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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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Women's Basketball Ranked 4th In Preseason Regional Poll

12/2/2020 10:15:00 AM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications
AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College is ranked fourth in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Preseason East Region Women's Basketball Media Poll which was released late Tuesday afternoon. The Wildcats, led by veteran head coach Jenepher Banker, have now been ranked in 16 successive D2SIDA regional polls, a span that dates back to January 2018. This week's No. 4 ranking marks the program's highest ascent in the poll after finishing the 2020-21 season at No. 5.

The Wildcats posted a 23-5 overall record last season, including a 13-3 record in East Coast Conference play that was good enough to share the league's regular season title (with St. Thomas Aquinas). Daemen went on to defeat third-seeded New York Tech and fourth-seeded Molloy to capture the program's first-ever ECC tournament crown in early March. Before they could make their NCAA tournament debut March 13 vs. Stonehill, the remainder of the winter sports season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Wildcats return eight players, including three starters, from their championship team. Redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) and senior forward Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) bring a combined 166 games of experience back to the Daemen lineup. Both were first team All-ECC picks a season ago. Filbert led the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and assists (3.7 apg) while becoming the first Daemen player since Chelsea Andorka in 2013-13 to surpass 400 points and 100 assists in a season. White established new career-highs in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg), assists (1.7 apg), steals (1.2 spg) and minutes (33.7 mpg) and was a two-time ECC Player of the Week. The third starter returning is junior forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.), a two-time All-ECC honoree (including second team honors last season) who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the ECC tournament in March. Titus produced 13.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game in 2020-21, and has totaled 15 double-doubles in her career to date. 

Guards Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, N.Y.) and Sydney Barney (Midland, Pa.), and forwards Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Tyra O'Meally Turnbull (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) also return for the Wildcats. Buchsenschutz (19.0 mpg), Ivy (18.3) and Maerkl (10.2) all averaged double figure minutes in the Daemen rotation last season. Guards Maddy Stearns (Clarence, N.Y.) and Alina Estrella (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and forwards Molly Williams (Waterville, N.Y.) and Gina Fumerelle (Amherst, N.Y.) are also back after redshirting last season. 

The team's newcomers include three freshmen and two transfers. Upstate New York natives Alahna Paige (Irondequoit, N.Y.) and Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) headline the group. Paige, a 5'4" guard, was the All-Greater Rochester Co-Player of the Year and a first team All-State honoree last winter for Irondequoit High School. Angeletti was the New York State Player of the Year from Class D after leading Panama High School to a 20-2 record. They're joined in the freshman class by Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.), a team MVP and first team All-Area selection for Carmel Catholic High School. At 6'3", junior center Mary Foster (Elmira, N.Y.) brings great height to the Daemen frontcourt after starting her career at the Division I level for New Hampshire. The roster also includes Queens (N.Y.) transfer Harmony Philo (Gloversville, N.Y.) who will redshirt this season in accordance with the ECC's intra-conference transfer policy. 

Stonehill received four of the six available first-place votes, and tops the preseason regional poll with 58 points. They're followed by Adelphi (53 points, two first-place votes) at No. 2 and St. Anselm (47 points) at No. 3. Stonehill (No. 10) and Adelphi (No. 14) are the only East Region teams also ranked in the D2SIDA Preseason National Media Poll.

This marks the only East Region poll to be released by D2SIDA before the New Year. None of the East Region's 38 teams will compete until after January 1. Daemen is tentatively scheduled to open its season on Friday, January 9, but full details on the Wildcats' schedule are yet to be announced. 
 
D2SIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION MEDIA POLL - PRESEASON
W-L * PTS.
1. Stonehill (4) 23-5 58
2. Adelphi (2) 27-3 53
3. St. Anselm 21-7 47
4. DAEMEN 23-5 36
5. Jefferson 20-11 32
6. Bentley 19-9 30
7. Le Moyne 19-9 24
8. New Haven 18-9 15
9. Molloy 22-9 12
10. St. Thomas Aquinas 21-7 9

( ) denotes first-place votes
* denotes 2019-20 final record

Others receiving votes: Pace (8), Southern Connecticut State (5), Holy Family (1)

Daemen College features the premier 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.
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