Women's Basketball Picked 3rd In ECC Preseason Poll

10/29/2019 4:15:00 PM

By: By Tom McDermott, Sports Information Consultant

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's basketball team has been picked third in the East Coast Conference preseason poll which was released today from conference headquarters in West Babylon, N.Y. following a vote of the league's nine head coaches.

The third place showing is the highest ranking for Daemen in the ECC preseason poll since the Wildcats joined the league in 2013-14. The No. 3 ranking is well deserved as the Wildcats are coming off their most successful season since transitioning to NCAA Division II. Daemen posted an 11-game winning streak, won 14 of its final 15 regular-season games and posted a 15-3 league record last year. Seeded second in the ECC Championships, the Wildcats were upset by New York Tech in the semifinals and closed out the year with an 18-10 overall record.

New York Tech, the defending conference tournament champion, topped the preseason poll with five first-place votes and 76 points. The Bears went 23-9 overall and 12-6 in the league last year. St. Thomas Aquinas College collected the other four first-place votes and came in just a point behind NYIT with 75 points. The Spartans went 26-5 last year and claimed the ECC regular-season title after going 17-1 in league play. Daemen collected 62 points, while Roberts Wesleyan College (52) and the University of Bridgeport (41) round out the top five.

In addition to announcing the preseason poll, the conference office also named NYIT forward Meg Knollmeyer as the ECC Preseason Player of the Year. A 6-foot-1 junior, Knollmeyer was a first-team All-ECC selection last season after averaging 14.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Daemen head coach Jenepher Banker enters her fourth season on the sidelines and returns seven players from the 2018-19 roster. She must overcome the graduation of forward Erin Egan, who averaged 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds and collected third-team All-ECC honors last year.

Sophomore forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) and redshirt-junior guard Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) top the list of returning players. 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. Senior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.), a 6-foot guard/forward, also returns after making 24 starts as a junior. Junior guards Autumn Buchsenschutz (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 regionally-ranked Stonehill College and Franklin Pierce University.

EAST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. New York Tech (5) - 76
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (4) - 75
3. DAEMEN - 62
4. Roberts Wesleyan - 52
5. Bridgeport - 41
6. Molloy - 37
T7. Mercy - 21
T7. Queens - 21
9. Dist. Columbia - 20

( ) denotes first-place votes

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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