AMHERST, N.Y.. - The Daemen College women's basketball team is ranked 10th in the first NCAA Division II East Region rankings for the 2018-19 season which were announced today by the NCAA Women's Basketball Regional Advisory Committee. It marks the first time in the team's four-year history as an NCAA Division II program that it's been included in the official NCAA regional rankings. 

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. The NCAA announces the 10-team regional rankings each of the three Wednesdays prior to the NCAA Championships selection announcement, which will be made this year on Sunday, March 10. The eight-team NCAA Championships East Regional will consist of three automatic berths and five at-large selections, and it takes place Mar. 15-18 at a site that is yet to be determined. 

Under the guidance of third-year head coach Jenepher Banker, the Wildcats currently sit at 15-8 overall and are in second place in the East Coast Conference standings with a 12-2 league record. Daemen's 15 wins 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 Wildcats have reeled off 11 straight wins, which ranks as their longest winning streak since the 2007-08 season when they put together a 17-game winning streak. The streak ranks as the second longest among NCAA Division II East Region teams. 

Most recently, Daemen extended the streak by defeating Long Island University Post (60-53) and New York Institute of Technology (54-38) this weekend. Daemen has won by 10 points or more eight times during the streak. The Wildcats are averaging 66.4 points during the streak, while surrendering an average of 49.9 points. The Wildcats are now 12-1 on the year when they score 60 or more points.

Also included in the regional rankings released today are: No. 1 University of the Sciences, No. 2 Bentley University, No. 3 Jefferson University, No. 4 Le Moyne College, No. 5 Saint Thomas Aquinas College, No. 6 Stonehill College, No. 7 Saint Anselm College, No. 8 Southern New Hampshire University and No. 9 Merrimack College.

Daemen is idle until this 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. STAC (22-3, 13-1) has won six straight games. Daemen handed STAC its 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.