GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 28
East Coast Conference Championship - Semifinals
#2 Daemen Wildcats (18-9, 13-3 ECC) vs. #3 NYIT Bears (21-8, 12-6 ECC)
Saturday, Mar. 9  |  2:30 p.m.
Bridgeport, Conn.  |  Hubbell Gymnasium

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TICKETS
$10 - general admission
$5 - students with ID, senior citizens, children ages 5-12
Free - veterans and active duty military members (guests of veterans and military members will receive half price tickets)
* children under 5 free for all games
** tickets purchased are good for all games on the date of purchase
 

JUMP BALL
Daemen begins its quest for a first-ever East Coast Conference Tournament championship Saturday afternoon when the second-seeded Wildcats take on third-seeded NYIT in the semifinal round. The game will take place at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Bridgeport. Daemen and NYIT split their two regular season meetings; Daemen drew last blood with a 54-38 win at Lumsden Gymnasium on Feb. 17. The winner moves on to the ECC Tournament finals on Sunday, March 10 to face the winner of top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College and fourth-seeded LIU Post. The tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The entire NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday, March 10 at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.

DAEMEN QUICK FACTS
Daemen returns three starters and eight players from last year's team that posted an 12-17 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the East Coast Conference. The Wildcats earned a bid to the ECC Championship Tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2013-14. Daemen suffered a 76-64 loss to Roberts Wesleyan in the ECC Tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats were ranked eighth in the ECC preseason poll. The Wildcats had an 11 game winning streak snapped at league-leading St. Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 22, before rebounding with wins over District of Columbia (70-60), Mercy (CCC) and Bridgeport (68-49).

WILDCATS MAKE REGIONAL RANKINGS
Daemen was ranked ninth in the final NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll released Feb. 11, and the Wildcats have also been included in the first three NCAA Division II East Region polls, coming in at number nine this week. It marks 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, the Wildcats have been one of the hottest teams in the NCAA Division II East Region—winning 14 of their final 15 regular-season games.

THE STREAK
Daemen's recent 11 game winning streak ranked as the program's longest winning streak since the Wildcats won 17 in a row during the 2007-08 season.

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD
Out of a possible 440 minutes during the recent 11 game winning streak, Daemen trailed for a total of 53:20. Of that, the Wildcats trailed for a total of 3:35 in the second half. The largest deficit faced during the streak was six points (vs. Molloy on 1/11, vs. Queens on 1/13 and at Bridgeport on 1/20).

MORE GOOD NEWS
Daemen's 15 league wins are the most the Wildcats have posted since joining the league in 2013-14. The previous best was nine set last year.

BATTLE TESTED
Daemen posted a 54-38 victory over regionally-ranked New York Tech on Feb. 17. It marked the third time this season the Wildcats have knocked off a team that was regionally ranked by the D2SIDA at the time of the game. Daemen has faced 10 teams that have been ranked regionally by the D2SIDA at some point this season.

BANKER RECORDS MILESTONE WIN
Daemen's 79-47 win over District of Columbia on Jan. 27 marked the 100th win as a collegiate coach for Jenepher Banker. She is in her third season as head coach at Daemen and previously spent five seasons (1988-93) as head coach at Penn State Behrend. Her overall collegiate record currently stands at 108-102 (41-41 at Daemen). Last year she led Daemen to its first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship Tournament. Banker arrived at Daemen with nearly 30 years of coaching experience at various levels, ranging from Division I to high school. Banker's 1991-92 team at Penn State Behrend went 23-4 and 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 most recently coached at the high school level, guiding the varsity team at Grand Island High School from 1998-2013. She built 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.

SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Tiara Filbert enjoyed a solid rookie season last winter and has emerged as a team leader in her second season. Filbert, who sat out the 2016-17 season due to injury, played in all 29 games last year and started 20 of the final 21 games. She ranked second on the team in total points (252), scoring average (8.7) and defensive rebounds (115). A one-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, she scored in double figures 12 times, including 10 of her final 19 games. Filbert is the only player to start all 27 games this season and has scored in double figures in 17 times. She scored a career-high 25 points in a win over Molloy on Feb. 8 and ranks second on the team in points per game (12.1) and three-pointers (39). She leads the team in minutes played (797), assists (76) and steals (39).

TITUS TAKES CONTROL
Freshman forward Katie Titus has been a force at both ends of the court over the second half of the season. She is shooting 50-percent (107-for-214) from the field and is averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds over the past 15 games. Her efforts have earned conference recognition in six of the last eight weeks. She has been named ECC Player of the Week twice and becomes the first player in team history to earn multiple ECC Player of the Week honors in the same season. Titus has also been a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection (Nov. 12-18, Jan. 14-20), and a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week pick (Jan. 14-20, Jan. 27 - Feb. 3, Feb. 4-10, Feb. 11-17). She is only the freshman to be named ECC Player of the Week so far this season, and is the only ECC player to be named Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week. Titus has appeared in all 27 games this season and has made 19 starts. She is shooting 44-percent (131-296) from the field and leads the team in total points (335), points per game (12.4) three-pointers (42), total rebounds (196), rebounds per game (7.3) and blocks (35). She averaged a team-high 15.6 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds during Daemen's 18 conference games. She currently ranks first among ECC freshmen in points per game and second in rebounds per game.

SUPER SUB TO SENIOR STARTER
Senior Erin Egan played in 27 of 29 games last year and averaged 17 minutes a game off the bench. She averaged 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds and ranked second on the team in blocks (34) and steals (26). She has started 23 of 27 games this season and ranks third on the team in scoring average (11.0). She also ranks second on the team in rebounds per game (6.5) and blocks (32). She leads the team and ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (.484). She was recently named to the weekly ECC honor roll after totaling 34 points and 10 rebounds during wins over Mercy and Bridgeport and was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week three weeks ago.

RICHARDS MAKES HER POINT
Junior college transfer Ranaveya Richards started 13 of the final 15 games at point guard and the Wildcats are 12-1 with her in the starting lineup. She scored a career-high 13 points and also added six rebounds and a career-high six assists during a win over regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 25. She has played in all 26 games and is averaging 23.0 minutes and 5.4 points and ranks second on the team in assists (66). She is averaging 6.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-high 3.9 assists over her last 14 games.

NEW ROLE FOR WHITE
Sophomore Caroline White started nine of the first 10 games, but has provided a spark off the bench during Daemen's second-half surge. She is averaging 7.5 points and 4,7 rebounds over the past 15 games. She grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in a win at Molloy on Feb. 8 and scored 18 points in a win at Queens on Feb. 10.

BIG SHOT BUCHSENSCHUTZ
Sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz is playing a larger role this year after seeing limited playing time as a freshman. She started the first 13 games this season and is averaging 18 minutes and 3.3 points a game. She ranks fourth on the team in assists (45) and fourth in three-pointers made (19). She scored a career-high 13 points and handed out four assists in a win over regionally-ranked Gannon on Nov. 28 and followed up with 10 points and three assists in a win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 5. She drilled a big three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the win over Gannon and her triple with 56 seconds left gave Daemen the lead for good (69-66) against RWC.

BACK FROM INJURY
Junior Jordan Heinold and senior Erin Sinnott both had their 2017-18 seasons cut short by injury. Heinold played in the first 13 games (7 starts) before missing the remainder of the regular-season due to injury. She averaged 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds and ranked fourth on the team in three-pointers made (27) despite missing 15 games. She has played in all 27 games this year (23 starts) and is averaging 6.1 points. She was a perfect 7-for-7 from three-point land and equaled her career-high for points (21) in the win over Mercy last weekend. She has canned 106 three-pointers over her career. Sinnott started the first eight games last year before missing the remainder of the season. A transfer from Division I Evansville, she was averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds prior to the injury. She has played in 23 games this year. She hit two clutch free throws with 11 seconds left and totaled eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the 72-70 win over Roberts Wesleyan.

HEY ROOKIE
Freshman Mickayla Ivy has seen increased playing time in recent games. She played 23 minutes in a 64-50 win at Queens on Feb. 10 and totaled five points, a career-high 10 rebounds and three assists. Fellow rookie Sydney Barney played 17 minutes in the win over Mercy last weekend and totaled nine points (3-4 3pt FGs) and five rebounds.

NEW YORK TECH SCOUTING REPORT
New York Tech returns six players and three starters from last year's team that finished 19-12 overall (11-7 ECC) and advanced to the championship game of the ECC Tournament. NYIT was voted second in the ECC preseason poll. The Bears won 12 of their first 14 games, but went just 8-6 over the second half of the regular season. Third-year head coach Kenny Parham welcomed redshirt sophomore Margaret Knollmeyer back to the lineup this year. The 2016-17 ECC Rookie of the Year, she missed the entire 2017-18 season after suffering a pre-season knee injury. Knollmeyer has scored in double figures in 23 of 26 games this year and is averaging 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds. She ranks fifth among the ECC leaders in scoring average and fourth in rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Shalie Frierson has drilled a team-high 57 three-pointers and is averaging 12.8 points. Senior Tiara Place scored 22 points in a recent win over Queens and is averaging 9.8 points. Sophomore guard Taylor Tripptree (35 3pt FGs, 8.0 ppg), freshman forward Ketsia Athias (6.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 64 blks) and freshman guard Zoe Amalbert (26 3pt FGs, 6.0 ppg, 3.2 apg) have also produced. Junior G/F Corinn Baggs (9.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg) has missed the last 11 games due to injury. NYIT leads the league in three-pointers made (203) and is shooting a league-high 35-percent from three-point land. The Bears also rank first in the ECC in fewest points allowed per game (56.3). NYIT advanced to Saturday's semifinal with a 70-57 defeat of sixth-seeded Bridgeport. Knollmeyer led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Frierson (14 pts) and Tripptree (10 pts) chipped in with double-figure scoring. 

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. NYIT: 2-10
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Daemen 54, NYIT 38  | Feb. 17, 2019 | Amherst, N.Y.
Game Recap
 

ECC TOURNEY HISTORY