GAME #17 - PRESENTED BY COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT BUFFALO AMHERST/UNIVERSITY
DAEMEN WILDCATS (13-3, 5-1 ECC) vs. MOLLOY LIONS (13-5, 5-1 ECC)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) - 6:00 PM

GAME #18 - PRESENTED BY COLLEGIATE VILLAGE 
DAEMEN WILDCATS vs. NEW YORK TECH BEARS (10-8, 3-3 ECC)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) - 1:00 PM

FAST BREAK POINTS: 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAMES
1. The Wildcats have won eight of their last nine games and will be taking the court for the first time since posting a 64-35 win at the District of Columbia this past Sunday.

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 11 D2SIDA regional polls dating back to last season.

3.  Daemen leads the ECC in scoring margin (+15.4) and ranks second in both scoring offense (70.8 ppg) and scoring defense (55.4 papg).

4. Daemen is the only team that features three players among the league's top-10 scorers. Tiara Filbert ranks third (14.7 ppg), Caroline White ranks fourth (14.1 ppg) and Katie Titus ranks seventh (13.9 ppg).

5.  Tiara Filbert leads the Wildcats in minutes per game (34.0), points per game (14.7) and total steals (28). She recently scored her 800th career point and enters the weekend with 823 points in 73 career games (11.3 ppg)

6.  Caroline White returned the action last weekend after missing two games die to injury and totaled eight points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench in the win over UDC. She ranks second on the team in both points per game (14.1) and rebounds per game (7.2) and has already scored more points this season (197) than she did all of last season (188).

7.  Katie Titus has averaged 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds over the last four games. She has posted three-straight double-doubles and recorded her 10th career double-double (27 pts, 10 rebs) during last Sunday's win over UDC.

8.  Jordan Heinold is tied for second among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made (38). She has made at least one three-pointer in eight-straight games and has drilled 21 triples over that span.

9.  Ashli Jeune ranks third among the ECC leaders in both free throws made (53) and attempted (78).

10.  Daemen has held 12 of its 16 opponents to less than 65 points and the Wildcats are 12-0 in those games.    

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT

• Molloy returns seven players and two starters from last year's team that finished 10-18 overall and 5-13 in the ECC. Molloy was voted sixth in the ECC preseason poll.
• Head coach Joe Pellicane enters his fifth season as head coach at Molloy. He entered the 2019-20 season with a 64-82 record with the Lions—including a program-record 24 wins and an ECC Tournament title in 2016-17. He previously coach at Dowling College and led the Golden Lions to the NCAA Division II championship game in 2013.
• Molloy's 14-player roster consists of seven returning players, six transfers and one freshman.
• Molloy leads the ECC and ranks eighth among all Division II teams in scoring defense. The Lions are allowing just 52.5 points per game and have held eighth of their 18 opponents to less than 50 points.
• The Lions have won seven of their last nine games, with the only two losses coming against regionally-ranked Adelphi (77-60) and regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (72-64). Molloy posted wins over Bridgeport (66-43) and Mercy (61-48) last week. The Lions are ranked 10th in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll.
• Graduate transfer Kadijah Dickson has paced the Lions thus far. A former ECC Rookie of the Year, she played two seasons at Bridgeport before transferring to Clarion last year. She was named the ECC's top rookie following the 2015-16 season and collected third-team All-ECC honors in 2017-18. She led Clarion in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) last year. She has scored in double figures in all but one game this year and currently ranks first among the ECC scoring leaders (16.5 ppg) and second among the ECC rebounding leaders (8.9 rpg). The reigning ECC Player of the Week, she totaled 31 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Bridgeport last weekend.
• Junior guard Gabriella Aspuru is contributing 11.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocks (23).
• Additional production is coming from Division I transfer Giolibeth Perez (7.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.2 apg) and graduate transfer Robyn Francis (6.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 32 stls). Perez played at Stony Brook, while Francis comes to Molloy from former ECC member LIU Post.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MOLLOY
All-Time Series: Daemen leads 9-3
At Daemen: Daemen leads 6-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 70, Molloy 60 | Feb. 8, 2019 | at Rockville Centre, N.Y.

NEW YORK TECH SCOUTING REPORT

• New York tech returns 10 players and five starters from last year's team that finished 23-9 overall (12-6 ECC), claimed the ECC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Bears were voted first in the ECC preseason poll.
• Head coach Kenny Parham is in his fourth season at NYIT and enters the weekend with a career record of 70-41.
• The Bears play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday night before taking on the Wildcats Sunday.
• The Bears have won five of their last seven games and are coming off a 69-64 win at Bridgeport last weekend.
• Sophomore forward Ketsia Athias and junior forward Meg Knollmeyer have led the way thus far. Athias is coming off a solid rookie season in which she averaged 7.1 points and 8.5 rebounds and ranked second in the ECC in blocks (66). This season she leads the team in points per game (12.5) and rebounds per game (8.5) and has posted a league-high 39 blocks. She totaled 27 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in a recent win over Mercy. Knollmeyer earned first-team All-ECC honors last year and was the 2019-20 ECC Preseason Player of the Year. She scored 18 points in the win over Bridgeport last weekend and is averaging 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds.
• Additional production is coming from junior guard Shalie Frierson (9.7 ppg, 20 3pt FGs) and sophomore guard Zoe Amalbert (7.7 ppg, 4.1 apg).

SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW YORK TECH
All-Time Series: NYIT leads 11-2
At Daemen: NYIT leads 4-2
Current Streak: NYIT won 1
Last Meeting: New York Tech 65, Daemen 44 | March 9, 2019 | at Bridgeport, Conn. (ECC Tournament Semifinals)

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 54-45 overall record and a 37-23 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 16 games and scored a season-high 27 points in a win over Queens on Jan. 10. 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 15 games (11 minutes per game) and totaled six points and four rebounds in a win over Bloomfield. Freshman Tyra O'Meally-Turnbull (Niskayuna, N.Y.) has also contributed. She played at Niskayuna High School and was named the team's Outstanding Defensive Player as a junior. She has played in 12 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 for the second-straight week. 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 four-straight polls (Dec. 2 - Jan. 6). The Wildcats have been ranked in the last 11 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 13 of their first 16 games. The Wildcats have won five-straight games and eight of their last nine contests. 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 14.7 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 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Sophomore forward Katie Titus equaled her career-high with 27 points in the win at UDC last weekend and is averaging 13.9 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. She also leads the team and ranks third among the ECC leaders in blocks (23). 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 10.1 points with a team-high 38 three-pointers. Jeune totaled a season-high seven three-pointers and a season-high 27 points in the win over Queens on Jan. 10 and is averaging 10.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and a team-high 3.1 assists. Junior Autumn Buchsenschutz is averaging 21 minutes off the bench and is contributing 3.6 points and 2.4 assists per game. Sophomore Mickayla Ivy has started the last three games in place of Caroline White (injury) 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 13 of their first 16 games and are now 27-5 over their last 32 games dating back to last season.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 12 of its first 16 opponents to less than 65 points and is 12-0 in those games. The Wildcats have also forced 305 turnovers and collected 155 steals over the first 16 games. Daemen ranks second among ECC teams in both points allowed per game (55.4) and steals per game (9.7), and third in turnovers forced per game (19.1).

LONG RANGE THREATS
Daemen ranks first among ECC teams in three-pointers made per game (8.8) and three-pointers attempted per game (26.9). The Wildcats also rank third in three-point field goal percentage (.326). All five of Daemen's starters have made at least 16 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 has played 12 of its first 16 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 (16).

WILDCATS COLLECT CONFERENCE HONORS
Junior Caroline White, redshirt junior Tiara Filbert, sophomore Katie Titus and senior Jordan Heinold have all collected honors from the ECC this season. 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 was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 21 after she 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 during a 64-35 Daemen win. 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

HEINOLD NEARS 150TH THREE-POINTER
Senior Jordan Heinold enters the weekend just four three-pointers shy of becoming just the sixth player in program history to record 150 three-pointers. She has totaled 146 three-pointers in 83 career games and currently ranks seventh among the program's all-time leaders. She stands just five three-pointers shy of moving into the top-five.

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 travel to rival Roberts Wesleyan College (Feb. 1) for an East Coast Conference game.