Skip To Main Content

Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
top 10 moments wbb tip off

Top 10 Moments of 2020-21: Women's Basketball Tips Off Long-Awaited Return To Competition

7/2/2021 11:30:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications | (716) 839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu
AMHERST, N.Y. - On Wednesdays and Fridays this summer, daemenwildcats.com will feature stories that look back upon the top 10 moments of the 2020-21 season. Record-setting performances, important wins and history-making achievements will be documented in the series.

THE MOMENT:
Women's Basketball Tips Off Long-Awaited Return To Competition
"One shining moment, you reached deep inside. One shining moment, you knew you were alive. Feel the beat of your heart. Feel the wind in your face. It's more than a contest. It's more than a race."

These are lyrics from "One Shining Moment" - a song that most college basketball enthusiasts are familiar with as it's become a staple of March Madness television postludes. And although it wasn't the postseason, the lyrics certainly rang true on January 16, 2021 when the Daemen women's basketball team became the college's first to return to competition amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic - one of only 16 NCAA Division II East Region programs to compete this season (out of 38 total programs).

Coach Jenepher Banker's Wildcats routed Mercyhurst, 82-64, setting the stage for a season that had its share of memorable moments. But the final result was secondary to the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment brought about just by playing a game and competing. That's especially true when considering how this program in particular ended the 2019-20 season. In March 2020, the Wildcats captured their first East Coast Conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time, but the Division II version of the "The Big Dance" was cancelled due to the pandemic.  

"One of our goals this year was to play a game. So, to make that happen, from the athletic training staff to the operations staff, for everybody involved to make that happen here today was just amazing. And yeah, I mean, we couldn't ask for anything more to just play a game," Banker said after her team ended a 314-day gap between contests. 

Redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.), who scored her 1,000th career point in the game, was equally as grateful. 

"It was still a good feeling to have to be able to say that like, 'Hey, we have a game day that we're able to do,'" she said. "And then thanks to Daemen Athletics and all the operations staff. It went really smooth. Every year we set goals for ourselves that we want to do and just to be able to actually get that first one off the list, we were able to get back on the hardwood as a team and play another team, was another great feeling that we just were completely grateful to have."
Getting on the court to compete represented a new beginning, but also a culmination of everything the student-athletes and coaches had to go through to get that far. They resumed workouts upon to returning to campus the previous September, but only on an individual basis to start. A gradual ramping up of athletic activities during the pandemic - a resocialization of sport plan developed by Daemen's Office of Sports Medicine and Performance - took more than six weeks to complete. The Wildcats did not begin normal team practices until the early parts of November. 
 
When they took the floor against a Mercyhurst team that had opened the season with five straight victories, the Wildcats did so as a nationally ranked team for the first time in the program's NCAA era, debuting in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll at No. 20 earlier in the week. The emotion of playing their first game carried the Wildcats to a 44-25 halftime lead. A 12-3 spurt in the second quarter - which included Filbert's milestone point - helped put Daemen in control.

The Wildcat lead swelled to as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter, and 10 of the 11 players who saw action got in the scoring column. Filbert led the way with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) tossed in a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) while making five three-pointers. Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) chipped in with 13 points and five boards. 

"I can't tell you how proud I am of them," Banker said. "It's tough going into your first game without a scrimmage. First of all, we have no idea. We've got new players, we have no idea how they're going to play in a college game. So, we have no idea about that. And really, it's very difficult to start a year with no scrimmages, no exhibitions anyways. And then to start it against a team that's really played seven games because they also played two exhibition games. And they're good. Mercyhurst is good. I'm so proud of our kids. They did a great job with our scout, our players did. For them to be able to do that the first time out against a very good team, I'm super proud of them."

The game was the first of 17 that the Wildcats would play this season, and also the first of 49 home games hosted by Daemen across all sports between January and May. 

MORE COVERAGE
Full Game Recap
Photo Gallery
Highlights

LOOK BACK - TOP 10 MOMENTS OF 2019-20

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

Follow the Daemen College women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.



 
Print Friendly Version