Women's Basketball Ranked 9th In Preseason Regional Poll

10/28/2019 4:24:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College is ranked No. 9 in the preseason version of the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll which was released today. The Wildcats, who made their first-ever appearance in the poll last February, are coming off the program's best season since transitioning to the NCAA Division II level, finishing with an 18-10 overall record and a 15-3 mark in East Coast Conference play.

Daemen received 13 points in the poll voting to come in ahead of No. 10 Adelphi University. The Wildcats join fellow ECC teams Saint Thomas Aquinas College (No. 7) and New York Tech (No. 8) in the poll.

Led by fourth-year head coach Jenepher Banker, the Wildcats are set to return seven players from their 2018-19 team, including four who started at least half of the team's contests. That group is headlined by sophomore forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) and redshirt-junior guard Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.). Titus took the ECC by storm over the second half of her freshman season, averaging 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds over the final 15 games. For the season, she led the team in scoring (12.1 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg), three-pointers (42) and blocked shots (38), and was a first-team All-ECC honoree, as well as the ECC Rookie of the Year. Filbert earned second-team All-ECC recognition, averaging 12.0 points per game with a team-high 76 assists.

Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.), a 6-foot guard/forward, returns for her senior season after making 24 starts as a junior. Autumn Buchsenshutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) and Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) also return after playing major roles last season.

The Wildcats' roster also includes 10 newcomers, none more experienced than graduate transfer Ashli Jeune (Westampton, N.J.) who is expected to make an immediate impact after earlier playing days at both Rutgers University and UNC-Wilmington.

Daemen opens the 2019-20 season at the Redhawks Tip-Off Classic hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College on Nov. 8-9. While there, the Wildcats battle Stonehill College (ranked No. 5 in the preseason regional poll) and Franklin Pierce University.

D2SIDA EAST REGION MEDIA POLL - PRESEASON - OCTOBER 28, 2019
1. St. Anselm (2)
2. Le Moyne (2)
3. U. Sciences
4. Bentley (1)
5. Stonehill (1)
6. Jefferson
7. St. Thomas Aquinas
8. New York Tech
9. DAEMEN
10. Adelphi

Receiving votes: New Haven, Southern New Hampshire, Roberts Wesleyan

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. 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.

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