AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's basketball team outscored St. Thomas Aquinas College 21-12 in the fourth quarter to earn a huge 60-57 victory this evening at Lumsden Gymnasium. The game pitted the top two teams in the East Coast Conference and was featured as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase and broadcast nationwide across Division II social media platforms.

Daemen (19-3, 11-1 ECC), which has not lost since a 67-62 setback at STAC on Dec. 15, ran its winning streak to 11-straight games and took over first place in the ECC standings. The 11-straight wins equals the longest winning streak for the Wildcats during their NCAA Division II era (2015-present). Daemen also put together an 11-game winning streak last season. STAC (18-4, 10-1 ECC) saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end and suffered its first league loss of the year. STAC has only lost two conference games over the past two seasons—both of which have come at the hands of the Wildcats at Lumsden Gymnasium.

Daemen, which is off to its best start since opening the 2010-11 season by winning 19 of its first 22 games, also also extended its home winning streak to 16-straight games dating back to last season. The 16-straight home wins ranks as the most among all NCAA Division II East Region teams.

Daemen entered the game ranked seventh in the East Region by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA), while STAC is ranked fourth in the D2SIDA East Region and is receiving votes in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II national poll.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) paced a balanced attack for Daemen, as she scored all of her team-high 15 points after halftime. She went 6-of-13 from the field and also totaled six rebounds and a career-high eight assists.
• Sophomore Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) registered her fifth double-double of the season—all of which have come over the past nine games. She played 35 minutes and totaled 11 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and two steals. The five rejections equals her career-high which she set earlier this year during a win over Concordia College.
• Senior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) played all 40 minutes and hit a  big three-pointer late in the game. She finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals.
• Graduate student Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) played just 21 minutes due to foul trouble, but still managed to score 11 points.
• Junior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) played 38 minutes and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. 
• Redshirt senior Ruth Adams paced the Spartans with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals, while junior Zaria Thomas added 13 points. Adams, who entered the game with just 12 three-pointers all season, went 3-of-6 from downtown.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Daemen held a 10-7 lead with just over three minutes left in the first quarter when the Wildcats got a layup from Heinold and a deep three-pointer from Jeune to open up a 15-7 lead. The teams traded points the rest of the quarter and Daemen took a 17-12 lead into the second quarter.
• Daemen connected on just two of its first eight shots in the second quarter, which allowed the Spartans to tie the game at 21-21. The Wildcats regained a 24-21 lead after White drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4:17 left before halftime, but the Spartans outscored the hosts 9-0 the remainder of the quarter and STAC took its largest lead of the half, 30-24, into intermission.
• Daemen opened the third quarter with back-to-back buckets by Filbert and White, and the hosts later made it a one-point game (32-31) after Titus hit a corner three-pointer following a cross-court pass from Filbert. The STAC lead was still one point (34-33) when the Spartans used an 8-2 run to build a 42-35 lead. Thomas' second three-pointer of the run with 3:58 left in the quarter capped the spurt. The Spartans would take a 45-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
• STAC was off the mark with its first four shots of the fourth quarter, which allowed the Wildcats to score seven unanswered points and take a 46-45 lead. The Spartans regained the lead following a conventional three-point play by senior Melissa Sadler, but Filbert fed Titus for a layup on Daemen's next possession and after STAC came up empty at the other end of the court Filbert gave the hosts a 51-48 lead with a three-pointer. The Daemen lead was a point (51-50) when the hosts got a clutch three-pointer from reserve guard Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) with 3:33 left. STAC's Emily Preston made one-of-two from the charity stripe to make it 54-51, but Buchsenschutz drove and fed Heinold for a corner three-pointer on Daemen's next possession. STAC, which made just 4-of-13 three-pointers in the second half, came up with two clutch triples during a 6-2 spurt that made it a 59-57 game with 45 seconds left. Both teams turned the ball over during a hectic final 30 seconds, and Jeune made one-of-two free throws with seven seconds left to give Daemen a 60-57 lead. Adams got a good look at a game-tying three-pointer just before the final buzzer, but it rimmed out. 
• Daemen shot 50-percent (14-28) from the field in the second half and made 24-of-56 (43%) shots overall. The Wildcats, who entered the game as the ECC leader in three-pointers made and attempted per game, made 8-of-22 from long range and made 4-of-8 from the charity stripe. STAC shot just 29-percent (8-28) in the second half and finished 21-of-60 (35%) from the field overall. The Spartans canned 8-of-22 from downtown and made 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen has now posted the most wins during its NCAA Division II era (2015-present) and is one win shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
• Daemen entered the weekend ranked 15th among all Division II schools in scoring defense (54.6 papg). Daemen has held 16 of its 22 opponents to less than 60 points and the Wildcats are a perfect 16-0 in those games.
• Daemen is now 33-5 over its last 38 games dating back to last season.
• Tonight marks the second time in the past five games that the Wildcats have rallied from a halftime deficit. They trailed New York Tech 22-16 at halftime back on Jan. 26, before eventually posting a 52-46 victory.
• Heinold has now made at least one three-pointer in 14-straight games. She recently registered her 150th career three-pointer and has totaled 164 three-pointers in 89 career games. She ranks fourth among the program's all-time leaders and stands nine three-pointers shy of moving into the top three.
• Filbert now stands just three points shy of 900 for her career. She registered her 200th career assist tonight and is closing in on 100 career steals. She has totaled 897 points, 207 assists and 96 steals in 79 career games
• White registered 10 or more rebounds in a game for the fourth time this season. She now stands one rebound shy of 400 for her career.
   

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats return to action Sunday (Feb. 16) when they host Mercy College in an ECC game. Mercy (7-16, 1-11 ECC) suffered a 71-39 loss at Roberts Wesleyan College tonight.

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.