Daemen junior forward Katie Titus looks for more two-way success after collecting ECC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors after the D'Youville series.

Women's Basketball Faces Gannon in Battle of Nationally Ranked Teams

Wildcats & Golden Knights to meet in home-and-home series, first meetings since November 2018

1/28/2021 1:00:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

GAME #4
#13 DAEMEN WILDCATS (3-0, 2-0 ECC) VS. #T-21 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (4-0, 0-0 PSAC)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29
HAMMERMILL CENTER, ERIE PA. – 6:00 PM
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

GAME #5
#13 DAEMEN WILDCATS VS #T-21 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 31
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) – 12 PM
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

FASTBREAK POINTS
1. Daemen's pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season continues this weekend as the Wildcats have a home-and-home series with the Gannon Golden Knights, their final set of non-conference action this season. Daemen enters on a three-game winning streak, including a sweep against D'Youville last week. This past Sunday, Daemen defeated the Saints, 90-37, behind 11 different scorers, including a season-high 20 points from senior forward Caroline White.

2. These are the first meetings between Daemen and Gannon since a 58-52 victory by the Wildcats on Nov. 28, 2018 at the Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa. A go-ahead three-pointer from then-sophomore Autumn Buchsenschutz with 0:27 remaining in regulation helped the Wildcats seal their first win the series since January of 2005.

3. Since ending their 314-day hiatus between contests with an 82-64 win over Mercyhurst on Jan. 16, Daemen is now off to their ninth 3-0 start in program history and their first in the NCAA era. The last time Daemen had a 3-0 start was in 2012-13 when they finished 26-7 overall. Daemen has shot 50% from the field in two of the first three games.

4. Junior forward Katie Titus collected both ECC Player and Defensive Player of the Week honors following last weekend's sweep of D'Youville. Titus averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in the Daemen wins, including a season-high 25 points in the first matchup. Titus totaled 42 points in just 42 minutes played last week, and she enters this weekend averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game.

5. Daemen looks to maintain their ball-hawk mentality this weekend against the Knights. Through the first three contests, the Wildcats have averaged 19.0 points off turnovers, 7.3 steals per game and 4.3 blocks per game and have held their opponents to just 30% shooting.

6. Daemen has held 26 of its last 31 opponents to 65 points or fewer, posting a 25-1 record in those contests.

7. Daemen has made at least 10 three-pointers in nine of their last 19 games and canned a season-high 11 twice at home against both Mercyhurst and D'Youville. Through the first three games this season, the Wildcats are averaging 9.6 three-pointers per game after they led the ECC last season (8.5).

8. Sunday's victory against D'Youville was the first time Daemen scored 90 or more points in a game since a 90-48 victory versus Mercy College on March 1, 2019. Daemen also established single game records for rebounds (66), assists (25) and victory margin (53) against East Coast Conference opponents and in the NCAA era (2015 – present.)

9. This weekend's series features two nationally ranked teams. Daemen comes in at No. 13 in the D2SIDA national poll - the highest national ranking of the program's NCAA era. Gannon's 4-0 start has them ranked No. 21 in the same poll. Daemen will be seeking the first win of their NCAA era against a nationally ranked opponent. Since the 2015-16 season, Daemen is 0-6 against teams ranked in either the D2SIDA or WBCA top 25 polls.

10. Daemen is coming off a 23-5 campaign that resulted in the program's first ECC championship and NCAA tournament berth. The Wildcats have won 17 of their last 19 games dating back to last season, and 40 of their last 47 games dating back to the 2018-19 season.

GANNON SCOUTING REPORT

Gannon returns three starters from last year's team that finished 25-6 overall, won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship and were set to advance to the NCAA Tournament before its cancellation due to COVID-19.
The Golden Knights are led by head coach Cleve Wright, who is in 13^th season over two stints with the program and 15^th overall as a head coach at the collegiate level. Wright previously served as the women's basketball coach at Gannon from 2002-13, winning four conference championships (3 PSAC) and led the NCAA Elite Eight in 2012-13.
Gannon's 15-player roster consists of 12 returning players and three freshmen.
The Golden Knights are tied for No. 21 in the latest D2SIDA polls and are 4-0, their best start since the 2009-10 season.
Tori Obenrader and Emily Poling have each averaged 12.3 points per game while Sydney Mitchell has averaged 8.5 points per game. Obenrader also leads the team in rebounds per game (7.8) while Poling has drilled a team-best 7-of-13 in three-point shooting.
Since Gannon last met Daemen on Nov. 28, 2018, Gannon has gone 39-10 in their last 49 games.

SERIES HISTORY VS GANNON
All-Time Series: Gannon leads 9-5
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Current streak: Daemen won 1
Last meeting: Daemen 58, Gannon 52 | November 28, 2018 | at Erie, Pa.

DAEMEN QUICK FACTS
Daemen returns 11 players overall, including seven letter-winners and three starters, 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 last 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 is ranked No. 1 in the D2SIDA East Region media poll and No. 13 in the D2SIDA national media poll this week. It marks the third straight week in the program's NCAA era that Daemen has occupied the No. 1 ranking in the region and been nationally ranked. The Wildcats have now been ranked in 19 successive D2SIDA regional polls, a span that dates back to January 2018.

HISTORIC START
The Wildcats won 21 of their first 24 games last 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 a win in the tournament until posting victories 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 got the long-awaited 2020-21 season underway Jan. 16 with an impressive 82-64 win over regionally ranked Mercyhurst, ending a 314-day gap between contests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by home-and-home victories against ECC newcomer D'Youville last weekend. The early results give Daemen the ninth 3-0 start in program history, and their first since the 2012-13 campaign. The Wildcats have won 17 of their last 19 games and are 40-7 since Jan. 11, 2019.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 25 of its last 31 opponents to 65 points or less, posting a 25-1 record in those games. In 2019-20, Daemen collected 256 steals – the team's most since 355 in 2012-13 – and finished the season ranked 13th in the country for scoring defense, allowing just 55.0 points per game.

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 standards 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's 82-64 win over Mercyhurst snapped a two-game slide in season openers, giving the their first 1-0 start since the 2017-18 season when they defeated American International. Daemen is 24-10 in season openers during the program's modern era (1986-present).

PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Early season home wins over Mercyhurst and D'Youville have extended Daemen's home-court winning streak to 20 straight games dating back to the 2018-19 season. It ranks as the longest active home winning streak among all East Region teams, as well as one of the top 10 active streaks among all Division II teams. Daemen went 9-0 at home during the 2019-20 season – the program's first unbeaten home campaign since going 13-0 in 2007-08.

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 letter-winner 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.

HEY ROOKIE
Freshman forward Natalie Angeletti was named the ECC Rookie of the Week after helping Daemen sweep D'Youville in games played Jan. 22 and 24. Angeletti narrowly missed her first career double-double, totaling 9 points and 10 rebounds in the second matchup. She is the sixth Daemen player to earn Rookie of the Week honors since the 2013-14 season when the Wildcats began ECC play.

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play next weekend with a split home-and-home series against long-time rival, Roberts Wesleyan. Daemen hits the road to Rochester, N.Y. to face the Redhawks on Friday, Feb. 5 before returning to Lumsden Gymnasium for a Super Bowl Sunday matinee Sunday, Feb. 7.

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