AMHERST, N.Y. - Freshman Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) and senior Erin Egan (Williamsville, N.Y.) both registered a double-double to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a 54-38 victory over New York Institute of Technology here today in East Coast Conference action. The Wildcats extended their winning streak to 11 straight games and improved to 15-8 overall and 12-2 in the ECC. NYIT has now lost four of its last five games and dropped to 18-7 overall and 10-5 in the league.
Both teams entered the game ranked in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) East Region poll, with the Bears ranked eighth and the Wildcats ninth. The win comes two months after NYIT defeated Daemen 84-46 on Long Island. NYIT drilled 11 three-pointers and shot 55-percent (33-60) from the field two months ago. Today the Bears made just 15-of-64 shots and went without a three-pointer until the 8:22 mark of the fourth quarter. NYIT finished just 2-of-17 from downtown today.
Daemen maintained its hold on second place in the league standings, and today's win moves the Wildcats closer to securing one of the top two seeds and a first-round bye in the upcoming ECC Championship Tournament. Daemen, which still has a shot at winning the ECC regular-season title, needs to win one of its remaining four games to secure one of the top two seeds. The ECC Championship features the top six teams in the final league standings, with first round games slated for campus sites on Wednesday, March 6. The semifinals (Saturday, March 9) and finals (Sunday, March 10) will be played at Hubbell Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Bridgeport. Daemen made its first-ever appearance in the six-team tournament last year.
Daemen's 15 wins this year are the most in a season since the Wildcats went 26-7 during the 2012-13 season, and the 12 league wins are the most since Daemen joined the ECC in 2013-14. The 11 straight wins ranks as the longest winning streak for Daemen since the 2007-08 season when it put together a 17-game winning streak. The winning streak also ranks as the second longest among NCAA Division II East Region teams. Nationally-ranked University of the Sciences, which has won 13 in a row, is the only team in the region with a longer winning streak.
Titus connected on 9-of-16 shots today and finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. It marks the second-straight and seventh overall double-double for Titus, who totaled just two points and five rebounds the last time the teams played. She is averaging 20.2 points and 10.3 rebounds during the winning streak. Egan, who sat out the first meeting with an injury, registered her first double-double of the season and finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) added four points and seven rebounds, while redshirt sophomore Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) added seven points and two steals.
Sophomore Shalie Frierson (Troy, N.Y.), who drilled six three-pointers and scored 30 points in an overtime loss at Roberts Wesleyan College Friday, made just 6-of-20 shots today and led the Bears with 15 points. Redshirt sophomore Meg Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) added nine points, six rebounds and five steals.
The teams traded baskets early on and NYIT held an 8-7 lead when a three-pointer by sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) sparked the hosts on an 8-0 run. A triple by sophomore Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) capped the rally and gave Daemen a 15-8 lead with just under two minutes left in the first quarter. The Wildcats went scoreless the rest of the frame and the hosts took a 15-10 lead into the second quarter.
The Daemen lead was 18-12 three and a half minutes into the second quarter when Titus drilled a three-pointer, and then after the Bears came up empty at the other end the rookie swished a jumper to give the Wildcats a 23-12 lead with 5:48 left before intermission. NYIT answered with two free throws, but a triple by Egan with 5:48 left in the quarter gave Daemen 26-14 lead. The Bears got back-to-back buckets from Knollmeyer and Frierson to cut the lead to 10 points, and Daemen eventually took a 30-20 lead into the break.
Daemen opened the third quarter with a three-pointer by Titus, which would turn out to spark a 10-3 run for the Wildcats. The run also featured a triple by Heinold and a fast break layup by Titus (off a feed from Buchsenschutz) with 5:30 left in the frame capped the rally and gave the hosts a 40-23 lead. The teams traded buckets the rest of the quarter and Daemen took a 45-30 lead into the fourth quarter.
The teams shot a combined 7-for-31 in the fourth quarter and NYIT never came closer than 11 points over the final 10 minutes. A triple by Titus with 3:18 left snapped a nearly three-minute scoreless stretch for both teams and gave the Wildcats a 52-36 lead.
Daemen shot just 38-percent (22-for-57) from the field overall, but the hosts made 8-of-19 from three-point land. The Wildcats attempted just six free throws and made two. NYIT shot just 22-percent (7-for-32) from the field in the second half and connected on just 15-of-64 (23%) shots overall. The Bears converted 6-of-10 free throws. Daemen finished with a 51-36 edge in total rebounds, while the Bears held the advantage in points off turnovers (10-9), second chance points (9-7) and points in the paint (20-16).
Daemen is idle until next weekend when it travels to regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Feb. 22) and the University of the District of Columbia (Feb. 24) for ECC games. Daemen handed STAC is only league loss (62-54) back on Jan. 25.
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.
