AMHERST, N.Y. - The nationally-ranked Daemen College women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the 2021 East Coast Conference Tournament following a 52-42 victory over Molloy College tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus. The top-seeded Wildcats improved to 12-1 on the year, while the fourth-seeded Lions fall to 4-5. The tightly contested game was decided during the third quarter when the Wildcats outscored the Lions 17-8 to open up a 41-32 lead.

Daemen is the defending tournament champion and is looking to become the first team since Queens College in 2015 and 2016 to repeat as tournament champions.

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. 9 in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) media poll, and also come in at No. 12 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II top 25 coaches poll.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Senior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) scored nine of her team-high 11 points after halftime. She scored five of Daemen's 17 points during the critical third quarter. White, who was named the ECC Player of the Year earlier today, also totaled eight rebounds (five offensive) and five assists. She moved closer to the 1,000 point milestone and has now totaled 964 points and 544 rebounds in 94 career games.
• Junior forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) played just 24 minutes, but still managed to contribute 10 points and nine rebounds. Her layup just before the 30 second shot expired sparked the Wildcats on a key 7-0 run midway though the four quarter that gave the Wildcats a 50-36 lead.
• Junior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) nearly recorded her second double-double of the year and finished with eight points, a team-high 10 rebounds and three assists.
• Freshman guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) played all 40 minutes and totaled six points and three rebounds.
• Redshirt freshman Alina Estrella Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) both contributed valuable minutes off the bench. Estrella played a season-high 27 minutes and totaled five points, six rebounds and two steals. Maerkl played 16 minutes and contributed six points and five rebounds.
• Molloy was paced by senior forward Gabriella Aspuru who finished with 15 points, three assists and two steals.  Junior guard Cameron Corbett added 11 points and four assists.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SUMMARY
First Quarter (Molloy 12, Daemen 9) - The game featured the top two defensive teams in the league and this played true early on. The Wildcats went scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, before a three-pointer by Titus made the score 7-3 Molloy. The Molloy lead was 9-3 with just over three minutes left in the frame when the hosts got a bucket from Ivy to snap another three minute scoreless streak for the Wildcats. Molloy took a 12-5 lead at the 1:37 mark, but Daemen scored the final four points of the quarter and Molloy took a 12-9 lead into the second quarter.

Second Quarter (Daemen 15, Molloy 12) - Daemen scored the first seven points of the second quarter and the hosts opened up 16-12 lead following a three-pointer by Paige with 8:23 left before halftime. The hosts later took a 22-15 lead following a jumper by freshman Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) midway through the quarter, but the Lions closed out the quarter with a 9-2 run and the teams entered halftime tied at 24-24.

Third Quarter (Daemen 17, Molloy 8) - Molloy opened the third quarter with a jumper by Aspuru, but the Lions went scoreless for the next five minutes and Daemen took advantage with 11 unanswered points. A conventional three-point play by Paige with 4:46 left in the quarter capped the run and gave the hosts a 35-26 lead. Daemen later took double-digit lead, 41-30, after White hit a jumper with 1:25 left in the frame, and the hosts took a 41-32 lead into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter (Daemen 11, Molloy 10) - Daemen connected on just one of its first five shots at the start of the fourth quarter, but Molloy was unable to take advantage of the dry spell and the host eventually opened up a 49-36 lead after Ivy drove the lane and scored with 4:07 to play. Molloy made things interesting after Corbett drained a three-pointer with 1:36 left to make it 50-41 Daemen, but Daemen regained a double digit lead, 51-41, after White made one of two free throws with 52 seconds left and Molloy came up empty on the ensuing possession.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Daemen, which entered the game averaging a league-best 73.9 points per game, was held to a season-low 52 points. Daemen connected on just 4-of-17 shots in the first quarter and finished 20-of-55 (36%) from the field overall. The Wildcats made a season-low four three-pointers in the game and finished 4-of-17 from behind the arc. The hosts made 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
• Molloy made just 4-of-15 shots in the third quarter and finished 18-for-53 (34%) from the field overall. The visitors made 3-of-11 from long range and went 3-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Daemen finished with a 43-30 edge in total rebounds and the hosts collected 13 offensive rebounds which led to a 15-6 advantage in second chance points. Daemen also finished with an edge in points off turnovers (10-8) and points in the paint (28-20).

HEAD COACH JENEPHER BANKER POSTGAME COMMENTS

GAME NOTES

• Daemen is coming off an impressive 2019-20 campaign. The Wildcats finished 23-5 last year, claimed their first-ever ECC tournament title and earned their first-ever selection to the NCAA Division II Championship.
• Daemen was without the services of redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) due to injury. The ECC Preseason Player of the Year and first-team All-ECC selection, she is 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. Reserve guard Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.), who is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game, also did not see action tonight.
• Titus recorded one block tonight and has now registered at least one block in 12-straight games. She has totaled a league-high 31 blocks this season and has become the 11th player in program history to record 100 career rejections. She ranks ninth in career blocks at Daemen with 118.
• Tonight's game was a rematch of last year's ECC Tournament championship game, won by Daemen, 68-56.
• Daemen has now prevailed in eight of the last nine meetings with Molloy and the Wildcats now own a 12-4 lead in the all-time series.
• Daemen has held 11 of its 13 opponents to less than 40-percent shooting from the field and has forced 15 or more turnovers in 10 of its 13 games.
• The Wildcats have now won 27 of their last 30 games dating back to last season, and 49 of their last 57 games dating back to the 2018-19 season.
• Daemen has held 35 of its last 41 opponents to 65 points or fewer, posting a 33-2 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

Daemen will host second-seeded Roberts Wesleyan College in the ECC Tournament championship game Saturday (Mar. 6) at 1 p.m. Roberts Wesleyan posted a 62-56 victory over third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College tonight in the other semifinal game.

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.