Wildcats Ranked Eighth In Final D2SIDA National Poll

3/28/2021 9:22:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate Athletics Director for Communications & Operations

AMHERST, N.Y. – Coming off the deepest postseason run of the program's NCAA era, the Daemen College women's basketball team is ranked eighth in the final NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll for the 2020-21 which was released late Saturday. It marks the program's highest ascent up the Division II national rankings as well as the first time the Wildcats have been nationally ranked to finish a season since the program's NAIA era.

Led by head coach Jenepher Banker, the 2020-21 East Coast Conference Coach of the Year, Daemen closed out the season with a 14-3 overall record. The Wildcats claimed their second consecutive ECC regular season title and advanced to the final round of the ECC Championship for a second straight season, finishing as runners-up. Banker's squad earned their second straight berth to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship as the No. 2 seed in the East Region. The Wildcats promptly dispatched of third-seeded Georgian Court in the regional semifinals - the first NCAA tournament win in program history - and captured the program's first East Region championship with a 58-40 win over fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan on March 15, avenging their conference tournament loss to the Redhawks in the process.

The regional title pushed the Wildcats into the Elite Eight where, as the No. 8 seed, their run came to a conclusion following a 66-49 loss to top-seeded Lubbock Christian at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center on March 23. Lubbock Christian went on to complete an undefeated season (22-0, defeating third-seeded Drury 69-59 in Friday's national championship game. It marked the third national title in the last six seasons for the the Lady Chaps who top the D2SIDA national media poll.

The Wildcats rode a stingy defense and strong rebounding into the national conversation this season, surrendering just 51.6 points per game on 32.5% shooting to rank third among all Division II teams in those respective stats. The Wildcats also ranked third in rebounding margin after out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 11.4 boards per game.

The Wildcats were led this season by the trio of senior forward Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.), junior forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) and redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) who each earned All-ECC first team honors. White has named the ECC Player of the Year and finished as the team leader in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg) - both career-highs. Titus, the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional, canned a team-high 48 three-pointers while producing 14.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game. Filbert shot a career-high 50% from the field and averaged 13.3 points and 2.9 assists per contest. She missed the final nine games after suffering a season-ending injury in a victory at Roberts Wesleyan on February 17. Both Filbert and White surpassed the 1,000-point mark for their respective careers this season, becoming the 25th and 26th players in program history to do so. White and Titus garnered honorable mention All-American recognition from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) last week.

With freshmen Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) and Natalie Angeletti (Randolph, N.Y.), as well as junior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) in the starting lineup, the Wildcats are set to return a bulk of their regular rotation for the 2021-22 season. Paige averaged 6.7 points and a team-high 3.3 assists per game and was named the ECC Rookie of the Year. Ivy had the finest season of her career, producing 9.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52% from the field. Filbert has indicated she'll return for another season, taking advantage of an added year of eligibility granted to all winter sport student-athletes by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. White and fellow senior Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.), who played a valuable role coming off the bench, may also return.

Daemen has now been ranked in 10 consecutive D2SIDA national media polls dating back to mid-January. The program had not been nationally ranked at any point during its NCAA Division II era prior to this season. The D2SIDA media poll is conducted by sports information professionals from around the country.

Daemen has also been ranked in the WBCA Division II coaches poll for six successive weeks, rising as high as No. 12 (last No. 15 [March 8]). The final national poll from the WBCA is expected to be released in the near future.

D2SIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL MEDIA POLL - MARCH 27
	W-L	PTS.	PREV.
1. Lubbock Christian (16)	23-0	400	1
2. Drury	24-2	384	3
3. Central Missouri	23-5	360	22
4. Lander	20-2	359	7
5. Charleston (W.Va.)	19-3	332	6
6. Belmont Abbey	22-3	309	14
7. Azusa Pacific	12-5	297	23
8. DAEMEN	14-3	263	16
9. North Georgia	18-2	249	4
10. Nebraska-Kearney	23-4	248	9
11. Southwestern Oklahoma State	18-4	177	NR
12. Barton	13-3	166	21
13. Ashland	16-9	155	NR
14. Michigan Tech	20-2	154	5
15. Fort Hays State	22-4	149	8
16. Minnesota-Duluth	14-2	135	13
17. Colorado School of Mines	17-3	116	11
18. Hawaii Pacific	13-1	96	2
19. Valdosta State	18-4	95	17
20. Westminster (Utah)	13-6	92	NR
21. Tiffin	18-9	87	NR
22. Texas A&M-Commerce	14-4	82	19
23. Glenville State	12-4	71	18
T-24. Dominican (N.Y.)	12-2	70	12
T-24. Truman State	17-5	70	20

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes: Roberts Wesleyan 59, Union (Tenn.) 58, Gannon 56, Western Colorado 29, Tusculum 25, Grand Valley State 20, Georgian Court 14, Walsh 6, Tuskegee 5, Carson-Newman 4, Arkansas Tech 3, Cameron 3, Lee (Tenn.) 2

DAEMEN IN THE D2SIDA NATIONAL POLL
Jan. 12 - 20
Jan. 19 - 17
Jan. 26 - 13
Feb. 2 - 14
Feb. 9 - 13
Feb. 16 - 13
Feb. 23 - 9
March 2 - 9
March 9 - 16
March 27 - 8

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 programs. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.

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