GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #5
Daemen Wildcats (3-1, 0-0 ECC) vs. Edinboro Fighting Scots (1-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Wednesday, Nov. 20 | 6 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via ECC Network)

JUMP BALL
Daemen will play its 2019-20 home opener Wednesday (Nov. 20) when the Wildcats welcome the Fighting Scots of Edinboro University to Lumsden Gymnasium. Both teams enter the game ranked in their respective Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) regional poll. Daemen is ranked ninth in the East Region, while Edinboro is ranked seventh in the Atlantic. Wednesday's game will mark the first meeting between the teams since the 2016-17 season when EU posted a 90-59 win in Pennsylvania. The Fighting Scots have prevailed in the last six meetings and own a 7-1 advantage in the all-time series. Daemen's only win in the series came during the 1996-97 season.

INSTANT CLASSIC
The last time these two teams met at Lumsden Gymnasium the Fighting Scots outlasted the Wildcats 87-84 in overtime on Dec. 12, 2015 . The game was a back-and-fourth affair throughout, as neither team led by more than six points and the contest featured 22 lead changes and 21 ties.

FAST START
The Wildcats have won three-straight games and are coming off impressive wins over Bloomfield (83-48) and Concordia (70-47) during the Redhawks Alumni Classic at Roberts Wesleyan College this past weekend. Daemen opened the 2019-20 season with a 77-70 loss to regionally-ranked Stonehill, before rebounding with a 65-45 win over Franklin Pierce during the Redhawks Tip-Off Classic two weeks ago. The Wildcats have featured a balanced attack thus far, as all five starters are averaging at least 8.5 points per game. Sophomore forward Katie Titus totaled 20 points in the win over Bloomfield and is averaging a team-high 14.5 points. She is also contributing 5.5 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocks (7). Junior forward Caroline White registered her first double-double (13 pts, 12 rebs) since her freshman season against FPU and is averaging 12.5 points, a team-high 7.3 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists. Newcomer Ashli Jeune totaled 17 points and five steals against FPU and is averaging 10.8 points with a team-high 12 steals. Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and senior Jordan Heinold (8.5 ppg, 6 3PT FGs) have also produced. The Wildcats have forced 80 turnovers and have collected 49 steals over the first four games.

BANKER'S BACK
Jenepher Banker enters her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen. She has led the Wildcats to a 44-43 overall record and a 32-22 mark in the ECC since the start of the 2016-17 season. Last year she led Daemen to an 18-10 overall record, a 15-3 league record and a second-straight appearance in the ECC Championship Tournament. The 18 wins were the most for the Wildcats since the program transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2013-14. She also recorded her 100th victory as a collegiate head coach during the 2018-19 season. Banker arrived at Daemen with nearly 30 years of coaching experience at various levels, ranging from Division I to high school. Her first collegiate experience came as an assistant coach at Iowa State University (1986-88) and later as an assistant at Canisius College (1993-95). Between assistant coaching stops, Banker served as the head coach at Penn State-Behrend where she 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 ultimately settled at the high school level, coaching the varsity team at Grand Island High School from 1998-2013, building 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 seven players from last year. 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. Daemen entered the 2019-20 season ranked third in the ECC preseason poll and ninth in the Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region preseason poll.

WILDCATS MAKE REGIONAL RANKINGS
Daemen was ranked in both D2SIDA Division II East Region media poll and the NCAA Division II East Region poll during the 2018-19 season. It marked the first time since Daemen transitioned to NCAA Division II that it has been regionally-ranked. The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference

PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
Daemen was one of the hottest teams in the NCAA Division II East Region at the end of last year, as the Wildcats won 14 of their final 15 regular-season games. The Wildcats are now 17-3 over their last 20 games dating back to last season.

THE STREAK
Daemen posted an 11 game winning streak last year, which ranked as the program's longest winning streak since the Wildcats won 17 in a row during the 2007-08 season.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held each of its last three opponents to less than 50 points. The Wildcats have also forced 80 turnovers and collected 49 steals over the first four games. Daemen ranks second among East Coast Conference teams in points allowed per game (54.3) and steals per game (12.3) and third in turnovers forced per game (20.0).

BACK IN THE FOLD
Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert and sophomore Katie Titus top the list of returning players after earning all-conference honors last year. Filbert earned second-team All-ECC recognition after averaging 12.0 points per game with a team-high 76 assists. 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. Senior Jordan Heinold (6.3 ppg, 37 3pt FGs) also returns after making 24 starts last year. Junior guards Autumn Buchsenschutz (3.1 ppg, 45 asts) and Caroline White (7.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) also return after playing major roles last season. Sophomore guard Sydney Barney and sophomore forward Mickayla Ivy round out the list of returning players.

A FIRST FOR TITUS
Katie Titus was voted first team All-ECC and ECC Rookie of the Year last year after leading the team in points per game (12.1), rebounds per game (7.2), three-pointers (32) and blocks (38). She became the first women's basketball player from Daemen to garner a major award from the ECC since the Wildcats joined the conference. She also became the first freshman to earn first-team All-ECC honors since Madison Rowland of Queens College in 2013-14. Titus ranked first among ECC freshmen in points per game and second in rebounds per game. She shot 49-percent (109-for-222) from the field and averaged 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds over the final 16 games. Her efforts earned her conference recognition in six of the final eight weeks. She was named ECC Player of the Week twice (Jan. 14, Jan. 28) and became the first player in team history to earn multiple ECC Player of the Week honors in the same season. She was also a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection (Nov. 19, Jan. 22), and a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week pick (Jan. 22, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18). She was only the freshman in the league to be named ECC Player of the Week and also the only ECC player to be named Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week.

PLENTY OF NEW FACES
The 2019-20 roster features 10 newcomers—one graduate transfer and nine freshmen. Graduate transfer Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) is expected to make immediate contributions. She previously played at Division I Rutgers University and UNC-Wilmington. Freshmen Abby Lundquist (Rochelle, Ill.), Marina Maerkl (Binghampton, N.Y.) and Molly Williams (Waterville, N.Y.) all earned all-state honors last year. Lundquist closed out her career at Rochelle Township High School with a school-record 1,909 career points. Maerkl led Seton Catholic to the Final Four of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A Tournament as a junior and senior. She averaged a double-double as a senior and earned fourth-team Class A all-state honors. Williams led Waterville High School to its first Section III Class D title since 2005 as a junior and last year earned second team Class C all-state honors.

EDINBORO SCOUTING REPORT
Edinboro is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and was voted third in the 2019-20 PSAC West preseason poll. EU was also ranked seventh in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region preseason media poll. The Fighting Scots have been one of the more successful NCAA Division II programs in recent years, having won 213 games and made six NCAA Tournament appearances over the past nine seasons. EU has posted at least 20 wins in each of the last nine seasons. Callie Wheeler enters her second season as head coach after serving as an assistant at EU for 11 years (2007-18). Wheeler returns just five players and two starters from last year's team that finished 20-9 overall and 15-6 in the PSAC. The Fighting Scots will be playing their first game since they opened the 2019-20 season with an 87-42 win over Lake Erie College on Nov. 12. Senior guard Michaela Barnes tops the list of returning players after being named honorable mention All-America by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Women's Division II Bulletin after averaging 21.0 points and 3.2 assists last year. She totaled 18 points and five rebounds in the win over Lake Erie. Redshirt senior Bridgette Shaffer started 24 games last year and averaged 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds with 49 three-pointers. Redshirt senior Cheniya Sharpe returns after sitting out last season. She was averaging 6.2 points and 7.2 rebounds during the 2017-18 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. She totaled 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the win over Lake Erie. Transfers Madison Amalia and D'Rae Tullock both started the Lake Erie game. Amalia did not play last season after spending her freshman season at St. Thomas Aquinas. Tullock last played for Arkansas Tech during the 2016-17 season.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. EDINBORO
Series Record: 1-7
Streak: Lost 6
Last Meeting: Edinboro 90, Daemen 59 | Nov. 16, 2016 | at Edinboro, Pa.

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats return to action Saturday (Nov. 23) when they travel to Wilmington University for a non-league game.