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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
wbb vs rwc
59
Winner Roberts Wesleyan RWCW 10-6,6-4 ECC
53
Daemen DAEW 12-2,9-0 ECC
Winner
Roberts Wesleyan RWCW
10-6,6-4 ECC
59
Final
53
Daemen DAEW
12-2,9-0 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Roberts Wesleyan RWCW 23 9 11 16 59
Daemen DAEW 14 10 18 11 53

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Tom McDermott, Sports Information Consultant

Wildcats Come Up Just Short In Quest For Second-Straight ECC Crown

Daemen Drops 59-53 Decision To Rival Roberts Wesleyan In ECC Tournament Championship Game

AMHERST, N.Y. - Tournament Most Outstanding Player Taryn Wilson scored 19 points—including a clutch three-pointer with 45 seconds left to play—to lift second-seeded Roberts Wesleyan College to a 59-53 victory over top-seeded Daemen College here today in the championship game of the 2021 East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.

Roberts Wesleyan, which improved to 10-6 following its seventh-straight win, claimed its first-ever ECC Tournament title and also earned the league's automatic bid to the 48-team National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Championship. The Redhawks will be making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Daemen, which was looking to become the first team since Queens College in 2016 to repeat as conference tournament champions, saw its eight game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 12-2 on the year. The nationally-ranked Wildcats are expected to be an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The entire NCAA Tournament field will be unveiled tomorrow (March 7) at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.

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

  • Wilson, a junior guard, scored 14 of RWC's 27 second half points. She connected on 5-of-10 three-point shots and also totaled eight rebounds and two steals. She scored 15 points in a 62-56 semifinal win over St. Thomas Aquinas College this past Thursday.
  • Senior Paige McCormick scored 13 points in the first half for RWC and finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Her younger sister Madison McCormick added eight points, seven rebounds and five steals. Junior center Dimitra Gkizani chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
  • Junior forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats with 19 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
  • Senior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) played all 40 minutes for the second-straight game and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds—her fourth double-double of the season. White, who was named the ECC Player of the Year earlier this week, moved closer to the 1,000 point milestone and has now totaled 979 points and 555 rebounds in 95 career games.
  • Paige McCormick, Gkizani, Titus, White, Victoria Kurisko of St. Thomas Aquinas and Gabriella Aspuru of Molloy College were named to the all-tournament team.


QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SUMMARY
First Quarter (Roberts Wesleyan 23, Daemen 14) - Daemen held an 8-7 lead four minutes into the game when the Redhawks embarked on a 12-0 run. The McCormick sisters accounted for 10 of the 12 points and a three-pointer by Madison McCormick with 3:13 left in the quarter capped the run and gave the visitors a 19-8 lead. Daemen answered with back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) and Titus to cut the lead to five points, but the Redhawks scored the final four points of the quarter and RWC took a 23-14 lead into the second quarter.

Second Quarter (Daemen 10, Roberts Wesleyan 9) - Both teams struggled to score early in the second quarter and Roberts Wesleyan lead was five points, 23-18, when the Redhawks got two free throws by Paige McCormick and a three-pointer by Wilson to regain a double-digit lead (28-18). The teams traded points over the final five minutes of the quarter and Roberts Wesleyan took  a 32-24 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter (Daemen 18, Roberts Wesleyan 11) - The Wildcats appeared to come to life at the start of the second half and used a 12-4 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter to tie the game at 36-36. A conventional three-point play by Titus with 2:43 left in the frame capped the spurt. RWC later regained a four-point lead, 43-39, following a triple by Wilson with 33 second left in the quarter, but a three-pointer by White with 10 seconds left made it a one-point margin after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter (Roberts Wesleyan 16, Daemen 11) - Roberts Wesleyan opened the fourth quarter with a 10-4 spurt that gave the visitors a 53-46 lead, but the Wildcats made one last push and eventually tied the game at 53-53 after Paige scored with just under a minute to play. Wilson then answered with her clutch three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining and Titus was off the mark with a three-pointer with 18 seconds left. Wilson then hit two free throws to make it a five-point lead, before Titus was once again off the mark with a three-pointer with 10 seconds left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Daemen, which entered the game averaging a league-best 72.2 points per game, was held to less than 55 points for the second-straight game. Daemen connected on just 3-of-21 shots in the fourth quarter and finished a season-low 25-percent (17-of-68) from the field overall. The Wildcats attempted a season-high 37 three-pointers and made eight. The hosts made 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.
  • Roberts Wesleyan made 9-of-13 shots (69%) in the first quarter, but cooled off after that and finished just 20-of-55 (36%) from the field overall. The visitors made 8-of-25 from long range and went 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
  • Daemen finished with a 41-40 edge in total rebounds and the hosts collected 16 offensive rebounds which led to an 11-2 advantage in second chance points. Daemen also finished with an edge in points off turnovers (19-11), while the Redhawks owned the advantage in points in the paint (16-12).

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 has now registered at least one block in 13-straight games. She has totaled a league-high 34 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 121.
  • Daemen defeated Roberts Wesleyan in all three regular-season meetings this year by an average of 24 points. The Wildcats had prevailed in the last seven meetings between the two rivals and Daemen now owns a 47-25 lead in the all-time series.
  • Daemen has held 12 of its 14 opponents to less than 40-percent shooting from the field and has forced 15 or more turnovers in 11 of its 14 games.
  • The Wildcats have won 27 of their last 31 games dating back to last season, and 49 of their last 58 games dating back to the 2018-19 season.
  • Daemen has held 36 of its last 42 opponents to 65 points or fewer, posting a 33-3 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

The 48-team field of the NCAA Division II Tournament will be revealed tomorrow (March 7) at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com. Daemen has already been selected as one of six predetermined regional sites. The East Regional will feature six teams and will get underway at Lumsden Gymnasium with two regional quarterfinal games Friday, March 12, followed by the regional semifinals Saturday, March 13. The regional champion will be crowned Monday, March 15 with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight in Columbus, Ohio, from March 23-26.

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.
 

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