GAME #16
DAEMEN WILDCATS (12-3, 4-1 ECC) vs. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FIREBIRDS (4-11, 1-3 ECC)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19
UDC SPORTS COMPLEX (WASHINGTON, D.C) - 1 PM

FAST BREAK POINTS: 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAME
1. The Wildcats have won seven of their last eight games and will be taking the court for the first time since posting wins over Queens College (89-62) and the University of Bridgeport (61-59) last weekend.

2.  Daemen is ranked ninth in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll. The Wildcats have appeared in the last ten D2SIDA regional polls dating back to last season.

3.  Daemen leads the ECC in scoring margin (+14.5), ranks second in scoring offense (71.2 ppg) and ranks third in scoring defense (56.7 papg). Daemen is the only team that features three players among the league's top-10 scorers. Tiara Filbert ranks second (15.3 ppg), Caroline White ranks third (14.5 ppg) and Katie Titus ranks ninth (13.0 ppg).

4.  Tiara Filbert is averaging a team-high 15.3 points and scored her 800th career point last weekend. She enters the weekend with 817 points in 72 career games (11.3 ppg)

5.  Caroline White ranks second on the team in both points per game (14.5) and rebounds per game (7.2) and has already scored more points this season (189) than she did all of last season (188).

6.  Katie Titus registered her 500th career point during the Saint Rose Holiday Classic and grabbed her 300th career rebound last weekend. She enters the weekend with 535 points and 313 rebounds in 43 career games.

7.  Jordan Heinold ranks fifth among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made (35). She has drilled 18 triples over the past seven games and is shooting 40-percent (18-45) from behind the arc over the last five games.

8.  Ashli Jeune ranks third among the ECC leaders in free throws made (52) and attempted (76).

9. Daemen established a program record for three-pointers made in a game last weekend during its win over Queens, as the Wildcats canned 20-of-42 from behind the arc. The previous record of 16 three-pointers was set two times previous, most recently during a 90-48 win over Mercy College at Lumsden Gym last year.

10.  Daemen has held 11 of its 15 opponents to less than 65 points and the Wildcats are 11-0 in those games.    

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCOUTING REPORT

• UDC returns seven players and two starters from last year's team that finished 10-18 overall and 7-11 in the ECC. Queens was voted ninth in the ECC preseason poll.
• Head coach John Nakpodia enters his third season at UDC.
• The Firebirds host Roberts Wesleyan Friday night before taking on the Wildcats Sunday.
• The Firebirds snapped a six-game losing streak following a 71-43 win over Mercy this past Saturday. UDC suffered league losses to Molloy (67-51), Bridgeport (68-64) and New York Tech (74-38) last month.
• Junior guard Maya Thomas and freshman guard Latavia Jackson have paced the Firebirds thus far. Thomas totaled 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Mercy last weekend and is averaging 13.9 points per game with a league-high 46 three-pointers. Jackson totaled 23 points and 13 rebounds in an early season win over Bloomfield and is averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
• Additional production is coming from senior guard Tyra Coombs (6.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and freshman guard Halia Ellis (6.5 ppg, 3.6 apg). Ellis had 10 points, five rebounds, six assists and and four steals in the win over Mercy.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UDC
All-Time Series: UDC leads 7-5
At UDC: Queens leads 4-2
Current Streak: Daemen won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 70, UDC 60 | Feb. 24, 2019 | at Washington, D.C.

DAEMEN QUICK FACTS
Daemen returns three starters and seven players from last year when the Wildcats enjoyed their most successful season since transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Daemen posted an 11-game winning streak, won 14 of its final 15 regular-season games and posted a 15-3 league record last year. Seeded second in the ECC Championships, the Wildcats were upset by New York Tech in the semifinals and closed out the year with an 18-10 overall record. The 18 wins were the most since the 2012-13 season. Daemen entered the 2019-20 season ranked third in the ECC preseason poll and ninth in the Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region preseason poll.

BANKER'S BACK
Jenepher Banker enters her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at Daemen. She has led the Wildcats to a 53-45 overall record and a 36-23 mark in the ECC since the start of the 2016-17 season. Last year she led Daemen to an 18-10 overall record, a 15-3 league record and a second-straight appearance in the ECC Championship Tournament. The 18 wins were the most for the Wildcats since the program transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2013-14. She also recorded her 100th victory as a collegiate head coach during the 2018-19 season. Banker arrived at Daemen with nearly 30 years of coaching experience at various levels, ranging from Division I to high school. Her first collegiate experience came as an assistant coach at Iowa State University (1986-88) and later as an assistant at Canisius College (1993-95). Between assistant coaching stops, Banker served as the head coach at Penn State-Behrend where she led the NCAA Division III program to a 67-61 overall record. Her 1991-92 team went 23-4, winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region championship. That team 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 ultimately settled at the high school level, coaching the varsity team at Grand Island High School from 1998-2013, building 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.

BACK IN THE FOLD
Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert and sophomore Katie Titus top the list of returning players after earning all-conference honors last year. Filbert earned second-team All-ECC recognition after averaging 12.0 points per game with a team-high 76 assists. Titus took the ECC by storm over the second half of her freshman season, averaging 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds over the final 15 games. For the season, she led the team in scoring (12.1 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg), three-pointers (42) and blocked shots (38), and was a first-team All-ECC honoree—as well as the ECC Rookie of the Year. Senior Jordan Heinold (6.3 ppg, 37 3pt FGs) also returns after making 24 starts last year. Junior guards Autumn Buchsenschutz (3.1 ppg, 45 asts) and Caroline White (7.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) also return after playing major roles last season. Sophomore guard Sydney Barney and sophomore forward Mickayla Ivy round out the list of returning players.

PLENTY OF NEW FACES
The 2019-20 roster features 10 newcomers—one graduate transfer and nine freshmen. Graduate transfer Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) and freshman Marina Maerkl (Binghampton, N.Y.) have seen consistent playing time over the first nine games. Jeune previously played at Division I Rutgers University and UNC-Wilmington. She has started all 15 games and scored a season-high 27 points in the win over Queens last weekend. Maerkl led Seton Catholic to the Final Four of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A Tournament as a junior and senior. She averaged a double-double as a senior and earned fourth-team Class A all-state honors. She has played in 14 games (12 minutes per game) and totaled six points and four rebounds in a win over Bloomfield. Freshmen Abby Lundquist (Rochelle, Ill.) and Tyra O'Meally-Turnbull (Niskayuna, N.Y.) have also contributed. Lundquist closed out her career at Rochelle Township High School with a school-record 1,909 career points. She has played in seven games this year and drilled her first career three-pointer in the win over Bloomfield. O'Meally-Turnbull played at Niskayuna High School and was named the team's Outstanding Defensive Player as a junior. She has played in 11 games and totaled six points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the win over Bloomfield.

REGIONAL RECOGNITION
Daemen is ranked ninth in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll. Daemen entered the season ranked ninth in the D2SIDA East Region preseason poll and was once again ranked ninth in the first in-season poll released Nov. 18. The Wildcats moved up to No. 7 on Nov. 25, and were ranked 10th in the previous four polls. The Wildcats have been ranked in the last 10 D2SIDA East Region polls dating back to Feb. 4 of last year.

FAST START
The Wildcats are off to the best start of their NCAA Division II era (2015-present) and their best start overall since opening the 2010-11 season by winning 12 of their first 15 games. The Wildcats have won seven of their last eight games and will be taking the court for the first time since posting wins over Queens College (89-62) and the University of Bridgeport (61-59) last weekend. The Wildcats have featured a balanced attack thus far, with all five starters averaging at least 10 points per game. Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert was named ECC Player of the Week earlier this year after averaging 27.5 points during the Cesar Odio Thanksgiving Classic. She erupted for a career-high 38 points in a loss to Nova Southeastern during the opening round of the tournament. She scored 28 points in the win over Bridgeport last weekend and is averaging a team-high 15.3 points. Junior forward Caroline White earned ECC Player of the Week honors after recording back-to-back double-doubles against AIC (12 pts, 14 rebs) and Saint Rose (21 pts, 10 rebs) during the Saint Rose Holiday Classic. She is averaging 14.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. Sophomore forward Katie Titus scored a career-high 27 points in the win Saint Rose and is averaging 13.0 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. She also leads the team and ranks third among the ECC leaders in blocks (22). Senior Jordan Heinold and newcomer Ashli Jeune and have also produced. Heinold equaled her career-high for three-pointers in a game (7) and scored a career-high 25 points in a win over Wilmington and is averaging 10.0 points with a team-high 35 three-pointers. Jeune totaled a season-high seven three-pointers and a season-high 27 points in the win over Queens last weekend and is averaging 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-high 3.1 assists. Junior Autumn Buchsenschutz is averaging 22 minutes off the bench and is contributing 3.7 points and 2.3 assists per game. Sophomore Mickayla Ivy made her first two career starts in place of Caroline White (injury) last weekend and totaled seven points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Queens.

PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
Daemen was one of the hottest teams in the NCAA Division II East Region at the end of last year, as the Wildcats won 14 of their final 15 regular-season games. The Wildcats have opened the 2019-20 season by winning 12 of their first 15 games and are now 26-5 over their last 31 games dating back to last season.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 11 of its first 15 opponents to less than 65 points and are 11-0 in those games. The Wildcats have also forced 285 turnovers and collected 143 steals over the first 15 games. Daemen ranks third among East Coast Conference teams in both points allowed per game (56.7) and second in steals per game (9.5), and second in turnovers forced per game (19.0).

LONG RANGE THREATS
Daemen ranks first among ECC teams in three-pointers made per game (8.6) and three-pointers attempted per game (26.7). The Wildcats also rank third in three-point field goal percentage (.322). All five of Daemen's starters have made at least 15 three-pointers on the year. The Wildcats made a program-record 20 three-pointers in an 89-62 win over Queens on Jan. 10—which ranks as the most by an East Region team and the third most among all NCAA Division II teams this season.

ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen played 11 of its first 13 games away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium—where the Wildcats have won 13-straight games dating back to last season. The 13-game home winning streak ranks second among NCAA Division II East Region teams behind Bentley University (15).

CONFERENCE HONORS FOR WHITE, FILBERT AND TITUS
Junior Caroline White, redshirt junior Tiara Filbert and sophomore Katie Titus have collected honors from the ECC in recent weeks. White was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 25 after leading Daemen's defensive effort during wins over regionally-ranked Edinboro and Wilmington. She keyed the Daemen defense which surrendered just 108 points (54.0 ppg) in the two games, limiting EU and WU to a combined 35 percent shooting. White also earned ECC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 23 after recording back-to-back double-doubles during wins over American International and Saint Rose during the Saint Rose Holiday Calssic. Filbert was named the ECC Player of the Week on Dec. 2 after averaging 27.5 points during the Cesar Odio Thanksgiving Classic. She scored a career-high 38 points in a 77-74 loss to Nova Southeastern and followed up with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 78-69 win over host Barry. Over the two games she shot 63-percent (20-for-32) from the field and totaled 55 points. Titus was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Dec. 9 after she headed up a defensive unit that forced 25 turnovers and limited the Roberts Wesleyan to 15 points or less in each of the four quarters during a 70-47 Daemen victory over the Redhawks. Titus recorded seven rebounds (five defensive) and collected a career-high five steals in the game. She also contributed on the offensive end with 14 points.

HEINOLD RECORDS 125TH THREE-POINTER
Senior Jordan Heinold has become the 10th player in program history to reach 125 career three-pointers. She reached the milestone during a win over Barry on Nov. 30 and has now totaled 143 three-pointers in 82 career games. She now stands just eight triples shy of moving into the top-five among Daemen's all-time leaders in career three-pointers.

A FIRST FOR TITUS
Katie Titus was voted first team All-ECC and ECC Rookie of the Year last year after leading the team in points per game (12.1), rebounds per game (7.2), three-pointers (32) and blocks (38). She became the first women's basketball player from Daemen to garner a major award from the ECC since the Wildcats joined the conference. She also became the first freshman to earn first-team All-ECC honors since Madison Rowland of Queens College in 2013-14. Titus ranked first among ECC freshmen in points per game and second in rebounds per game. She shot 49-percent (109-for-222) from the field and averaged 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds over the final 16 games. Her efforts earned her conference recognition in six of the final eight weeks. She was named ECC Player of the Week twice (Jan. 14, Jan. 28) and became the first player in team history to earn multiple ECC Player of the Week honors in the same season. She was also a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection (Nov. 19, Jan. 22), and a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week pick (Jan. 22, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18). She was only the freshman in the league to be named ECC Player of the Week and also the only ECC player to be named Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week.

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats return to action next weekend when they host Molloy College (Jan. 24) and New York Tech (Jan. 26) in East Coast Conference games.