GAME #10
Daemen Wildcats (6-3, 4-0 ECC) vs. Queens College Knights (1-9, 1-3 ECC)
Sunday, January 14 | 12 p.m. | Lumsden Gymnasium | Amherst, N.Y.
Watch - ECC Sports Network
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JUMP BALL
Daemen completes its two-game weekend homestand when they host Queens in an East Coast Conference matchup for a noon tip-off Sunday in Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen looks for back-to-back wins and their fifth in a row in ECC play following a 61-58 edging against Molloy on Jan. 14 - the program's first contest since Dec. 17. Queens looks to complete a '716' sweep of their own following a 76-72 victory at D'Youville on Jan. 14, their first win of the 2021-22 campaign and their first win in nearly two years as a program.
A MAGICAL RUN
The Wildcats earned their second consecutive NCAA tournament berth and captured their first regional title last March. After entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional, the Wildcats ran to a 73-54 win over third-seeded Georgian Court in the regional semifinals, marking the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory. The Wildcats followed up with a 58-40 defeat of fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan in the regional final, avenging a loss just nine days prior in the ECC Championship final. Katie Titus was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional after netting 22 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the regional final. The postseason run came to an end just over a week later in Columbus, Ohio where the Wildcats suffered a 66-49 loss in the Elite Eight to top-seeded and eventual national champion Lubbock Christian.
RELOADED
Daemen is set to return 13 players, including four starters, from their regional championship team – players responsible for 78% of scoring, 81% of rebounds and 85% of their assists from a season ago. Among the returners is senior forward Katie Titus who was recently named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year. A 6-foot forward, Titus produced a career-high 14.8 points per game last season. She led the ECC in three-point field goals (48) and blocks (40) while also ranking second in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and third in scoring en route to earning honorable mention All-American honors. Redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert - the 2020-21 ECC Preseason Player of the Year - is also set to return after being limited to just eight games by an injury last season. A three-time All-ECC selection, Filbert enters her final collegiate season with 1,096 points in 93 games played. Senior forward Mickayla Ivy (9.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and sophomore guard Alahna Paige (2020-21 ECC Rookie of the Year) also return.
BANK ON IT
Jenepher Banker returns for her sixth season on the Daemen bench and her 11th overall as a collegiate head coach. The veteran mentor has led Daemen to an 84-53 record since taking the reins in 2016, with 61 of her victories coming over the past four seasons. The Wildcats' success under Banker includes a 23-win season in 2019-20 (a benchmark for wins during the program's NCAA Division II era), back-to-back regular season conference titles, the program's first ECC tournament championship, a pair of NCAA tournament berths and the 2021 regional title. She was named the ECC Coach of the Year after leading the Wildcats to an unbeaten run through conference play. Including her five seasons as the head coach at Penn State Behrend, Banker recorded her 150th win at the collegiate level in Daemen's 76-59 victory at Staten Island on December 17.
IN THE POLLS
For the first time in the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present), Daemen was nationally ranked to start the season. Daemen was ranked 20th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll and eighth in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Preseason Media Poll. The Wildcats ended the 2020-21 season ranked eighth in both polls - the first time they've finished a season in the national rankings. Daemen is also ranked seventh in D2SIDA's latest East Region Poll for a fourth consecutive week and have now been ranked in 29 consecutive D2SIDA regional polls, since January 2019.
MILESTONE MOMENT
By converting a free-throw in the second quarter of a 54-53 win over Angelo State on November 19, senior Katie Titus became the 27th member of Daemen's 1,000-point club. In 82 career games, Titus has made 74 starts and totaled 1,138 points, 663 rebounds and 137 blocked shots. She ranks 16th in career scoring all-time at Daemen. A three-time All-ECC selection, Titus is one of only four players in program history to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career. Titus is off to a fast start with six double-doubles in nine games while averaging 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game this season.
HIGH ECC-XPECTATIONS
For the second straight season, Daemen has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the ECC. The Wildcats were the near unanimous choice atop the ECC Preseason Coaches Poll, garnering nine of the 10 first-place votes and 97 points. The Wildcats posted a 9-0 ECC record last season - the program's first unbeaten conference season since 2003-04 - and hold a 44-8 conference mark since the start of the 2018-19 season.
SWEET CAROLINE
The biggest missing piece from last season is forward Caroline White who was lost to graduation last spring. White earned ECC Player of the Year honors last season after averaging 15.2 points (second in ECC) and 8.5 rebounds (first in ECC) per game.
T IT UP
Daemen has regained the services of redshirt senior guard Tiara Filbert to start the 2021-22 season. A three-time All-ECC selection, Filbert missed the final nine games last season with an injury. She has appeared in 102 games in her career, averaging 11.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. In Daemen's 2020-21 season opener, she became the 25th member of the program's 1,000 Point Club. Filbert currently ranks 14th in program history with 1,193 career points.
BREAKOUT SEASON
Senior forward Mickayla Ivy will look to take her game to another level after experiencing a breakout campaign in 2020-21. After averaging 2.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in her first two seasons, Ivy emerged as a consistent performer at both ends of the floor last season. She started all 17 contests and averaged 9.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field. Her contributions were recognized by the ECC coaches who voted her onto the All-ECC Second Team.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has held 44 of its last 53 opponents to 65 points or less, posting a 40-4 record in those games. The Wildcats were among the best defensive teams in the country in 2020-21, ranking third nationally in both field goal percentage defense (.325) and scoring defense (51.6).
SUSTAINED SUCCESS
Daemen has posted a 57-13 record in their last 70 games, a span that dates back to mid-January of 2019. The Wildcats have won 12 of their 18 regular season, non-conference games in that time.
FRESH FACES
Daemen welcomes just two newcomers to the roster this season. Junior guard Sarah Cloutier is a transfer from NAIA affiliate Southeastern where she appeared in 38 games over two seasons while helping the Fire post a 53-6 record. Guard Sydney Hvizdzak is the lone freshmen on Daemen's roster. She comes to the Wildcats after earning All-Western New York honors last winter when she averaged 26.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while leading Randolph to the Section VI Class C title game. Hvizdzak is one of only 15 women in Section VI history to surpass 2,000 career points.
CACC DOMINANCE
Since gaining full NCAA membership in 2015, Daemen is 9-1 against affiliates of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Wildcats won their eighth straight game with a CACC opponent when they defeated Felician 72-50 on Nov. 13 at the Redhawks Classic.
BATTLING THE NE10'S BEST
Daemen will play four games against Northeast 10 Conference opponents this season, including teams picked first, second and third in the NE10 Northeast Division preseason coaches' poll. The Wildcats suffered a five-point loss to Saint Anselm (picked third) in their season opener and two-point loss to Stonehill (picked first) on Nov. 30. Daemen will visit Bentley (picked second) on Jan. 2, and will also host Le Moyne (picked fourth in NE10 Southwest Division) on Dec. 30.
TEXAS SQUEAKER
Mickayla Ivy hit a jumper with 19 seconds to go and then secured a defensive rebound to help Daemen get past Angelo State, 54-53, in the opening round of the Lady Chap Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian on Nov. 19. It was the Wildcats' first one-point victory since defeating rival Roberts Wesleyan, 70-69, on Jan. 20, 2015. Katie Titus scored 22 points – including the 1,000th of her career – and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Wildcats past the Belles.
ELITE REMATCH
On Nov. 20, Daemen suffered a 62-37 loss to Lubbock Christian in a rematch of the Wildcats' first-ever NCAA Division II Elite Eight game from last March. The Chaps are the defending national champions and were ranked No. 1 in both national polls to start the season.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSIONS
After averaging 59.8 points in their first five games of the season, the Wildcats broke out offensively with three consecutive wins in conference play in December. It started Dec. 8 when they canned 18 three-pointers on 32 attempts (.563 shooting %) during an 83-46 romp over Roberts Wesleyan in what was the teams' first meeting since last season's East Regional finals. Sydney Hvizdzak (5-8, 15 points), Tiara Filbert (4-4, 16 points), Katie Titus (4-5, 16 points) and Kaytlyn Matz (3-7, 9 points) all made multiple three-pointers in the win. Then, on Dec. 12, the Wildcats erupted again during a 97-83 win over Bridgeport. It marked their first game with 95+ points since a 96-84 win over LIU Post on Jan. 25, 2017. Titus scored a career-high 38 points on 15-of-22 shooting, matching the highest individual scoring effort of the program's NCAA Division II era. Filbert, who shares the record, chipped in 20 points and nine rebounds. Then, on Dec. 17, the Wildcats made timely shots down the stretch in a 76-59 victory over Staten Island, the first meeting in program history. Titus recorded her sixth double-double of the season (26 points, 16 rebounds) as one of four Wildcat players to finish in double-figure scoring. Kaytlyn Matz set new career-highs in made three-point field goals (5) and attempts (11) as part of a 16-point night plus seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Mickayla Ivy added 10 points and seven rebounds and Autumn Buchsenschutz scored eight of her 11 points in the second half alone, including 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
BACK IN ACTION
After a 28-day absence due to the NCAA-mandated holiday break in late December followed by the postponement of four consecutive games related to COVID-19 protocols, Daemen returned to the hardwood with a 61-58 victory over Molloy on Jan. 14 in the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium. The Lions jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the contest, which fueled their 17-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter, a frame where the Wildcats shot just 3-of-16 from the floor collectively. Daemen found its shooting rhythm in the second quarter, however, and cut the deficit to 10 points (24-14) with just over two minutes left in the half. Back-to-back baskets from
Alahna Paige and
Tiara Filbert helped propel an 8-2 run for the Wildcats to bring the game within four points (26-22.) Molloy went into the break with a 28-23 lead. Molloy built the lead back up to nine points, 41-32, after senior Gabriella Aspuru (30 points overall) scored with 3:36 left in the third quarter, but the Wildcats closed out the quarter with a 12-6 run to come within three points (47-44) going into the fourth quarter. By scoring the final seven points of the third and another 10 unanswered points at the start of the fourth, the Wildcats scored a total of 17 unanswered points to take a 54-47 lead. Daemen went into a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought, giving the Lions a chance to make this a one-possession game (54-51) with just over three minutes to play. Molloy converted two free-throws with 1:34 left to make the score 55-53 Daemen, which remained the score until Filbert's two free-throws with 15 seconds left. Molloy drained a three-pointer with three seconds left to make this a one-point game (59-58), but Daemen again converted two free throws to close out the scoring. Filbert finished with a team-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting along with five rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes of game action.
Katie Titus added 13 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five steals while Paige finished in double-figure scoring for the second time in the last three games with 11 points plus four assists.
SCOUTING QUEENS
The Queens Knights are members of the East Coast Conference and are led by 10-year head coach Bet Naumovski. The Knights saw their 2020-21 season cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Naumovski is the program's all-time leader in wins (128) and won the ECC Coach of the Year award in the 2012-13 and 2016-17 seasons. The Knights won back-to-back conference titles in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and recorded four consecutive 20+ win seasons from 2013-14 to 2016-17 in her tenure. Prior to coaching at Queens, Naumovski served as an assistant coach at Division Binghamton from 2008-10 and at the University of Toronto from 1999-2003. Naumovski is one of only four female basketball coaches to receive the designation of Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC.)
Two players return from Queens' 2019-20 team that finished 7-19 overall and 4-12 in ECC play and ended their season with a 69-46 loss at Dist. Columbia on February 26, 2020.
Freshman guard Chelsea Reeves enters Sunday as the team's leading scorer (13.6 points per game), field goals made (52), field goal percentage (54.2%) and assists per game (3.0) and second in rebounding (7.3) and has finished in double-figure scoring in each of Queens' last five contests. Junior point guard Khadija Demry is second on the Knights in points per game (12.3) and field goals made (48) and has finished in double-figure scoring five times so far. Junior guard Tsahai Corbie is third in scoring (10.9) while classmate Nora Gabel leads the team in three-point shooting (17-of-46, 37%.)
Queens enters Sunday's contest with a 1-9 record (1-3 ECC) and are coming off a 76-72 victory at D'Youville in Buffalo on Jan. 14, their first win of the 2021-22 campaign and their first win as a program since defeating Roberts Wesleyan, 82-53, on February 7, 2020 (15 games total.)
SERIES HISTORY VS. QUEENS
All-Time Series: 5-9
At Daemen: 3-4
Current Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 70, Queens 51 | February 9, 2020 | at Flushing, N.Y.
