Game #5
Daemen Wildcats (4-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (1-5, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Friday, Dec. 2
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Watch: via ECC Network
Live Stats: via daemenwildcats.com

Game #6
Daemen Wildcats (4-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Queens Knights (2-4, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 4
Time: 12 PM
Location: Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Watch: via ECC Network
Live Stats: via daemenwildcats.com
 

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BACK HOME BALLERS
The Daemen University women's basketball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for a pair of games against East Coast Conference opponents this weekend. The Wildcats will first host Molloy on Friday night at 5:30 PM to open up ECC play, and will take on the Knights of Queens on Sunday in a noon matinee matchup.

THROWIN' IT BACK
The Daemen men's and women's basketball teams will feature a new -- or rather, old -- look in Friday's games. The Wildcats will be donning yellow and blue throwback jerseys for their game against Molloy, paying tribute to the Daemen teams from the late 1980's and early 1990's when the teams' mascot was the Warriors. Both Daemen teams will wear the throwback jerseys for the Hall of Fame induction game when they host D'Youville in the final regular season game of the season on Feb. 25. 

PERFECT START
The Wildcats opened up the 2022-23 season with a perfect 4-0 record, marking the second time in three seasons that they won the first four games of the year. Daemen is coming off their biggest win of the season, a 66-45 victory over Bloomsburg in their final non-conference game before ECC play. The Wildcats also picked up a 52-45 win over nationally-ranked Pace in the season opener, a 72-60 W over Felician in the final game of the Redhawks Classic, and a 69-66 thriller over regionally-ranked Le Moyne. 

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
Tickets for all 2022-23 Daemen home games are on sale through Daemen's online ticketing web page. Lock in your tickets before arriving at Lumsden Gym, visit http://daemenwildcats.com/tickets for details. Please note, all tickets must be purchased online. No cash sales will be available at Lumsden Gym.

HOME, SWEET HOME
This weekend's matches mark the final home games for Daemen until January 11. The Wildcats embark on a five-game road trip for the rest of December after the weekend. Daemen is 1-0 at Lumsden this season, and owns a 39-6 home record over the last five seasons. 

SEASON HIGHS
Junior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) junior forward Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) both scored 17 points in Sunday's win over Bloomsburg. Paige shot 70-percent (7-of-10) from the field and banked her first three's of the season (2-of-3). Angeletti put together a career-high shooting outing, knocking down 8-of-12 from the field for 17 points, and a team-high seven rebounds with five assists. 

HOT HANDS
Three Wildcats combine for 106 of Daemen's 259 total points on the season. The Cats are led by graduate transfer Paige Emborsky (Newfane, N.Y.), who has made an immediate impact on the team in her first four games, and totals 49 points on the year to average 12.3 ppg. Emborsky has banked double-digit points in each of the first three games of the season, and leads the team in field goals made (16-of-26), field goal percentage (61%), three-pointers made (11-of-18) and three-point percentage (67%). Junior guards Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) and Paige both total 32 points (8 ppg). Matz has shot 28-percent from the field on the season, and ranks second on the team in three-pointers, knocking down 6-of-18. Paige has banked 12-of-25 from the field (48-percent). 

DEFENSIVE MINDED
Seven Wildcats have amassed double-digit rebounds on the season, with Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) as the only Wildcat with over 20 rebounds on the season. The 5-foot-10 fifth year forward leads the way with 21 on the season (5.3 rebounds per game) including a team-high 17 defensive boards, followed closely by Angeletti with 18 total rebounds (4.5 rebounds/game). Redshirt junior guard Alina Estrella (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ranks third on the team with 14 rebounds on the season, spread evenly with 7 offensive and 7 defensive boards. Emborsky tallies 13, Matz and freshman guard Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) total 12 on the year, and senior Marina Maerkl (Binghampton, N.Y.) has 11 rebounds on the season. 

NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Daemen moves up to No. 10 in the third NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Women's Basketball Media Poll for 2022-23, and cracks into the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 23. This is the first time Daemen has been ranked in the WBCA poll since the 2021-22 Preseason Poll. After spending the first two weeks of the season as the No. 2 ranked regional team, the Wildcats moved up to No. 1 this week in the East Region in the D2SIDA Regional Poll, released on Monday.

UP NEXT
Daemen will play their next five games on the road, starting with next weekend's ECC road trip to take on St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, Dec. 9 and Mercy on Sunday, Dec. 11. 
 

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SCOUTING THE MOLLOY LIONS
On Friday, the Lions and Wildcats meet for the first time since the 2022 ECC Championship game. After finishing with a 17-10 overall record and 13-5 ECC record in the 2021-22 season, Molloy opened up the season with a four-game losing streak, including falling to regional power Jefferson 60-18 in the season opener. The Lions got their first W of the year on Saturday, topping Alliance 53-46, before losing to Felician on Sunday in their final non-conference match before ECC play. Through five games this season, Molloy's opponents are outscoring the Lions by 17 points per game. Offensively, the Lions are led by junior guard Trinity Hudson, who averages 11.5 ppg, and leads the team in rebounds with 8.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore center Danielle Hippner leads the Lions on defense with 15 blocks, while Hudson and sophomore forward Samantha Muller combine for 21 of Molloy's 43 steals on the season.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS MOLLOY
Series Record: 15-4 Daemen
At Home: 10-0 Daemen
Conference Record: 12-4
Last Meeting: Daemen 74, Molloy 67 | March 6, 2022 | ECC Championship | Amherst, NY

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SCOUTING THE QUEENS KNIGHTS
Queens posted a 4-21 overall record and 3-15 ECC record in the 2021-22 season, and after opening up last year with an 0-9 record, the Knights are already off to a better start this season. They enter Sunday's game with a 2-4 record on the year, picking up wins against Bloomfield and Alliance during non-conference play. Freshman forward Cecilia Lapertosa leads Queens with 72 points (12 ppg) on the season, and is coming off her second double-double game of the season in which she scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against Alliance. Senior point guard Khadija Demry ranks second on the team with 54 points on the year (9 ppg). The Knights will play at D'Youville on Friday to open up ECC play, facing off against the only team they swept in 2021-22.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS QUEENS
Series Record: 9-7 Queens
At Home: 4-4 
Conference Record: 9-7 Queens
Last Meeting: Daemen 65, Queens 39 | February 26, 2022 | Amherst, NY

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Daemen University 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.

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