TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Redhawks Tip-Off Classic
Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center

Game #1
Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Stonehill Skyhawks (0-0, 0-0 NE-10)
Friday, Nov. 8 |  6 p.m.
Watch Live (Via ECC Network)
Live Stats

Game #2
Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Franklin Pierce Ravens (0-0, 0-0 NE-10)
Saturday, Nov. 9 |  3:30 p.m.
Watch Live (Via ECC Network)
Live Stats

JUMP BALL
The Daemen College women's basketball team tips off the 2019-20 season this weekend by taking part in the Redhawks Tip-Off Classic hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y. The tournament will feature teams from the East Coast Conference (ECC) and the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10). It will mark the fifth-straight season Daemen has opened the season at a tournament hosted by Roberts Wesleyan.

BANKER'S BACK
Jenepher Banker enters her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen. Over the past two seasons she has led the Wildcats to a 41-42 overall record and a 32-22 mark in the ECC. 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. 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 enters 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.

SECOND HALF SURGE
After winning just four of their first 12 games last year, the Wildcats were one of the hottest teams in the NCAA Division II East Region down the stretch—winning 14 of their final 15 regular-season games.

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.

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.

STONEHILL SCOUTING REPORT
Stonehill is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. Head coach Trisha Brown—in her 19th season at the helm—returns 12 letterwinners and all five starters from her 2018-19 squad that posted a 20-10 record overall (14-7 NE10) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 25th time in program history. Sophomore forward Kayla Raymond tops the list of returning players after a breakout freshman campaign that saw her collect NE10 Rookie of the Year honors and Division II Bulletin All-Rookie Team status. A second team All-NE10 selection, she averaged a team-high 16.2 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game. She scored in double-figures in 22 of her 26 games. Senior guard Grace Carter and senior forward Gabrielle Reuter also return. Carter contributed 9.8 points and 2.9 assists per game last year, while Reuter added 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds with team-leading 57 blocked shots. Junior Jennifer Worden returns at point guard after averaging 8.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and a team-high 4.0 assists last year. The Skyhawks are ranked fifth in the D2SIDA East Region preseason poll and were picked third in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES
First Meeting

FRANKLIN PIERCE SCOUTING REPORT
Franklin Pierce is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. The Ravens posted a 4-22 overall record and a 2-19 mark in the NE-10 last year. Head coach Mark Swasey returns to Franklin Pierce in 2019-20 for the first season of his second stint as head coach. He was also the program's head coach from 2002-03 through 2008-09 and ranks second in program history with 124 wins (124-85, .593 winning percentage). He earned NE-10 and Russell Athletic/WBCA East Region Coach of the Year honors after leading the Ravens to a program-record 29 victories in 2008-09. Sophomore forward Izzy Lipinski and junior guard Sophia Holmes top the list of returning players. Lipinski averaged 12.0 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds last year and was named the NE-10 All-Rookie team. She also led the team in steals (39) and blocks (26). Holmes drilled a team-high 51 three-pointers and also averaged a team-high 12.9 points per game. Sophomore guard Lisa Sulejmani also returns after averaging 10.7 points and a team-high 3.7 assists as a rookie. The Ravens were picked seventh in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES
First Meeting

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats return to Rochester next weekend (Nov. 15-16) to take part in the Redhawks Alumni Classic hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College. The Wildcats will face two teams from the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference (CACC) in Bloomfield College and Concordia College.