Women's Basketball Ranked 6th In NCAA East Region

2/26/2020 3:10:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College is the No. 6 team in the official NCAA Division II East Region rankings for women's basketball which were released this afternoon. It marks the second of three polls that will be released by the Regional Advisory Committee leading up to the NCAA Championships Selection Show on Sunday, March 8. Daemen has now been included in five-straight NCAA regional polls dating back to last season, including a No. 5 ranking last week.

Under the guidance of fourth-year head coach Jenepher Banker, the Wildcats have been among the best teams in the region for much of the season. They've posted a 21-3 overall record as well as a 13-1 mark in East Coast Conference play. They've won 13-straight games overall - the longest winning streak of the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present) and the second-longest active streak among all East Region teams - and also 18-straight home games. The Wildcats sit atop the ECC standings with two regular season games remaining and need just one more victory to clinch the program's first-ever ECC regular season title.

Daemen owns a 20-2 in-region record and a 2-2 mark against teams included in this week's regional rankings. They have split their season series with No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas, including a 60-57 win on Valentine's Day at Lumsden Gymnasium in a game that was broadcast as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase. The Wildcats were also 68-51 winners over No. 9 Molloy, and will face the Lions on the road this weekend. The other setback came in their season opener against Stonehill - the No. 2 team in this week's rankings behind top-ranked Adelphi.

The Wildcats have been one of the best defensive teams in the country this season. They rank 15th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 54.8 points per game. Daemen has held 20 of their 24 opponents to 65 points or less and a perfect 20-0 when doing so. They also lead the ECC and rank 26th nationally in scoring margin (+15.6 ppg).

The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The eight-team NCAA Championships East Regional - one of eight regional tournaments that comprise the 64-team NCAA tournament - will consist of three automatic berths and five at-large selections, and it takes place March 13-16 at a site that is yet to be determined.

The Wildcats close the regular season with ECC road games at Molloy (Friday, Feb. 28) and New York Tech (Sunday, Mar. 1) - the third and fourth place teams in the current ECC standings, respectively. The Wildcats have already locked up a top-two conference tournament seed and a bye into the semifinal round to be held Saturday, March 7 at the University of the District of Columbia Sports Complex.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION RANKINGS (FEB. 26, 2020)
	OVERALL W-L	IN-REGION W-L
1. Adelphi	25-2	25-2
2. Stonehill	19-5	19-4
3. U. Sciences	24-3	24-3
4. Bentley	19-7	18-6
5. St. Anselm	18-6	18-4
6. DAEMEN	21-3	20-2
7. St. Thomas Aquinas	19-6	19-6
8. Le Moyne	17-8	17-7
9. Molloy	18-7	18-7
10. Pace	19-8	19-8

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.

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