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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
WBB TEAM VS MERCYHURST
Daemen women's basketball moves to 9-1 on season after Sunday's 79-45 win at Mercy College.
79
Winner Daemen DAEW 9-1, 7-0 ECC
45
Mercy MERCY-W 0-5, 0-5 ECC
Winner
Daemen DAEW
9-1, 7-0 ECC
79
Final
45
Mercy MERCY-W
0-5, 0-5 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Daemen DAEW 26 16 23 14 79
Mercy MERCY-W 10 4 7 24 45

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

Wildcats Close Out Road Trip With 79-45 Win Over Mercy

Titus, White shine as Daemen moves to 7-0 in ECC play

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – After their performances this weekend down in Westchester County, one could anticipate it'll be a joyful ride home for the Daemen women's basketball team.

The nationally-ranked Wildcats finished victorious again with a 79-45 victory against Mercy College Sunday afternoon at Victory Gym on the Mercy campus to take home the season series. Winners of their last five games now, the Wildcats leaned on the duo of junior Katie Titus (Penfield. N.Y.) and senior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) who finished the contest with 22 points and 18 points, respectively, and together contributed 32 of Daemen's 42 first half points.

With the win, Daemen improved to 9-1 overall – their best start since the 2012-13 campaign – and remain atop of the ECC standings at 7-0. Mercy dropped to 0-5 and 0-5 in the league.

Daemen entered the game ranked in both Division II national polls—a first for the Wildcats during their NCAA Division II era (2015—present). The Wildcats sit at No. 13 in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) media poll, and also come in at No. 17 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II top 25 coaches poll.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • In just 22 minutes of action, Titus shot 8-of-10 from the floor and made three of her five three-pointers in the first half alone. Titus also had seven rebounds, two assists and three first-half blocks.
  • In a team-high 25 minutes of play, White finished 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and two made three-pointers plus nine rebounds and three steals.
  • Redshirt freshman Alina Estrella (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting for the Wildcats in 17 minutes off the bench along with three rebounds.
  • Junior forward Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich) finished with seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds. This is the third time this season where Ivy has recorded 10+ rebounds in a contest.
  • Freshman guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) scored five points and distributed five assists for the second straight game.
  • Freshman guard Asya Brandon was the only player who finished in double-digit scoring for Mercy. She scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half on 6-of 11 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Katie Wall was held to only 6 points.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SUMMARY
First Quarter (Daemen 26, Mercy 10) – Titus provided the damage in the early stages, scoring 11 points in the frame to help the Wildcats establish a 15-2 lead with just over three minutes remaining. The Mavericks then exchanged three-pointers with the Wildcats on consecutive possessions as sophomore Kellie Nudd's triple brought the deficit down to 10 points (18-8) with 2:23 remaining. White, however, provided late scoring by scoring six of Daemen's final eight points inside the paint, the final conversion coming right before the buzzer.

Second Quarter (Daemen 16, Mercy 4) – The lone basket from senior Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) roughly two minutes into the frame started a gigantic 16-2 run that lasted for over six minutes with more scoring came from downtown as White, Titus and Estrella chipped in one apiece. The Wildcats went into halftime with a 42-14 lead, and a 24-6 scoring edge over nearly the last 12 minutes of the half.

Third Quarter (Daemen 23, Mercy 7) – Daemen didn't skip a beat coming out of the break as the final two three-pointers made by Titus highlighted a 10-0 start and extended their lead to 52-14 with 6:21 remaining. Later, with 1:28 remaining in the frame, Estrella made the old-fashioned four-point play, giving the Wildcats a 45-point lead heading into the fourth quarter (65-20).

Fourth Quarter (Mercy 24, Daemen 14) – Brandon led the Mavericks with nine points in the frame but the Wildcats continued to find three-point success to keep their foot on the gas. Paige, Estrella, Matz and Gina Fumerelle (Amherst, N.Y.) all converted one each.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Daemen shot 29-of-67 (43.3%) from the floor, including 11-of-20 (55%) in the first quarter alone. The Wildcats made a season-high 14 of 30 three-pointers (46.7%), with eight coming in the second half and two each from Titus, Estrella and Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) Daemen also went 7-of-10 from the free-throw line.
  • Mercy shot 15-of-54 (27.8%) from the floor and just 5-of-24 (20.8%) in the first half. The Mavericks finished 6-of-19 (31.6%) from beyond the arc. The hosts finished 9-of-18 at the free-throw line.
  • Daemen won the rebounding battle against the Mavericks, 52-33, with 20 of these coming on the offensive side of the floor. The Wildcats had 20 assists, the most in a single game since they tallied 25 versus D'Youville last month. Daemen also scored 28 points in the paint and outscored Mercy in fast-break scoring, 24-6. Daemen, however, committed 19 turnovers in the contest compared to Mercy's 17.

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen was without the services of redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) for a second straight game due to injury. The ECC Preseason Player of the Year entered the weekend averaging 13.3 points per game this season and ranks 20th among Daemen's all-time leading scorers with 1,096 points in 93 career games.
  • The Wildcats are off to a 9-1 start for the first time during their NCAA Division II era (2015-present). The last time they opened the year 9-1 was the 2012-13 season, where they finished with a 26-7 overall record.
  • Sunday's matinee wrapped up the lone two-game series between these ECC opponents. Daemen now has a 14-2 all-time record against the Mavericks and are winners in the last 11 meetings following a 70-69 home loss on Jan. 9, 2016.
  • With their 14 made three-pointers Sunday, Daemen has now made at least 10 three-pointers 11 of their 26 games, surpassing their previous season-high of 11 in three contests against Mercyhurst, D'Youville and Gannon. In 10 games this season, the Wildcats are now averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game after they led the ECC last season (8.5).  
  • Daemen has held eight of its 10 opponents to less than 40-percent shooting from the field and has forced 15 or more turnovers in nine of the 10 games.
  • The Wildcats have now won 24 of their last 27 games dating back to last season and are 46-8 dating back to the 2018-19 season.
  • Daemen has held 32 of its last 38 opponents to 65 points or fewer, posting a 30-2 record in those contests.
  • Daemen returns seven players, including incumbent starters Filbert, White and Titus, from their 2019-20 team that went 23-5 overall and earned the program's first NCAA tournament berth.

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats return to Main Street next weekend when they host St. Thomas Aquinas for a two-game series on Feb. 27-28 at Lumsden Gymnasium. Both games tip-off at 12 P.M. and will be streamed on the ECC Sports Network.
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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.

Support Daemen College's return to intercollegiate athletic competitions by making a contribution to the Game On Campaign and the Daemen Wildcats Gotta Play Fund. This comprehensive fundraising campaign was established to help offset the loss of valuable external revenue streams that directly support Daemen's 17 varsity teams. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.


 
 
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