ALBANY, N.Y. - Graduate student Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) scored all of her team-high 15 points in the second half to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 53-40 victory over American International College here today in opening round action of the Saint Rose Holiday Classic. Daemen, which is off to its best start since opening the 2012-13 season by winning 10 of its first 12 games, improved to 9-3 with the win. AIC, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference dropped to 4-8.

Daemen entered the weekend ranked 10th in the East Region by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).

HIGHLIGHTS

• Both teams struggled to score during the first quarter and Americian International held a 5-4 lead midway through the frame. Daemen scored the next two baskets and the Wildcats ended up taking a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
• Daemen got a layup from sophomore Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) on the first possession of the second quarter, but the Wildcats went scoreless for the next seven minutes. AIC was unable to take advantage of the Daemen scoring drought and the Wildcats would go on to take a 17-16 lead into intermission. 
• A conventional three-point play by sophomore Zoe Willis less than a minute into the third quarter gave the Yellow Jackets a 19-17 lead, but layup by graduate student Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) on Daemen's next possession ignited a 14-0 run by the Wildcats. Jeune drilled two three-pointers and scored eight points during the run, and back-to-back layups by junior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) capped the rally and gave Daemen a 33-19 lead with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. The Wildcats took a 37-23 lead into the final quarter.
• Daemen opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers by Jeune and senior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) and the lead never dipped below 13 points after that.
• Jeune connected of 6-of-13 shots overall and equaled her season-high for three-pointers in a game (3). She also contributed five rebounds and two steals.
• White registered her second double-double of the season. She scored 12 points and equaled her career-high for rebounds with 14. Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) added 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Willis paced the Yellow Jackets with nine points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
• Daemen picked up the win despite shooting a season-low 33-percent (21-64) from the field overall. The Wildcats made 5-of-19 from long range and converted just 6-of-15 from the charity stripe. The Yellow Jackets made just six of 30 shots (20%) in the first half and finished 14-of-59 (24%) from the field overall. AIC connected on just 2-of-15 from three-point land and made 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.
• Points off turnovers were even (13-13), while Daemen finished with an edge in second chance points (13-9) and points in the paint (26-22).

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 entered the weekend ranked 38th among all Division II schools in scoring defense (57.5 papg) and has now held six of its 12 opponents to less than 50 points.
• Daemen is now 23-5 over its last 28 games dating back to last season.
• Jeune's three three-pointers gives her 11 on the year and now all five of Daemen's starters have made 10 or more three-pointers on the year.
• Filbert has scored in double figures in six-straight games and is averaging a team-high 14.8 points.
• White went 0-for-3 from downtown and had a streak of seven-straight games with at least one three-pointer snapped today.

UP NEXT
The tournament continues tomorrow and Daemen will take on Saint Rose. The Golden Knights posted a 69-63 win over Georgian Court University in today's other first-round game.


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.