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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
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Daemen women's basketball keeps the good times rolling with 76-59 victory over Staten Island Friday night.
76
Winner Daemen DAEW 5-3, 3-0
59
Staten Island CSIW 2-6, 0-2
Winner
Daemen DAEW
5-3, 3-0
76
Final
59
Staten Island CSIW
2-6, 0-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Daemen DAEW 29 18 14 15 76
Staten Island CSIW 14 18 13 14 59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcats Remain Unbeaten In ECC Play, Defeat Staten Island, 76-59

Four Wildcat players finish in double-figure scoring, Banker records 150th career win at collegiate level

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Behind four double-figure scorers and timely three-point shooting down the stretch in the fourth quarter, the Daemen College women's basketball team won its third straight East Coast Conference contest of the 2021-22 season, 76-59, against newcomer Staten Island Friday night on the College of Staten Island campus. Coming off a career-high 38 points against Bridgeport this past Sunday, senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) once again paced the Wildcats and recorded game-highs with 26 points and 16 rebounds – her sixth double-double of the season.

Tonight also marked the 150th victory at the collegiate level for Daemen's sixth-year head coach Jenepher Banker. Including her five seasons at Penn State Behrend, Banker entered the 2021-22 campaign just five wins shy of hitting the career milestone. Tonight was also the Wildcats' 60th win under Banker in the past four seasons, a stretch that has included an NCAA-era record 23-win season in 2019-20, back-to-back regular season conference titles, the program's first ECC tournament championship, a pair of NCAA Tournaments berths and the 2021 NCAA East Regional title.

With the victory, Daemen has now won five of its last seven games and improved to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in East Coast Conference play. Daemen entered the game ranked seventh in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll. With the loss, the Dolphins suffered their fourth-straight loss and dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Daemen jumped out a 12-3 lead within the first four minutes of the contest, including an 8-0 run sparked by a three-pointer from sophomore Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) and seven points from Titus from inside the paint or at the free-throw line. The Dolphins came back as consecutive baskets from Ashley Lambert and Noemia Massingue cut Daemen's lead to 12-9 with 4:53 left in the first quarter. A three-pointer from Massingue at the 2:15 mark brought the host Dolphins within a basket (16-14) before the Wildcats went on a scoring spree themselves. An inside basket from Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and two three-point conversions from Sydney Hvizdzak (Little Valley, N.Y.) were part of Daemen's 13-0 run to end the first quarter with a 29-14 lead.

Sophomore Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) scored her lone basket of the night to start the second quarter as part of a 15-0 run for Daemen before Massingue's three-pointer stopped the bleeding briefly (31-17 Daemen.) A basket from Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) gave Daemen a 19-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. This prompted Staten Island to respond with a 10-0 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes. A Massingue lay-up brought thee score within single digits (36-27) with 2:41 remaining. But once again, Daemen found timely opportunities as senior Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, N.Y.), Matz and Titus converted a three-point shot apiece to take a 47-32 lead at halftime. Titus knocked down her three-point shot with just two seconds remaining in the half.

Daemen found themselves in a cold spell to start the second half, shooting just 1-of-7 from the floor. Back-to-back treys from Hvizdzak and Matz gave Daemen a 21-point lead (56-35) at the halfway mark of the third quarter – their largest lead of the night. The Dolphins responded with back-to-back three-pointers before Matz knocked down a game-high fifth three-point field of the night with under two minutes left. Daemen went into the fourth quarter with a 61-45 lead.

The Dolphins responded with an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter, capped off by a basket from Elizabeth Lofaro to bring Daemen's lead down to eight points (61-53) with 5:57 left before Buchsenschutz and Titus converted from beyond the arc on late possessions to give Daemen a 14-point lead with under four minutes left to play (67-53.)

Staten Island had one last try after a bucket from Kaia Johnson with 3:23 left to play before Buchsenschutz hit her second three-pointer alone, followed by two free-throws on the next possession to give the Wildcats a 17-point advantage and maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Titus connected on 8-of-19 shots overall, including 6-of-10 from the floor in the first half alone, and made two of her three three-point shots in the first half. Titus also grabbed 16 rebounds, giving her six double-doubles on the year and her third in the last four contests.
  • Matz set new career-highs in made three-point field goals (5) and attempts (11) as part of a 16-point performance in 34 minutes played. Matz also recorded seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
  • Ivy added 10 points and seven rebounds in a team-high 35 minutes of game action.
  • Buchsenschutz scored eight of her 11 points in the second half alone, including 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, in 20 minutes off the bench. Her three triples tied her career-high set in a 72-70 victory over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 5, 2018 in Rochester, N.Y.
  • In 15 minutes off the bench, Hvizdzak finished with nine points on the night, going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc along with three rebounds and two assists.
  • Redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) was held scoreless in tonight's victory but still made an impact for the Wildcats, posting a team-high four assists plus four rebounds and one steal in 32 minutes played.
  • Freshman Noemia Massingue led the Dolphins in scoring Friday night with 20 points along with eight rebounds and four steals in 39 minutes played, while sophomore Ashley Lambert scored 16 points in 33 minutes off the bench.
GAME NOTES
  • In the victory, the Wildcats went 25-of-62 (40.3%) from the field after having shot over 50-percent from the field in their past two games against Roberts Wesleyan (Dec. 8) and Bridgeport (12.) Daemen did finish 14-of-38 from beyond the arc, however, against Staten Island and have now converted 10 or more three-pointers in each of their last three games (44-of-97.)
  • Daemen also finished with 13 assists Friday and have now recorded double-figure assists six times this season and in five straight contests, including a season-high 25 assists against Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8.
  • Tonight marked the second time this season where Daemen finished with four players in double-figure scoring in a single contest. Titus, Filbert, Hvizdzak and Ivy collectively marked the accomplishment in Daemen's 86-43 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8.
  • Staten Island shot 37.3-percent (19-of-51) from the field overall and six of their eight total three-pointers were made between the second and third quarters (8-of-22, 36.4%.) Daemen is now 4-3 this season when an opponent shoots below 50 percent from the floor.
  • Tonight was Daemen's first-ever meeting with Staten Island, who are in their third and final provisionary period and in their first official year as a member of the East Coast Conference. The Dolphins saw its 2020-21 campaign cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Daemen and Staten Island saw 22 points apiece coming off the bench while Daemen held the advantage in points off turnovers (22-18.) Daemen also outscored Staten Island in the paint, 23-22.
  • 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 1,125 points, 655 rebounds and 137 blocks in 81 career games. She is just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
  • Filbert played in her 101st career game today and remains in 15th place on Daemen's all-time scoring list (1,173 points.)
  • Daemen is now 56-13 in their last 69 games, a span that dates back to mid January of 2019. The Wildcats are now 44-8 against ECC opponents since the start of the 2018-19 season.
NEXT JUMP BALL
Following the postponement of Sunday's matchup against the University of Dist. Columbia due to COVID-19 protocols, the Wildcats, as of today, are now idle until Thursday, Dec. 30 when they host the Le Moyne Dolphins of the Northeast-10 in a non-conference contest at Lumsden Gymnasium. Sunday's game against the Firebirds will be made up at a date that is yet to be determined.
 

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. 
 
 
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