LUBBOCK, Texas. - Senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) registered her third-straight double-double to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to a come-from-behind 54-53 victory over upset-minded Angelo State University tonight during opening night action of the Lady Chap Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian University.

Titus finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but it was fellow senior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) who came up with the two clutch plays in the final seconds. Ivy's jumper with 19 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 54-53 lead, and she then hauled in the defensive rebound following a game-winning three-point attempt by ASU just before the final buzzer.

Daemen entered tonight's the game ranked No. 20 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II top 25 preseason coaches poll. Angelo State, which is located in San Angelo, Texas and is a member of the Lone Star Conference, dropped to 0-3 on the year.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Titus entered the game just two points shy of becoming the 27th member of the program's 1,000-Point Club. She has now scored in double figures in 51 of 76 career games and registered her 20th career double-double. She shot 6-for-14 from the field overall, 3-of-6 from downtown and canned 7-of-8 free throws. In 76 career games Titus has totaled 1,020 points, 605 rebounds and 129 blocks. She becomes just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks
• Redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) added nine points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists, while Ivy finished with six points and six rebounds.
• Reserve guards Sydney Hvizdzak (Little Valley, N.Y.) and Sarah Cloutier (San Diego, Calif.) contributed solid minutes off the bench and both scored six points. Hvizdzak also grabbed six rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant paced the Belles with 16 points and five rebounds, while freshman Madeline Stephens added 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

• Angelo State jumped out to a 13-3 lead and used an 8-2 run midway through the second quarter to open up a 25-16 lead after Daemen had chipped the lead down to three points (17-14). The Belles took a 30-24 lead into intermission. ASU held a 39-31 lead midway through the third quarter, before Daemen rallied with 10 unanswered points. A Filbert jumper sparked the run and back-to-back three-pointers by Hvizdzak and Titus tied the game at 39-39. A layup by Cloutier with 1:21 left in the third gave Daemen the lead for the first time in the game. Daemen took a 43-42 lead into the final quarter and later took a 52-46 lead after sophomore Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) rebounded her own miss and fed Titus for a layup with 5:20 to play. The Wildcats would then go scoreless until Ivy canned the game-winning jumper with 19 seconds left.

GAME NOTES

• Today's result marked the 40th time in the last 49 games that Daemen has allowed 65 points or less. The Wildcats own a 37-3 record in those contests. 
• Filbert now has 1,123 points in 96 games during her career. She is currently tied with Ellie Allen for 16th place on Daemen's all-time scoring list. 
• The Wildcats shot 8-for-10 from the free throw line today. Through three games, the team is shooting 88% from the charity stripe (38-for-43).
• Daemen is now 53-11 in their last 64 games, a span that dates back to mid January of 2019. The Wildcats are 12-4 in regular season, non-conference games in that span.

NEXT JUMP BALL

The tournament continues tomorrow and Daemen will take on host Lubbock Christian University at 8 p.m. (CDT).
 

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

Follow the Daemen College women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.