AMHERST, N.Y. - Senior Isabella Santoro drilled four three-pointers and totaled 18 points to lead Stonehill College to a 68-66 victory over Daemen College in a battle of regionally ranked teams tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

It marked the 2021-22 home opener for Daemen, which returns 13 players from last year's team that claimed the NCAA Division II Tournament East Region championship. Both teams entered the game ranked in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll. Daemen is ranked fifth in the region and now stands at 2-3 on the year. Stonehill, which picked up its first win of the year (1-2), is ranked seventh in the region.

Daemen held a 37-33 lead midway through the third quarter, before the long-range shooting of Santoro sparked the Skyhawks on a 13-7 run. Santoro drilled three triples during the run and her three-pointer with 2:05 left in the quarter capped the run and gave the visitors a 46-44 lead.

Stonehill took a 48-44 lead into the fourth quarter and built the lead to double digits, 56-46, after senior Emily Bramanti knocked down a three-pointer three minutes into the final frame. The lead was 13 points, 61-48, midway through the quarter when the Wildcats mounted a rally and cut the lead to six points, 61-55, after senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) hit two free throws with 2:15 left to play. The visitors went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to regain a 65-55 lead, but Daemen would not go away and cut the lead to four points, 67-63, following a corner three-pointer by sophomore Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) with 10 seconds left. Stonehill hit one-of-two free throws with five seconds left, before Titus drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Tonight marked the first game action for Santoro since early in the 2019-20 season. She started the first 11 games in 2019-20 before suffering a season-ending injury and Stonehill's 2020-21 season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She did not play in Stonehill's first two game this year. She played 32 minutes tonight and went 6-of-10 from the field overall and 4-of-7 from downtown.
• Freshman guard Sharn Hayward also canned 4-of-7 three-pointers for the Skyhawks and finished with 16 points, while Bramanti added 13 points and five rebounds.
• Titus posted her fourth double-double of the year and finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. She is now averaging a team-high 17.4 points and 10.2 rebounds this season.
• Senior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists before fouling out late in the game, while redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and six assists. Matz added nine points and four assists.

GAME NOTES

• Stonehill is traditionally one of the top teams in the East Region. The Skyhawks have averaged 24 wins over the past three seasons (their 2020-21 season was canceled due to Covid 19) and claimed the NCAA Division II Tournament East Region championship in 2018. Stonehill was picked first in this year's Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division preseason poll.
• Daemen and Stonehill were set to meet in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Division II Tournament before the entire tournament was canceled due to Covid-19. Stonehill now owns a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series. The teams first met during the 2019 Redhawks Tipoff Classic hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College and the Skyhawks posted a 77-70 victory.
• Titus became the 27th member of Daemen's 1,000-Point Club during a win over Angelo State University earlier this year and has now totaled 1,045 points, 624 rebounds and 132 blocks in 78 career games. She is just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
• Filbert has now netted 1,137 points in 98 games during her career. She sits in 15th place on Daemen's all-time scoring list.
• Both teams lit it up from downtown during the second half this evening. Daemen made just 1-of-10 from behind the arc in the first half, but rebounded to shoot 7-of-16 in the second half. Stonehill went  just 3-of-8 from downtown in the first half, but connected on 6-of-10 three-pointers in the second half. The Skyhawks entered the game shooting just 11-of-52 (21%) from the behind the arc.
• Both teams shot 42-percent from the field overall, as Daemen went 25-of-60 and Stonehill finished 22-of-52. The Skyhawks shot 15-of-19 from the charity stripe, while the hosts went 8-of-10.
• Daemen held the advantage in points in the paint (32-18) and points off turnovers (17-13), while Stonehill held the edge in total rebounds (37/28) and second chance points (16-11).
• Daemen is now 53-13 in their last 66 games, a span that dates back to mid January of 2019. The Wildcats are 12-6 in regular season, non-conference games in that span.

NEXT JUMP BALL

The Wildcats are idle until Dec. 8 when they open East Coast Conference play by hosting rival Roberts Wesleyan College.

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.

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