GAME #6
Daemen (2-3, 0-0 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan (2-3, 0-0 ECC)
Wednesday, Dec. 8 | Lumsden Gymnasium | Amherst, N.Y.
Watch - ECC Sports Network
Live Stats
Daemen Game Notes (PDF)
Tickets (all ticket sales online via Hometown Ticketing - no cash accepted on site)

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JUMP BALL
Daemen continues the 2021-22 season and kicks off East Coast Conference play when they host their long-time rival, the Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks, Wednesday night at Lumsden Gymnasium. This will be Daemen's first meeting with RWC since a 58-40 victory in the NCAA East Regional finals on March 15, 2021 – the fifth and final encounter in what was an abbreviated 2020-21 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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A MAGICAL RUN
The Wildcats earned their second consecutive NCAA tournament berth and captured their first regional title last March. After entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional, the Wildcats ran to a 73-54 win over third-seeded Georgian Court in the regional semifinals, marking the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory. The Wildcats followed up with a 58-40 defeat of fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan in the regional final, avenging a loss just nine days prior in the ECC Championship final. Katie Titus was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional after netting 22 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the regional final. The postseason run came to an end just over a week later in Columbus, Ohio where the Wildcats suffered a 66-49 loss in the Elite Eight to top-seeded and eventual national champion Lubbock Christian.

RELOADED
Daemen is set to return 13 players, including four starters, from their regional championship team – players responsible for 78% of scoring, 81% of rebounds and 85% of their assists from a season ago. Among the returners is senior forward Katie Titus who was recently named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year. A 6-foot forward, Titus produced a career-high 14.8 points per game last season. She led the ECC in three-point field goals (48) and blocks (40) while also ranking second in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and third in scoring en route to earning honorable mention All-American honors. Redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert - the 2020-21 ECC Preseason Player of the Year - is also set to return after being limited to just eight games by an injury last season. A three-time All-ECC selection, Filbert enters her final collegiate season with 1,096 points in 93 games played. Senior forward Mickayla Ivy (9.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and sophomore guard Alahna Paige (2020-21 ECC Rookie of the Year) also return. 

BANK ON IT
Jenepher Banker returns for her sixth season on the Daemen bench and her 11th overall as a collegiate head coach. The veteran mentor has led Daemen to an 80-53 record since taking the reins in 2016, with 57 of her victories coming over the past four seasons. The Wildcats' success under Banker includes a 23-win season in 2019-20 (a benchmark for wins during the program's NCAA Division II era), back-to-back regular season conference titles, the program's first ECC tournament championship, a pair of NCAA tournament berths and the 2021 regional title. She was named the ECC Coach of the Year after leading the Wildcats to an unbeaten run through conference play. Including her five seasons as the head coach at Penn State Behrend, Banker enters Wednesday just three wins shy of 150 for her career. 
 
IN THE POLLS
For the first time in the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present), Daemen was nationally ranked to start the season. Daemen was ranked 20th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll and eighth in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Preseason Media Poll. The Wildcats ended the 2020-21 season ranked eighth in both polls - the first time they've finished a season in the national rankings. Daemen is also ranked tied for ninth in D2SIDA's latest East Region Poll and have now been ranked in 25 consecutive D2SIDA regional polls since January 2019.
 
MILESTONE CHASE
By converting a free-throw in the second quarter of a 54-53 win over Angelo State on November 19, senior Katie Titus became the 27th member of Daemen's 1,000-point club. As of December 7, in 78 career games, Titus has made 70 starts and totaled 1,045 points, 624 rebounds and 132 blocked shots. A three-time All-ECC selection, Titus also became the fourth player in program history to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career. 
 
HIGH ECC-XPECTATIONS
For the second straight season, Daemen has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the ECC. The Wildcats were the near unanimous choice atop the ECC Preseason Coaches Poll, garnering nine of the 10 first-place votes and 97 points. The Wildcats posted a 9-0 ECC record last season - the program's first unbeaten conference season since 2003-04 - and hold a 37-6 conference mark over the past three seasons. 

SWEET CAROLINE
The biggest missing piece from last season is forward Caroline White who was lost to graduation last spring. White earned ECC Player of the Year honors last season after averaging 15.2 points (second in ECC) and 8.5 rebounds (first in ECC) per game.

T IT UP
Daemen will regain the services of redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert to start the 2021-22 season. A three-time All-ECC selection, Filbert missed the final nine games last season with an injury. She has appeared in 98 games in her career, averaging 11.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. In Daemen's 2020-21 season opener, she became the 25th member of the program's 1,000 Point Club. Filbert currently ranks 15th in program history with 1,137 career points.

BREAKOUT SEASON
Senior forward Mickayla Ivy will look to take her game to another level after experiencing a breakout campaign in 2020-21. After averaging 2.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in her first two seasons, Ivy emerged as a consistent performer at both ends of the floor last season. She started all 17 contests and averaged 9.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field. Her contributions were recognized by the ECC coaches who voted her onto the All-ECC Second Team.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 41 of its last 50 opponents to 65 points or less, posting a 37-4 record in those games.  The Wildcats were among the best defensive teams in the country in 2020-21, ranking third nationally in both field goal percentage defense (.325) and scoring defense (51.6).

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
Daemen has posted a 53-13 record in their last 66 games, a span that dates back to mid-January of 2019. The Wildcats have won 12 of their 18 regular season, non-conference games in that time.

FRESH FACES
Daemen welcomes just two newcomers to the roster this season. Junior guard Sarah Cloutier is a transfer from NAIA affiliate Southeastern where she appeared in 38 games over two seasons while helping the Fire post a 53-6 record. Guard Sydney Hvizdzak is the lone freshmen on Daemen's roster. She comes to the Wildcats after earning All-Western New York honors last winter when she averaged 26.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while leading Randolph to the Section VI Class C title game. Hvizdzak is one of only 15 women in Section VI history to surpass 2,000 career points.

TUNING UP
Daemen got a dress rehearsal opportunity as they met Division I Buffalo in an exhibition contest at Alumni Arena. The highly touted Bulls, who are picked to win the MAC tournament this season, scored a 98-43 win in the teams' third exhibition matchup since 2010. Kaytlyn Matz (11 points) and Mickayla Ivy (10 points, five rebounds) led the Wildcats.

HOW WE GOT HERE
After going 2-2 at the Redhawks Classic (Nov. 12-13) and Lady Chap Classic (Nov. 19-20), Daemen returned to Lumsden Gymnasium for their home opener on Nov. 30 in a 68-66 loss versus Stonehill of the Northeast-10 Conference. Daemen had a 37-33 lead halfway through the third quarter before the Skyhawks went on a 13-7 run and eventually took a 48-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Stonehill led 61-48 at the midway point of the fourth quarter before the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to six (61-55) with 2:15 left to play. Daemen would not go away and cut the lead to four points, 67-63, following a corner three-pointer by sophomore Kaytlyn Matz with 10 seconds left. Stonehill hit one-of-two free throws with five seconds left, before Titus drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer. Titus finished with her fourth double-double of the season (19 points, 12 rebounds) while Mickayla Ivy added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists before fouling out late in the game. Redshirt senior Tiara Filbert added 10 points, five rebounds and six assists while Matz added nine points and four assists. This was Daemen's first game at Lumsden Gymnasium with spectators since a 61-50 victory over University Dist. Columbia on February 21, 2020 (645 days.) Daemen and Stonehill were also set to face each other in the NCAA East Regionals on March 13, 2020 before the NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

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SCOUTING ROBERTS WESLEYAN
The Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks are members of the East Coast Conference and are led by fourth year head coach Kevin Clifford. The Redhawks finished 12-7 overall and 6-4 in ECC play, won the 2021 ECC Championship title and finished as the runner-up in the NCAA East Regional finals (58-40 loss versus Daemen.) Clifford has accumulated 151 career wins coaching at four different programs in 15 seasons, including a 43-39 mark with the Redhawks. players return from the Redhawks' 2020-21 team.

The Redhawks look to replace the McCormick sisters, Paige (lost to graduation) and Madison (transferred to SUNY Potsdam) who both started all 17 contests and contributed 20.8 points per game, 59 made three-point field goals and 91 combined assists last winter. However, the team returns fellow veterans in sophomore Danielle DiCintio and senior co-captains Taryn Wilson and Dimitra Gkizani.

DiCintio averaged a team-high 3.5 assists per game, third in steals per game (1.4) and tied for fifth in scoring (5.4). Wilson shot 36.1% from three-point range (third on team) and led with a 19-point, eight-rebound performance in the ECC Championship finals versus Daemen. Gkizani was one of the top centers in the ECC last winter, averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game.

Roberts Wesleyan enters Wednesday coming off consecutive non-conference losses at the hands of Lake Erie College (67-52 on Nov. 18) and Le Moyne College (60-51 on Nov. 28.)
  

SERIES HISTORY VS. ROBERTS WESLEYAN
All-Time Series: 48-25
At Daemen: 30-10
Current Streak: Win 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 58, RWC 40 | March 15, 2021 | at Amherst, N.Y. | 2021 NCAA East Regional Finals