GAME #15
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - EAST REGIONAL FINALS
(#2 SEED) #16/#15 DAEMEN WILDCATS (13-2, 9-0 ECC) VS. (#5 SEED) ROBERTS WESLEYAN REDHAWKS (12-6, 6-4 ECC)
MONDAY, MARCH 15
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) – 6 PM
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19
FASTBREAK POINTS
1. Daemen continues their NCAA tournament run Monday in the regional finals. The second-seeded Wildcats will face long-time rival and fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan for the fifth time this season. The winner advances to NCAA Division II Elite Eight which will be held in Columbus, Ohio from March 23-26. Daemen enters Monday's contest with a 13-2 overall record, including a 9-1 mark since the start of February.
2. After having their first appearance cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, Daemen completed a full circle and won the first NCAA tournament game in program history, 73-54 against third-seeded Georgian Court on March 13. Senior
Caroline White led the Wildcats with 20 points on 8-of-22 shooting and nine rebounds. Juniors
Katie Titus and
Mickayla Ivy added 17 points and 15 points, respectively. Daemen also found 17 points off the bench.
3. On March 6, Daemen finished as the runner-up in the 2021 ECC tournament held at Lumsden Gymnasium. After defeating fourth-seeded Molloy (52-42) in a rematch of the 2020 title game, the Wildcats came up just short to long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan (59-53) in the tournament final. Daemen's
Caroline White and
Katie Titus were named to the all-tournament team.
4. The Wildcats are currently ranked among the best teams in the country. The Wildcats enter the NCAA tournament at No. 16 in the D2SIDA national media poll and No. 15 in the WBCA Division II coaches' poll.
5. Daemen has been among one of the best defensive teams in the country this season. They rank third in scoring defense and seventh in field goal percentage defense, allowing just 51.2 points per game on 32.5% shooting. The Wildcats have held seven of their last 10 opponents to less than 50 points. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats are 34-3 when holding opponents to 65 points or less.
6. Senior forward
Caroline White has been among the most well-rounded players in the ECC this season. The ECC Player of the Year and All-ECC first team selection ranks among the ECC leaders in scoring, rebounding, three-point shooting and field goal percentage. White, who enters the tournament just one point shy of 1,000 for her career, is one of four Daemen players to earn All-ECC recognition this season, joining fellow first-teamers
Katie Titus and
Tiara Filbert and second-teamer
Mickayla Ivy.
7. Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan will be meeting for the fifth time this season. The Wildcats won all three regular-season meetings by double figures before the Redhawks got past them in the ECC tournament finals, 59-53, on March 6. This was RWC's first win in the series since Feb. 28, 2018 – their only prior meeting in the ECC tournament. Since suffering a 58-42 loss to Daemen on Feb. 17, the Redhawks have rattled off nine straight wins.
8. Daemen has been without redshirt senior guard
Tiara Filbert for the past six games. An All-ECC first team selection, Filbert is averaging 13.3 points per game this season, and earlier became the 25th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
9. Junior forward
Mickayla Ivy has really come on since early February. In the past 10 games, Ivy has reached double figures five times and is contributing 12.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in that span.
10. Daemen is coming off a 23-5 campaign that resulted in the program's first ECC championship and NCAA tournament berth. The Wildcats have won 28 of their last 32 games dating back to last season and are 50-9 dating back to the 2018-19 season.
#5 ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
- Roberts Wesleyan Roberts Wesleyan is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Redhawks come in riding a nine-game winning streak, including a 77-73 double-overtime win over topseeded Dominican Saturday in the East Regional semifinals. Daemen last Sunday to claim their first East Coast Conference championship.
- Head coach Kevin Clifford has posted 149 wins across 14 seasons leading four different programs, including a 41-36 mark in three seasons at RWC.
- The Redhawks return two starters from their 2019-20 team that went 15-13 overall. They enter tonight's contest with a 12-6 overall record.
- Paige McCormick, a transfer from Division I UMass, leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game.
- Dimitra Gkizani is contributing 13.3 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per contest.
- Taryn Wilson has sank 39 three-pointers and is producing 11.8 points per game. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the ECC tournament after scoring 19 points in the final round.
SERIES HISTORY VS ROBERTS WESLEYAN
All-Time Series: Daemen 47-25
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Current Streak: Roberts Wesleyan W1
Last Meeting: Roberts Wesleyan 59, Daemen 53 | March 6, 2021 | Amherst, NY
DAEMEN QUICK FACTS
Daemen returns 11 players overall, including seven letter-winners and three starters, from last year's team that finished 23-5 overall and shared the ECC regular season title (13-3) before defeating third-seeded New York Tech and fourth-seeded Molloy to capture the program's first-ever ECC Tournament crown. Daemen enters the 2020-2021 season as the favorite in the ECC. The defending champion Wildcats were picked first in the ECC preseason poll for the first time since joining the league in 2013.
HELLO, MY NAME IS…
Daemen earned its first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament last season. By comparison, the other seven teams that qualified from the East Region had made a combined 67 appearances. Due to COVID-19 protocols, the tournament was cancelled.
POLL POSITION
The Wildcats are currently ranked among the best teams in the country. The Wildcats enter the NCAA tournament at No. 16 in the D2SIDA national media poll and No. 15 in the WBCA Division II coaches' poll. These are the final national polls being released until after the conclusion of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats have been ranked in 21 successive D2SIDA regional polls, a span that dates back to January 2018.
HISTORIC START
The Wildcats won 21 of their first 24 games last season, which ranks as the best start of their NCAA era and their best start overall since opening the 2003–04 season by winning 26 of their first 29 games. The Wildcats won 13 straight games last year, which is a new program record for most consecutive wins during the program's NCAA era. It was the longest winning streak overall since the 2007-08 season when the Wildcats posted a 17-game winning streak.
THE NEXT STEP
Daemen made its third straight appearance in the ECC Championship in 2020, but did not have a win in the tournament until posting victories over New York Tech (76-56) and Molloy (68-56) to claim its first-ever ECC Tournament title.
20/20
Last year, Daemen reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2012-13 season—and the 16th time in program history.
PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
Daemen got the long-awaited 2020-21 season underway Jan. 16 with an impressive 82-64 win over regionally ranked Mercyhurst, ending a 314-day gap between contests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have won seven of their first eight contests to start their new campaign. The Wildcats have won 28 of their last 32 games and are 50-9 since Jan. 11, 2019.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 37 of its last 43 opponents to 65 points or less, posting a 34-3 record in those games. In 2019-20, Daemen collected 256 steals – the team's most since 355 in 2012-13 – and finished the season ranked 13th in the country for scoring defense, allowing just 55.0 points per game.
LONG RANGE THREATS
Last season, Daemen established a new program record for three-pointers made (238) and attempted (752) in a season, besting the previous standards of 236-693 set in 2009-10. Daemen ranked first among ECC teams in three-pointers made per game (8.5) and three-pointers attempted per game (26.9). The Wildcats also ranked third in three-point field goal percentage (.316). All five of Daemen's starters made at least 29 three-pointers on the year. The Wildcats made a program-record 20 three-pointers in an 89-62 win over Queens on Jan. 10, 2020.
SEASON OPENERS
Daemen's 82-64 win over Mercyhurst snapped a two-game slide in season openers, giving them their first 1-0 start since the 2017-18 season when they defeated American International. Daemen is 24-10 in season openers during the program's modern era (1986-present).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
With their 65-56 loss hosting Gannon on Jan. 31, Daemen's home-court winning streak was snapped at 20 straight games dating back to the 2018-19 season. This ranked the longest active home winning streak among all East Region teams at the time and was one of the top 10 active streaks among all Division II teams. Daemen went 9-0 at home during the 2019-20 season – the program's first unbeaten home campaign since going 13-0 in 2007-08.
BACK IN THE FOLD
No strangers to consistent play, redshirt senior
Tiara Filbert and junior
Katie Titus top the list of returning players after once again earning all-conference honors in 2019-20. As a redshirt junior, Filbert earned first-team All-ECC recognition after averaging team-highs in points (14.4) and assists (3.7). Titus continued to dominate in the ECC in her sophomore campaign. The second-team All-ECC selection averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game along with a team-high eight double-doubles. Senior
Caroline White ranked third for Daemen in points (12.9) and second in rebounds (7.0) and served as a two-way player en route to the first All-ECC selection of her career. Fellow senior
Autumn Buchsenschutz also returns as a key player this season. Junior
Mickayla Ivy and sophomore
Marina Maerkl also return after being regular rotation players last season.
FRESH FACES
The 2020-21 roster features several newcomers, including Division I transfer
Mary Foster (New Hampshire) and freshmen
Natalie Angeletti,
Alahna Paige and
Kaytlyn Matz. Foster spent two seasons at UNH where she appeared in 20 games. As a freshman, the Elmira native averaged 1.4 rebounds in 7.2 minutes. Angeletti won four Section VI Class D championships in five seasons at Panama. In 2020, the Panthers went 20-2 and finished No. 2 in the state poll. Three NYS Class D Final Fours and consecutive state title games (2016-2017) later, the 2020 NYS Class D Player of the Year is their all-time scorer (1,751 points) while also topping 1,000 rebounds. A four-year letter-winner at Irondequoit, Paige scored 28.6 points per game as a senior, was the All-Greater Rochester Co-Player of the Year and Class A All-State first team after leading the Eagles to a 2020 Section VI Class A championship appearance. She is their all-time scorer at Irondequoit with over 1,000 points. A four-year varsity player at Carmel Catholic, Matz won three regional championships and made Sweet 16 and Elite 8 appearances in the Illinois state playoffs. Team MVP as a senior, Matz was honorable mention all-conference and made the Lake County All-Area team.
HEY ROOKIE
Freshmen
Natalie Angeletti and
Alahna Paige have received ECC Rookie of the Week honors this season. Angeletti received the honor after helping Daemen sweep D'Youville in games played Jan. 22 and 24 and narrowly missed her first career double-double, totaling 9 points and 10 rebounds in the second matchup. Paige received the honor twice after helping Daemen secure wins against Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 17 and in the first game of a two-game series at Mercy on Feb. 20 and again after scoring a career-high 28 points against St. Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 28. Daemen has now had seven players earn Rookie of the Week honors since the 2013-14 season when the Wildcats began ECC play.
NEXT JUMP BALL
With a win Monday, Daemen would advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will be held in Columbus, Ohio from March 23-26.
