AMHERST, N.Y. -- Off to the best start in the NCAA era (2015-present), the Daemen University women's basketball team remains atop the East Region in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Regional Women's Basketball Poll of 2022-23 for the second consecutive week. The East Region consists of 10 teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference, and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Wildcats have now been ranked in 38 consecutive D2SIDA regional polls, dating back to early January 2019. 

The Wildcats moved from No. 2 in the regional poll to the top spot last week, and moved up to No. 10 in the D2SIDA National Poll as well. Daemen also cracked the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top-25 Coaches Poll last week for the first time since the 2021-22 preseason poll, earning the No. 23 spot in the nation with their 4-0 start to the season.

Daemen moved to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in the conference play after picking up a pair of ECC victories over the weekend. The Wildcats stuffed Molloy 74-56 in their ECC opener on Friday night in a game that featured a 17-point night for both guards Paige Emborsky (Newfane, N.Y.) and Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.). Daemen then went on to top Queens 61-43 on Sunday afternoon, marking the eighth straight win for the Cats over the Knights.

After spending her last two seasons of undergrad playing Division I basketball at Abilene Christian University, Emborsky has played a pivotal role for the Wildcats already this season. She picked up her first ECC Player of the Week award for her efforts over the weekend in which she averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. The 5-foot-6 guard shot 63-percent from the field (12-of-19) and was an absolute weapon from beyond the arc, finishing 88-percent (8-of-9) for three. Emborsky averaged 29.5 minutes per game, and pulled down 14 rebounds (13 defensive), including snagging a team-high eight rebounds against Queens on Sunday. She was a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point land against the Knights. 

Junior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) put together her two best defensive games of the season in this weekend's ECC opener games, totaling 13 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. In Sunday's 61-43 win over Queens, the junior guard tied Emborsky with a team-high eight rebounds, pulling down seven defensive rebounds in the win. She averaged 29 minutes per game on the weekend, including playing a season-high 37 minutes on Sunday, and finished with 23 total points over the two games. She shot 56-percent from the field (9-of-16), and 57-percent from beyond the arc (4-of-7).

Emborsky and Paige lead the team in scoring on the season, with Emborsky averaging 13.8 ppg and Paige tallying 9.2 ppg.

The Wildcats hit the road for their final ECC matches before Christmas. Daemen heads to Sparkill, N.Y. to take on St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, Dec. 9, then will face Mercy on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Ranked No. 1 in the region for the first time since the first regional poll of 2021-22, the Wildcats received four of the six first-place votes and collected 58 points in the poll. Assumption (51) and Bentley (48) each picked up one first place vote, and Jefferson (40) and St. Thomas Aquinas (36) round out the top five. Le Moyne (28), Post (20), Southern Connecticut State (19), New Haven (15) and Southern New Hampshire (11) make up the final five teams in the poll. 

The D2SIDA East Region media poll is conducted by sports information professionals representing the ECC, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and Northeast-10 Conference.
 

D2SIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION MEDIA POLL - WEEK 4
	W-L	PTS.	LAST WEEK
1. DAEMEN (4)	6-0	59	1
2. Assumption (1)	7-0	54	2
3. Bentley (1)	5-2	49	3
4. Jefferson	7-1	42	4
5. Le Moyne	5-2	36	6
6. St. Thomas Aquinas	6-2	25	5
7. Southern New Hampshire	4-2	20	10
8. Southern Connecticut St.	5-2	15	8
9. Post	6-3	14	7
10. New Haven	4-2	10	9

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes: Saint Rose, Dominican
 

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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.

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