a 71-53 lead following a layup by White with just under two minutes left.
Daemen shot 55-percent (17-for-31) from the field in the second half and finished 27-of-62 (44%) overall. The Wildcats made 8-of-22 from downtown and connected on 13-of-22 from the charity stripe. UB shot just 19-percent (5-of-27) from the field in the first half and finished 14-of-58 (24%) overall. The hosts went just 2-for-16 from three-point land, but made 23-of-29 free throws. The Wildcats finished with a 43-29 edge in total rebounds. Daemen also posted an advantage in second-chance points (13-10) and points in the paint (38-10).
The Wildcats will begin a stretch of three-straight home games when they host St. Thomas Aquinas College (Jan. 25) and the University of the District of Columbia (Jan. 27) next weekend. STAC currently sits atop the ECC standings (16-2, 7-0 ECC) and is ranked sixth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll.
For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
