AMHERST, N.Y. - Jordan Heinold of Daemen College has been named the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week for games played January 13-19. The official announcement of weekly awards was made in the ECC's weekly sport report which was released this afternoon.
Heinold, a 6-foot senior guard/forward, led the Wildcats to a 64-35 win at the University of the District of Columbia in their only game of the week this past Sunday. The win extended Daemen's winning streak five-straight games and moved the Wildcats into a tie for second place in the ECC standings with Molloy College.
Heinold headed up a defensive unit that forced 20 UDC turnovers and limited the Firebirds to less than 10 points in three of the game's four quarters. UDC shot just 20-percent (11-55) from the field and failed to connected on a three-point attempt (0-15). The 35 points were the fewest the Wildcats have surrendered in a game this season.
Heinold nearly recorded her second double-double of the year and finished with nine rebounds (seven defensive), four steals and a block. She also contributed on the offensive end with three three-pointers, 12 points and three assists.
She has started all 16 contests this season, and is producing 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in three-pointer field goals made (38) and ranks second in steals (27). She is the third Daemen player to earn ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors this year, joining teammates Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) and Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.). Heinold also becomes just the third Daemen player to earn the honor since the ECC first began naming a Defensive Player of the Week last year.
With today's announcement, a Daemen player has now collected a weekly honor from the ECC in five of a possible 10 weeks. In addition to Heinold, White and Titus being named Defensive Player of the Week, White and redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) have been named Player of the Week as well.
The lone senior on this years's team, Heinold has played in 83 of a possible 99 games over her four-year career. She has totaled 666 points, 353 rebounds and 84 steals over her career and currently ranks seven in career three-pointers made (146) among Daemen's all-time leaders. She stands just five triples shy of moving into the top five in career three-pointers made. She has led the Wildcats to a 54-45 record over her career, including a 31-13 mark since the start of her junior year.
Daemen (13-3, 5-1 ECC) is ranked ninth in this week's NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll and is off to its best start since the 2010-11 season, when the Wildcats also won 13 of their first 16 games. Daemen is idle until this weekend when they host regionally-ranked 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.
