Women's Basketball Ranked 9th In NCAA East Region

3/4/2020 3:10:00 PM

By: by Tom McDermott, Sports Information Consultant

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College is the No. 9 team in the official NCAA Division II East Region rankings for women's basketball which were released this afternoon. It marks the last 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 six-straight NCAA regional polls dating back to last season, including a best-ever No. 5 ranking two weeks ago.

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 21-5 overall record and claimed a share of East Coast Conference regular season championship after posting a 13-3 mark in league play. Along the way the Wildcats posted their first 20-win campaign since 2012-13 and put together a 13-game winning streak—the longest winning streak of the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).

Daemen owns a 20-4 in-region record and a 2-3 mark against teams included in this week's regional rankings. The Wildcats have split their season series with No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas College and No. 8 Molloy College. The other setback came in their season opener again+st Stonehill College—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 17th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 55.0 points per game. Daemen has held 21 of their 26 opponents to 65 points or less, and the Wildcats are 20-1 when doing so. They also lead the ECC and rank 31st nationally in scoring margin (+14.0 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.

Daemen is seeded second in the ECC Championship Tournament and has earned a bye into the semifinal round. The Wildcats will face the winner of tonight's quarterfinal round game between No. 3 New York Tech and No. 6 University of Bridgeport in the semifinals. The ECC Championship semifinals (March 7) and finals (March 8) will be held in Washington, D.C. at the UDC Sports Complex on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION RANKINGS (MAR. 4, 2020)
	OVERALL W-L	IN-REGION W-L
1. Adelphi	27-2	2572
2. Stonehill	20-5	20-4
3. U. Sciences	25-3	25-3
4. St. Anselm	20-6	20-4
5. Le Moyne	19-8	19-7
6. Bentley	19-9	18-8
7. St. Thomas Aquinas	21-6	21-6
8. Molloy	20-7	20-7
9. DAEMEN	21-5	20-4
10. Pace	19-10	19-10

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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