DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. - Sophomore Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) scored a season-high 21 points in just 23 minutes of action to lead Daemen College to a 68-48 victory over Mercy College in East Coast Conference women's basketball action here tonight. Daemen, which is off to its best start since opening the 2012-13 season by winning nine of its first 10 games, has now won eight of its last nine games and improved to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the ECC. The Wildcats entered the game ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll. Mercy, which was riding a six-game winning streak (the program's longest since 1985), dropped to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in the league. The host Mavericks also suffered their first loss at home this season after opening the year 4-0 at home.

Daemen has now prevailed in the last eight meetings between the two teams, and the Wildcats now own an 11-2 advantage in the all-time series.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Daemen scored the first eight points of the game, before the Mavericks answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to a point. The hosts would come no closer the rest of the game, as the Wildcats scored the final nine points of the quarter and took a 17-7 lead into the second stanza.
• Mercy cut the lead to five points, 17-12, following a layup by sophomore Alexis Lake less than a minute into the second quarter, but Daemen answered with a three-pointer by junior Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) and later took a 29-14 lead following a layup by Titus with 6:11 left before halftime. The lead eventually grew to 22 points, 36-14, following a triple by Titus with 3:30 remaining in the quarter. Daemen would take a 41-19 lead into intermission.
• An 11-3 run by the Wildcats at the start of the third quarter all but secured the win for Daemen. Another three-pointer by Titus capped the spurt and gave the visitors a 52-22 lead.
• Daemen took a 61-32 lead into the fourth quarter and the lead never dipped below 20 points over the final 10 minutes.
• Titus connected on 9-of-13 shots overall and made 3-of-4 from long range. She also contributed seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals. It marks the third time this season and the 10th time over her two-year career she has scored 20 or more points in a game.
• Junior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) and redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) also reached double figures in points for the Wildcats. White totaled 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. She has now scored in double figures in six-straight games. Filbert added 12 points and seven rebounds.
• Senior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) contributed eight points, six rebounds and three assists, while graduate student Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) chipped in eight points, five boards and three assists.
• Freshman Katie Wall scored a team-high 14 points for the Mavericks. Junior forward Amber Brown, who entered the game averaging a league-high 17.4 points per game, went 0-for-8 from the field and went scoreless in 22 minutes of action.
• Daemen shot 52-percent (17-for-33) during the first half and connected on 27-of-65 (42%) shots overall. The Wildcats made 7-of-27 from downtown and connected on 7-of-8 free throws. Mercy shot just 26-percent (7-for-27) from the field in the first half and finished 14-of-45 (31%)  overall. The hosts made 4-of-14 from downtown and connected on 16-of-19 from the charity stripe.
• Mercy posted an 18-17 edge in points off turnovers, while the Wildcats held the edge in second chance points (11-2) and points in the paint (26-18).

GAME NOTES

• 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, posted a 15-3 league record and finished 18-10 overall.
• Daemen is now 22-4 over its last 26 games dating back to last season.
• Daemen has now held five of its first 10 opponents to less than 50 points.
• Filbert leads the team with 152 points, followed closely by White (149) and Titus (142).
• White is just 39 points shy of equaling her point production (188) from all of last season.
• Titus stands just 18 points shy of 500 for her career.
  

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action Sunday (Dec. 15) when they play a key ECC game at nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College. STAC is ranked 24th in the D2SIDA national poll and improved to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the ECC following a 73-58 win over Roberts Wesleyan College tonight.

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.