GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #6
Daemen Wildcats (4-1, 0-0 ECC) vs. Wilmington Wildcats (0-5, 0-0 CACC)
Saturday, Nov. 23 | 1 p.m.
Wilmington, Del. | WU Athletics Complex
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via CACC Network)
JUMP BALL
Daemen looks to run its winning streak to five-straight games when it heads to Delaware to take on Wilmington University in a battle of "Wildcats". Daemen, which is ranked ninth in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) regional media poll, is coming off a huge 64-57 win over regionally-ranked Edinboro University this past Wednesday. Edinboro entered the game ranked seventh in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region media poll. Wilmington is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and remained winless on the year following an 83-79 loss to Mercy on Wednesday. Daemen is 7-3 against teams from the CACC since the start of the 2013-14 season, including wins over Bloomfield (83-48) and Concordia (70-47) during the Redhawks Alumni Classic last weekend.
FAST START
The Wildcats have won four-straight games and are off to their best start since transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2013-14. Daemen is coming off an impressive 64-57 win over regionally-ranked Edinboro this past Wednesday. 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 8.8 points per game. Sophomore forward Katie Titus totaled 20 points in the win over Bloomfield and is averaging a team-high 13.6 points. She is also contributing 4.6 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocks (8). Junior forward Caroline White totaled 18 points and eight rebounds against Edinboro and is averaging 13.6 points, a team-high 7.4 rebounds and a team-high 3.0 assists. Newcomer Ashli Jeune totaled 17 points and five steals against FPU and is averaging 9.8 points with a team-high 15 steals. Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and senior Jordan Heinold (8.8 ppg, 8 3PT FGs) have also produced.
ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen will play 11 of their first 13 games away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium—where they have won 10-straight games dating back to last season.
BANKER'S BACK
Jenepher Banker enters her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen. She has led the Wildcats to a 45-43 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 18-3 over their last 21 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 three of its first five opponents to less than 50 points. The Wildcats have also forced 95 turnovers and collected 56 steals over the first five games. Daemen ranks second among East Coast Conference teams in points allowed per game (54.8) and third in both steals per game (11.2) and turnovers forced per game (19.0).
BACK IN THE FOLD
Red-shirt 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.) and freshman Marina Maerkl (Binghampton, N.Y.) have seen consistent playing time over the first two weeks of the season. Jeune previously played at Division I Rutgers University and UNC-Wilmington. She has started all five games and scored a season-high 17 points in the win over Franklin Pierce. 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. She has played in all five games and totaled six points and four rebounds in the win over Bloomfield. Freshmen Abby Lundquist (Rochelle, Ill.) and Tyra O'Meally-Turnbull (Niskayuna, N.Y.) have also contributed. Lundquist closed out her career at Rochelle Township High School with a school-record 1,909 career points. She has played in two games this year and drilled her first career three-pointer in the win over Bloomfield. O'Meally-Turnbull played at Niskayuna High School and was named the team's Outstanding Defensive Player as junior. She has played in three of Daemen's five games and totaled six points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the win over Bloomfield.
WILMINGTON SCOUTING REPORT
Wilmington is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and was voted seventh in the 2019-20 CACC South Division preseason poll. Jamie Hensley, a former player at WU, enters her first full season as head coach after being named interim head coach midway through the 2018-19 season. Hensley returns three starters from last year's team that finished 8-19 overall and 8-11 in the CACC. The Wildcats suffered a 73-56 loss to Franklin Pierce last weekend and are coming off an 83-79 loss to Mercy on Wednesday. Junior forwards Jadyn Whitsitt and Tiffany Jackson have paced the Wildcats thus far. Whitsitt drilled four three-pointers and totaled 25 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Mercy and is averaging 16.2 points and 4.6 rebounds. Jackson totaled a double-double (21 pts, 12 rebs) in the loss to Mercy and is averaging 13.2 points and 9.0 rebounds. Newcomer Kasha Andrews (Rs.-Sr, G) has drilled a team-high 14 three-pointers and is averaging 11.6 points. Additional production has come from senior guard Mikala Casimir (6.8 ppg, 2.0 apg).
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. WILMINGTON
First Meeting
ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats are idle until next weekend (Nov. 29-30) when they travel to South Florida to take part in the Cesar Odio Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Barry University.
