East Coast Conference Player of the Year Caroline White leads Daemen into the Elite Eight

Women’s Basketball Squares Off With Lubbock Christian In Elite Eight

Wildcats face top-seeded Lady Chaps Tuesday night in Columbus

3/21/2021 12:20:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - ELITE EIGHT
#15 / #16 (#8 SEED) DAEMEN WILDCATS (14-2, 9-0 ECC) VS. #1 / #1 (#1 SEED) LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN LADY CHAPPARALS (20-0, 13-0 LSC)
TUESDAY, MARCH 23
GREATER COLUMBUS CONVENTION CENTER (COLUMBUS, OHIO) – 6 PM

FASTBREAK POINTS
1. Daemen continues their NCAA tournament run Tuesday in the national quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Wildcats are making their first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight and will face top-seeded and undefeated Lubbock Christian at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The winner advances to Wednesday's national semifinal to square off against either Belmont Abbey or Central Missouri. Daemen enters the Elite Eight with a 14-2 overall record and 10 wins in their last 11 games.

2. Daemen advanced to the Elite Eight by claiming the program's first East Region championship, defeating long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan 58-40 on March 15. Junior Katie Titus led the Wildcats with a game-high 22 points and was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player. Caroline White scored 13 points, including the 1,000th of her career, and added 16 rebounds. This avenged Daemen's only recent loss, a 59-53 setback to Roberts Wesleyan in the final round of the East Coast Conference tournament.

3. Lubbock Christian advanced to the Elite Eight with a 78-65 victory over nationally ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State, claiming the program's fourth South Central Region championship. The Lady Chaps are a perfect 20-0 this season and have won a Division II-best 32 consecutive games.

4. Daemen has been ranked in every Division II national poll released since mid-January, rising as high as No. 9 (D2SIDA) and No. 12 (WBCA). The Wildcats had not been nationally ranked at any point in the program's NCAA era before this season. They hold a 2-1 record against nationally ranked opponents this season and will be facing the No. 1 ranked team for the first time.

5. Lubbock Christian (49.0 pts/gm allowed) and Daemen (50.7 pts/gm allowed) rank first and second respectively in scoring defense. The Wildcats have held eight of their last 11 opponents to less than 50 points. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats are 35-3 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 also crossed the 1,000-point mark for her career with her 13-point performance in the East Regional final against Roberts Wesleyan on March 15 (1,012 total points). White 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 has been without redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert for the past seven 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.

8. Katie Titus has made a team-high 45 three-pointers and is shooting a team-best 36.6% from downtown. The junior forward has four 20-point games this season. In the last eight games, she's averaging 16.0 points per game.

9. Junior forward Mickayla Ivy has really come on since early February. In the past 11 games, Ivy has reached double figures four 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 29 of their last 33 games dating back to last season and are 51-9 dating back to the 2018-19 season.

#1 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN SCOUTING REPORT

Lubbock Christian is making their fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Lady Chapparals claimed their fourth South Central Region championship with a 78-65 victory over second-seeded and No. 19 Southwestern Oklahoma State on March 15.
Like Daemen, the Lady Chaps are a former NAIA program that gained full NCAA Division II membership status in 2015. Since doing so, the Lady Chaps have won two national championships (2016, 2019) and they enter the 2021 Elite Eight with a 16-1 all-time record in NCAA tournament games.
Head coach Steve Gomez has led the Lady Chaps to a 445-125 record in 18 seasons on the bench. Gomez's success includes a 165-21 record since LCU gained NCAA membership.
The Lady Chapparals return three starters from their 2019-20 team that went 28-3 overall prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. They are currently 20-0 overall and have won their last 32 games – the longest active winning streak among Division II teams.
Senior guard Allie Schulte leads the team in scoring (14.7 ppg), assists (3.6 apg), total steals (59) and overall field goal percentage (60.1%).
Senior forward Emma Middleton is producing 13.1 points, 5.7 rebound and a team-high 2.0 blocks per game. Middleton was named the MVP of the Lone Star Conference tournament after leading LCU to their second straight title. She was also named Most Outstanding Player of the South Central Regional after netting 22 points in the win over Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Additional production is coming from Ashton Duncan (12.0 ppg, team-high 61 three-pointers) and Julianna Robertson (7.8 ppg, team-high 5.8 rgp).
LCU ranks first in the country for Division II in both scoring defense (49.0) and in scoring margin (26.4).
The Lady Chaps are 4-0 this season against nationally ranked opponents. Their last loss came on Jan. 30, 2020 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce.

SERIES HISTORY VS LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
All-Time Series: 0-0
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Current streak: N / A
Last meeting: N / A

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 29 of their last 33 games and are 51-9 since Jan. 11, 2019.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 38 of its last 44 opponents to 65 points or less, posting a 35-3 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 Tuesday, Daemen would advance to Wednesday's semifinal and square off against either Belmont Abbey or Central Missouri at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Tip-off is set for 8:45 PM.

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