WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sophomore Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) registered her third-straight double double to lead Daemen College to a 64-35 victory over the University of the District of Columbia 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 13 of its first 16 games, improved to 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the ECC. UDC dropped to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in the league.

It was the fifth-straight win for Daemen, which moved into a tie for second place in the ECC standings with Molloy College. The Wildcats will host Molloy an a key ECC game this Friday at Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen entered the weekend ranked ninth in the East Region by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).

TOP PERFORMERS

• Titus finished the game with 27 points and 10 rebounds. She connected on 11-of-20 shots overall and made 5-of-10 from three-point land. She equaled her career-high for points in a game, which she set during a win over The College of Saint Rose last month. She also equaled her career-high for three-pointers in a game (5), something she has now done three times over her brief career.
• Senior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) narrowly missed recording her second double-double of the year, as she went 3-of-7 from downtown and finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals.
• Junior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) returned to action after missing the last two games due to injury and contributed eight points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
• Junior guard Alexus King paced the Firebirds with nine points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UDC scored the first basket of the game, but Daemen answered with a three-pointer by Titus and the Wildcats laster took a 14-6 lead after Titus drilled her third three-pointer with 4:51 left in the first quarter. Daemen went scoreless for the next two minutes, but still held a 14-8 lead when a layup by Titus sparked the visitors on a quarter-ending 11-0 run. Back-to-back layup by Filbert in the final minute capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 25-8 lead after one.
• Both teams struggled to score early in the first half and Daemen took a 20-point lead, 29-9, after White drilled a three-pointer with 5:34 left before halftime. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter and the Wildcats took a 38-16 lead into intermission.
• The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with Daemen maintaining a comfortable lead throughout the stanza. The Wildcats took their largest lead of the quarter with just 41 seconds left in the frame when two free throws by freshman Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) gave the visitors a 51-26 lead.
• Daemen took a 51-28 lead into the final quarter and later took a 62-31 lead following a layup by Titus with 5:08 left to play.
• Half of Daemen's made field goals came from behind the three-point arc. The Wildcats went 22-of-56 (39%) from the field overall and made 11-of-29 (38%) from downtown. It marked the fourth time all season and the third time in the past four games Daemen has made 10 or more three-pointers in a game. The Wildcats went 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. UDC made just 5-of-29 shots in the second half and finished 11-of-55 (20%) from the field overall. The hosts went without a three-point basket in the game (0-for-15) and made 13-of-22 free throws. It marks the first time since the 2015-16 season that a Daemen opponent failed to make a three-pointer in a game.

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 the last six meetings between the the two schools after UDC won the first seven.
• Daemen entered the weekend ranked 29th among all Division II schools in scoring defense (56.7 papg). Daemen has held 12 of its 16 opponents to less than 65 points. The Wildcats are a perfect 12-0 when they limit their opponent to less than 65 points.
• Daemen is now 27-5 over its last 32 games dating back to last season.
• It marked the 10th career double-double for Titus, who is averaging 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds over the last four games.
• Heinold has moved into seventh place among Daemen's all-time leaders in career three-pointers made. She has totaled 146 triples in 83 career games and is five shy of moving into the top-five.
  

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

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.