Autumn Buchsenschutz is one of three players that will get their senior season underway this weekend

Hoop Heaven: Nationally-Ranked Wildcats Host Lakers In Season Opener

Daemen in first action in over 300 days due to COVID-19 pandemic

1/14/2021 3:00:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

GAME #1
#20 DAEMEN WILDCATS (0-0, 0-0 ECC) VS. (RV) MERCYHURST LAKERS (5-0, 0-0 PSAC)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 16
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) - 12:00 PM
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

FASTBREAK POINTS
1. For the first time in 314 days, the Daemen Wildcats hit the hardwood when they host the Mercyhurst Lakers at Lumsden Gymnaisum to kick off their abbreviated 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wildcats are coming off their most successful season since transitioning to NCAA Division II. Daemen posted a 23-5 overall record their and captured the program's first East Coast Conference tournament championship following a 68-56 win over Molloy College March 8. The Wildcats, as the seventh seed, were then set to meet second-seeded Stonehill in the opening round of the East Regional before the NCAA tournament was cancelled.

2. When they take the floor Saturday, Daemen will be doing so as a nationally ranked team for the first time in the program's NCAA era (2015-present). The Wildcats are ranked 20th in the latest D2SIDA national poll which was released earlier this week. Daemen also tops the D2SIDA East Region poll for the first time. Mercyhurst is ranked fourth in the Atlantic Region and receiving votes nationally.

3. In 2019-20, Daemen posted its first 20-win season since 2012-13, and the 16th in program history. The Wildcats also posted a 13-game winning streak during the season, which ranks as the longest winning streak of the program's NCAA era (2015-present). Daemen led the ECC in scoring margin (+14.2), ranked second in scoring offense (69.2 ppg), third in scoring defense (55.0 papg) and 16 of their 23 wins were by 15 or more points.

4. Daemen returns three starters and seven players, including All-ECC selections Tiara Filbert, Caroline White and Katie Titus. All finished among the ECC's top-15 scoring leaders. Filbert ranked third among the league scoring leaders (14.4, also a team-high, Titus ranked sixth (13.1 ppg) and White ranked seventh (12.9 ppg).

5. Filbert, recently named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, enters the weekend 10 points shy of becoming the 25th member of the program's 1,000-Point Club. She has totaled 990 points, 396 rebounds, 229 assists and 103 steals in 85 career games.

6. A first-team All-ECC selection last year, White established career-high for points (336), rebounds (181), assists (44) and steals (31) this season. She ranked third on the team in points per game (12.9) and second in rebounds per game (7.0), field goal percentage (.439) and minutes per game (33.7). Among the ECC leaders she ranks seventh in points per game, first in offensive rebounds per game (3.5), 10th in field goal percentage and eighth in total rebounds per game.

7. Titus totaled a team-high eight double-doubles and averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game last year and continues to emerge as one of the top players in the ECC. The junior forward ranked second in the conference in three-pointers made (40). A two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, Titus also led the team and ranked second among ECC players in blocks (49).

8. Last season, Daemen held 23 of its 28 opponents to 65 points or less and was 22-1 in those games. The Wildcats also forced 520 turnovers and collected 256 steals. Daemen ranked third among ECC teams in both points allowed per game (55.0) and turnovers forced per game (18.6) and fourth in steals per game (9.1).

9. 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 16 games. The Wildcats won 21 of their first 24 games this year and are now 37-7 over their last 44 games dating back to 2018-19.

10. The Wildcats were a perfect 9-0 at home last season, extending their home-court winning streak to 18 straight games dating back to the 2018-19 season. Daemen's home winning streak ranks as the longest active streak among all East Region teams, as well as 10th longest among all Division II teams.

MERCYHURST SCOUTING REPORT

Mercyhurst returns just one starter from last year's team that finished 8-20 and just missed the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament.
Head coach Brooklyn Kohlheim enters her second season as head coach at Mercyhurst. Kohlheim brought more than 14 years of playing and coaching experience in either NCAA Division I or Division II, including a stint as head coach at Lake Erie College.
Mercyhurst's 14-player roster consists of seven returning players, three transfers and four freshmen.
Following exhibitions against Buffalo and Niagara in late November, the Lakers have won five straight non-conference games to match their best start since the 2016-17 season; most recently, the Lakers earned a two-game sweep of Miles (Ala.) last weekend, winning 81-52 and 70-45.
In an 82-61 victory versus Salem University (W.Va.) last month, newcomers Jayde Boyd and Grace Centrulla each recorded their first collegiate double-double. Boyd finished the game with team-highs in points (24) and rebounds (12) while Centrulla added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Boyd, a sophomore guard, leads the Lakers offensively, averaging 16.4 points on 48% shooting; she's also producing 7.2 rebounds per contest.
Additional production is coming from senior forward Meghan Komendarek (13.4 ppg, team-high 9.4 rpg) and junior guard Julia Buchman (10.8 ppg).
Emily Shopene has been a reliable guard for the Lakers the past four seasons. In 88 games (all starts), the senior has accumulated 695 points, 379 rebounds, 331 assists and 80 steals. She leads the team with 30 assists this season.

SERIES HISTORY VS MERCYHURST
All-Time Series: Mercyhurst 7-4
At Daemen: Daemen 3-2
Current streak: Daemen won 1
Last meeting: Daemen 74, Mercyhurst 67 | November 15, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y.

DAEMEN QUICK FACTS
Daemen returns three starters and eight players from last year's team that finished 23-5 overall and shared the ECC regular season title (13-3) before defeating third-seeded New York Tech and fourth-seeded Molloy to capture the program's first-ever ECC Tournament crown. Daemen enters the 2020-2021 season as the favorite in the ECC. The defending champion Wildcats were picked first in the ECC preseason poll for the first time since joining the league in 2013.

HELLO, MY NAME IS…
Daemen earned its first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament this past season. By comparison, the other seven teams that qualified from the East Region had made a combined 67 appearances. Due to COVID-19 protocols, the tournament was cancelled.

POLL POSITION
Daemen was ranked first in the D2SIDA East Region Media Poll and 20th in the D2SIDA National Media Poll – both for the first time in program history. This comes after being ranked ninth in the final NCAA Division II East Region rankings and fifth in the final D2SIDA East Region Media Poll for the 2019-20 season. The Wildcats have now been ranked in 17 successive D2SIDA regional polls, a span that dates back to January 2018.

HISTORIC START
The Wildcats won 21 of their first 24 games this past season, which ranks as the best start of their NCAA era and their best start overall since opening the 2003–04 season by winning 26 of their first 29 games. The Wildcats won 13 straight games last year, which is a new program record for most consecutive wins during the program's NCAA era. It was the longest winning streak overall since the 2007-08 season when the Wildcats posted a 17-game winning streak.

THE NEXT STEP
Daemen made its third straight appearance in the ECC Championship in 2020, but did not have an ECC Tournament win until posting wins over New York Tech (76-56) and Molloy (68-56) to claim its first-ever ECC Tournament title.

20/20
Last year, Daemen reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2012-13 season—and the 16th time in program history.

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 16 games. The Wildcats are now 37-7 over their last 44 games dating back to 2018-19.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
In the 2019-20 season, Daemen held 23 of its 28 opponents to 65 points or less and was 22-1 in those games. The Wildcats also forced 520 turnovers and collected 256 steals. Daemen ranked third among ECC teams in both points allowed per game (55.0) and turnovers forced per game (18.6) and fourth in steals per game (9.1).

LONG RANGE THREATS
Last season, Daemen established a new program record for three-pointers made (238) and attempted (752) in a season—besting the previous standard of 236-693 set in 2009-10. Daemen ranked first among ECC teams in three-pointers made per game (8.5) and three-pointers attempted per game (26.9). The Wildcats also ranked third in three-point field goal percentage (.316). All five of Daemen's starters made at least 29 three-pointers on the year. The Wildcats made a program-record 20 three-pointers in an 89-62 win over Queens on Jan. 10, 2020.

SEASON OPENERS
Daemen will be looking for their first win in a season opener since defeating American International (70-61) to open the 2017-18 season. The Wildcats have dropped two straight season openers since then.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE
The Wildcats were a perfect 9-0 at home last season, extending their home-court winning streak to 18 straight games dating back to the 2018-19 season. Daemen's home winning streak ranks as the longest active streak among all East Region teams, as well as 10th longest among all Division II teams.

BACK IN THE FOLD
No strangers to consistent play, redshirt senior Tiara Filbert and junior Katie Titus top the list of returning players after once again earning all-conference honors in 2019-20. As a redshirt junior, Filbert earned first-team All-ECC recognition after averaging team-highs in points (14.4) and assists (3.7). Titus continued to dominate in the ECC in her sophomore campaign. The second-team All-ECC selection averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game along with a team-high eight double-doubles. Senior Caroline White ranked third for Daemen in points (12.9) and second in rebounds (7.0) and served as a two-way player en route to the first All-ECC selection of her career. Fellow senior Autumn Buchsenschutz also returns as a key player this season. Junior Mickayla Ivy and sophomore Marina Maerkl also return after being regular rotation players last season.

FRESH FACES
The 2020-21 roster features several newcomers, including Division I transfer Mary Foster (New Hampshire) and freshmen Natalie Angeletti, Alahna Paige and Kaytlyn Matz. Foster spent two seasons at UNH where she appeared in 20 games. As a freshman, the Elmira native averaged 1.4 rebounds in 7.2 minutes. Angeletti won four Section VI Class D championships in five seasons at Panama. In 2020, the Panthers went 20-2 and finished No. 2 in the state poll. Three NYS Class D Final Fours and consecutive state title games (2016-2017) later, the 2020 NYS Class D Player of the Year is their all-time scorer (1,751 points) while also topping 1,000 rebounds. A four-year letterwinner at Irondequoit, Paige scored 28.6 points per game as a senior, was the All-Greater Rochester Co-Player of the Year and Class A All-State first team after leading the Eagles to a 2020 Section VI Class A championship appearance. She is their all-time scorer at Irondequoit with over 1,000 points. A four-year varsity player at Carmel Catholic, Matz won three regional championships and made Sweet 16 and Elite 8 appearances in the Illinois state playoffs. Team MVP as a senior, Matz was honorable mention all-conference and made the Lake County All-Area team.

LETHAL LEFTY
Redshirt senior Tiara Filbert was named the ECC Player of the Week twice last season – the latest on Feb. 17 after leading Daemen to league wins over St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy. A first-team All-ECC selection, Filbert averaged a team-high 14.4 points in her redshirt junior campaign. Recently named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, Filbert also led the team in assists per game (3.7) and ranked third in rebounds per game (5.1). Among the ECC leaders she ranked third in points per game, third in minutes per game (35.3), fifth in free throw percentage (.792), fifth in assists per game (3.7) and 11th in field goal percentage (.428).

THE WHITE STUFF
Caroline White earned ECC Player of the Week honors twice last season during her junior campaign – the latest on Feb. 10 after leading the Wildcats to wins over Bridgeport and Queens. A first-team All-ECC selection last year, the now senior forward established career-high for points (336), rebounds (181), assists (44) and steals (31) this season. She ranked third on the team in points per game (12.9) and second in rebounds per game (7.0), field goal percentage (.439) and minutes per game (33.7). Among the ECC leaders she rank seventh in points per game, first in offensive rebounds per game (3.5), 10th in field goal percentage and eighth in total rebounds per game.

TITUS THE TALENTED
Junior forward Katie Titus posted back-to-back double-doubles during the ECC Tournament and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.0 points and 13.5 rebounds over the two games and now looks for more success in 2020-21. A second-team All-ECC as a sophomore, Titus totaled a team-high eight double-doubles of the year and averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game. She also ranked second in three-pointers made (40). A two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, the current junior led the team and ranked second among ECC players in blocks (49). In 2018-19, 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.

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats continue their abbreviated season with a home-and-home series with their new cross-town rival, D'Youville, on Jan. 22 and 24. Tip-off for the Jan. 22 game is set for 6 p.m. while the Jan. 24 game is slated for a 12 p.m. tip at Lumsden Gymnasium.

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