AMHERST, N.Y. - Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) scored 28 points to lead Daemen College to a 61-59 victory over the University of Bridgeport here today in East Coast Conference women's basketball action. Daemen, which is off to its best start since opening the 2010-11 season by winning 12 of its first 15 games, improved to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in the ECC. Bridgeport dropped to 4-12 overall and 2-2 in the league.

The win moves Daemen into second place in the ECC standings behind league-leading St. Thomas Aquinas College.

Daemen, which entered the weekend ranked 10th in the East Region by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA), extended its home winning streak to 13-straight games dating back to last season. The 13-straight home wins ranks second only to Bentley University (15) among NCAA Division II East Region teams.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Filbert, who scored 16 of her 28 points after halftime, connected on 10-of-18 shots and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. She also collected five rebounds. It marks the third time this season she has scored 20 or more points and she came just two points shy of her second 30-point effort of the year.
• Graduate student Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) struggled from the field (3-of-12), but made 7-of-10 from the charity stripe and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
• Sophomore Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) recorded her second-straight double-double and finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals. She came just one rebound shy of equaling her career-high of 16.
• Bridgeport was led by junior guard Alyzae Davis who drilled three three-pointers and scored 14 points. Junior guard Janiece Loney added 12 points and five rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Jeune banked home a three-pointer during Daemen's first possession, but the Wildcats went cold after that and the Purple Knights built a 9-4 lead following a jumper by Loney with four minutes left in the first quarter. Daemen responded with an 8-2 spurt which gave the hosts 12-11 lead, but the Purple Knights scored the final five points and took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter after junior Samirah Henderson drilled a three-pointer just before the quarter expired.
• A conventional three-point play by freshman Stephanie McBride two minutes into the second quarter gave the Purple Knights a 19-13 lead, but Daemen scored the next six points and tied the game at 19-19 following a layup by Titus with 6:42 left before halftime. UB held a 24-23 lead with just under four minutes left in the quarter when the Wildcats scored six unanswered and took a 29-24 lead following a layup by Titus with 2:31 left before halftime. The hosts went scoreless the rest of the way and Daemen took a 29-27 lead into the break.
• Bridgeport opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers, but Daemen responded with nine unanswered points and the hosts took a 38-33 lead following a three-pointer by Filbert with 6:29 left in the frame. The lead was short-lived, as UB got a jumper by freshman Gracen Kerr and a three-pointer by Davis to knot the game at 38-38. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter and UB took a 47-45 lead into the final quarter.
• Daemen opened the final quarter with six-straight points by Filbert for a 51-47 lead, but the visitors later took a 55-54 lead following a three-pointer by Henderson midway through the quarter. The Purple Knights were up 57-55 when Titus grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Filbert for a layup with 3:10 left. UB failed to convert on its next possession and Jeune hit two free throws with 2:30 left to give Daemen a 59-57 lead. UB got a long jumper by senior forward Judit Vallis Dellavalle just before the shot clock expired with 2:01 left, and both teams came up empty on their next possession. Jeune canned two free throws with 1:01 left to make it 61-59 Daemen. Henderson missed a game-tying shot with 20 seconds left, but Dellavalle grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. Davis was then called for an offensive foul while UB was attempting to put the ball into play. Daemen was off the mark with two free throws with 12 seconds left, and Kerr front rimmed a game-winning three-point attempt at the other end just before the final buzzer.
• Daemen, which made a program-record 20 three-pointers during a win over Queens College on Friday night, shot just 36-percent (21-of-59) from the field overall and made just 4-of-23 from downtown. The hosts connected on 15-of-22 from the free throw line. Bridgeport was good on 22-of-57 (39%) shots overall and went 8-of-20 (40%) from three-point land. The Purple Knights canned 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.
• The Wildcats grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and posted a 45-30 edge in total rebounds—which led to a sizable advantage in both second chance points (22-9) and points in the paint (30-18).

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.
• The Wildcats have now prevailed in seven of the last eight meetings between the the two schools. Daemen now owns a 10-3 advantage in the all-time series.
• Daemen entered the weekend ranked 25th among all Division II schools in scoring defense (56.2 papg). Daemen has held 11 of its 15 opponents to less than 65 points. The Wildcats are a perfect 11-0 when they limit their opponent to less than 65 points.
• Daemen is now 26-5 over its last 31 games dating back to last season.
• Filbert entered the game 11 points shy of 800 for her career. She has now scored 817 points in 72 career games (11.3 ppg).
• Titus recorded her ninth career double-double and has now totaled 535 points and 313 rebounds in 43 career games.
• Jeune has now scored in double figures in four of the last five games and is averaging 16.8 points over that span.
• Daemen played without junior forward Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) for the second-straight game. White entered the weekend as the team's leading scorer (14.5 ppg) and rebounder (7.2 rpg).
  

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats are idle until next Sunday (Jan. 19) when they travel to the University of the District of Columbia for an ECC 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.