Top 10 Moments of 2020-21: Women's Basketball Captures First Regional Title, Advances To Elite Eight

8/18/2021 12:30:00 PM

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 Captures First Regional Title, Advances To Elite Eight

In the most unorthodox of seasons, the Daemen women's basketball team kept their collective noses to the grindstone and wound up earning the first East Region championship of the program's NCAA era. After earning the region's number two seed and knocking off third-seeded Georgian Court in the regional semifinal for the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory, the Wildcats upended long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan 58-40 on March 15, setting off a raucous celebration inside Lumsden Gymnasium, albeit without any fans in the stands.

"Amazing. I can't really think of any other word. Absolutely amazing," Daemen head coach Jenepher Banker said in her postgame press conference. "Our players executed our game plan to a tee. We had a pretty specific defensive game plan and our players did a great job with it."

After taking an eight-point advantage into halftime, the Wildcats firmly seized control by outscoring the Redhawks 17-7 in the third quarter. Junior forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.), who would go on to be named the regional's Most Outstanding Player, swished a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining the period to put the Wildcats ahead 41-23. The Daemen lead grew to as much as 22 points and RWC never mustered a serious challenge in the fourth.

When the buzzer sounded, Titus had a game-high 22 points while also collecting seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. She was joined on the all-tournament team by senior forward Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) who notched 13 points - including the 1,000th of her career - and a career-high 16 rebounds.

The victory not only pushed the Wildcats to 14-2 on the season, but it snapped fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan's nine-game winning streak. Daemen avenged a 59-53 setback to the Redhawks just nine days prior in the final round of the East Coast Conference Championship.

"It means that much more that we're on our home court and we got to kind of get revenge on Roberts after last weekend," Titus said afterwards. "Last weekend was disappointing, but this win means a lot more in terms of continuing our season and getting the opportunity to still play. We used that as motivation this week to prepare and we executed perfectly."

OHIO IS BEAUTIFUL THIS TIME OF YEAR! pic.twitter.com/fy0KBkMvpO
— Daemen College WBB (@DaemenWBB) March 15, 2021

With the win, Daemen earned the right to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center. It was there that the Wildcats, seeded eighth, saw their historic season come to an end following a 66-49 loss to top-seeded and eventual national champion Lubbock Christian.

"For not even realizing if we were going to be able to play a game or not - the was our number one goal, to play a game. We really only missed one game all year, so we were real lucky as far as that's concerned. It's made us all more mentally tough because nothing is ever given. You never knew from day to day whether we going to be able to play. You never knew if somebody was going to come back [with a positive COVID-19 test] at any point. That might be the end. We had to just take it day by day and be grateful for each day," Banker said following the team's national quarterfinal loss.

MORE COVERAGE
East Regional Tournament Central
Regional Final vs. Roberts Wesleyan - Recap | Highlights | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2
Elite Eight vs. Lubbock Christian - Recap | Postgame Press Conference | Photo Gallery

LOOK BACK - ADDITIONAL TOP 10 MOMENTS OF 2020-21

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