Junior Mickayla Ivy and Daemen women's basketball gets ready for ECC championship game against Roberts Wesleyan this Saturday.

Women's Basketball Faces Roberts Wesleyan in ECC Finals Saturday

Wildcats look for back-to-back ECC Championship titles

3/5/2021 12:53:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

GAME #14
ECC TOURNAMENT FINALS
#12 / #9 DAEMEN WILDCATS (#1 SEED) (12-1, 9-0 ECC) VS. (#2 SEED) ROBERTS WESLEYAN REDHAWKS (9-6, 6-4 ECC)
SATURDAY, MARCH 6
LUMSDEN GYMNASIUM (AMHERST, N.Y.) – 1 PM
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

FASTBREAK POINTS

1. Daemen looks to repeat as champions of the East Coast Conference when they host long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan in the final round of the conference tournament Saturday. The Wildcats enter with a 12-1 overall record and an eight-game winning streak following Thursday's 52-42 win against Molloy in the semifinal round.

2. Last weekend, Daemen clinched its second straight ECC regular season title with a pair of home court victories against St. Thomas Aquinas. The Wildcats ended the regular season at 11-1 overall and 9-0 in conference play. It marks the third time in program history that Daemen has completed an unbeaten conference season, and the first time doing so since 2003-04.

3. The Wildcats are currently ranked among the best teams in the country. For a second consecutive week, the Wildcats check in at No. 9 in the D2SIDA national media poll and No. 12 in the WBCA Division II coaches' poll. Both rankings represent the highest ascent of the program's NCAA era (2015 – present). Daemen also finished at the top of the seventh and final D2SIDA regional poll released earlier this week.

4. Senior forward Caroline White, freshman guard Alahna Paige and head coach Jenepher Banker claimed major awards from the ECC this week. White, who leads the team in scoring, was named the ECC Player of the Year. Paige scored an ECC season-high 28 points in Sunday's win over STAC and was named the ECC Rookie of the Year. Banker was named the ECC Coach of the Year.

5. Daemen has been among one of the best defensive teams in the country this season. They rank fourth in scoring defense and tied for seventh in field goal percentage defense, allowing just 50.6 points per game on 32.2% shooting. The Wildcats have held seven of their last eight opponents to less than 50 points. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats are 33-2 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 Saturday just 36 points shy of 1,000 for her career, is one of four of 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 fourth time this season. The Wildcats won all three meetings by double figures and own a seven-game winning streak in the series. RWC's last win in the series came on Feb. 28, 2018 in the teams' only prior meeting in the ECC tournament. Since suffering a 58-42 loss to Daemen on Feb. 17, the Redhawks have rattled off six straight wins.

8. Daemen has been without redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert for the past five 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 eight games, Ivy has reached double figures four times and is contributing 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

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 27 of their last 30 games dating back to last season and are 49-8 dating back to the 2018-19 season.

SCOUTING REPORT

Roberts Wesleyan returns two starters from last year's team that finished 15-13 overall and 8-8 in East Coast Conference play.
The Redhawks are led by head coach Kevin Clifford, who is in his 3rd season and 14th overall as a head coach at the NCAA Division II and Division III collegiate levels. Clifford previously served as the women's basketball coach at Buffalo State College from 2015-18, leading the Bengals to the SUNYAC Semifinals and a 13-win campaign in his final year.
Roberts Wesleyan's 14-player roster consists of eight returning players, four freshmen and two transfers.
Dimitra Gkizani and UMass transfer Paige McCormick have paced the Redhawks. McCormick leads the team in points (13.5 ppg), is second in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and is tied in assists per game (3.1 apg). Gkizani is second in scoring (12.5 ppg) and leads in rebounding (7.9) and total blocks (15).
Taryn Wilson leads the team in made three-point attempts (30-of-76) and is third on the team in scoring (10.3.)
The Redhawks have won six straight games and advanced to Saturday's final round with a 62-56 win over third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas.

SERIES HISTORY VS ROBERTS WESLEYAN
All-Time Series: Daemen leads 47-24
At Neutral Site: 0-0
Current streak: Daemen W7
Last meeting: Daemen 58, Roberts Wesleyan 42 | February 17, 2021 | Rochester, N.Y.

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
After being ranked No.1 in the D2SIDA East Region media poll for a program-best six straight weeks, the longest stretch in program history, Daemen is now under consideration for championship selection heading into the postseason. Daemen remained ranked No. 9 in the D2SIDA national media poll for a second straight week and are nationally ranked for the eighth straight week. Also this week, the Wildcats stayed at No. 12 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II top 25 coaches' poll for a second straight week, marking this the fifth straight week the team has been ranked in both Division II national polls. 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 27 of their last 31 games and are 49-8 since Jan. 11, 2019.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 35 of its last 41 opponents to 65 points or less, posting a 33-2 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
Daemen awaits its opportunity for an NCAA tournament bid. The bids will be announced in a selection show posted to ncaa.com at 10 p.m. Sunday. Daemen is the host site for the East Regional which runs March 12-15 at Lumsden Gymnasium.

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