Game # 7
Daemen Wildcats (6-0, 2-0 ECC) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (6-2, 1-1 ECC)
Date: Friday, Dec. 9
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Sparkill, N.Y.
Live Stream: via
ECC Network
Live Stats: via
stacathletics.com
Game # 8
Daemen Wildcats (6-0, 2-0 ECC) vs. Mercy Mavericks (4-5, 1-1 ECC)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 11
Time: 12 PM
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. | Neil Judge Student Athlete Center
Live Stream: via
ECC Network
Live Stats: via
mercyathletics.com
Tickets: Available
Here
HERE WE GO AGAIN
The undefeated Daemen University women's basketball hits the road for their final East Coast Conference matchups of 2022 this weekend, traveling first to Sparkill, N.Y. to face regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday night, then making the short trek over the Hudson River to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. where they will take on Mercy in a noon game on Sunday.
ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen begins the first of five road games this weekend, stretching from Friday, Dec. 9 to Friday, Jan. 6. Over the course of the five week road stretch, the Wildcats will travel 3,262 miles total, playing in four ECC matchups and two non-conference tilts.
COMING IN HOT
The Wildcats are a perfect 6-0 on the year, 2-0 in the ECC, and are off to their best start to a season in the NCAA era (2015-present). Daemen is one of just 14 teams in all of NCAA Division II that are still undefeated on the season. In head coach
Jenepher Banker's seventh season at the helm, the Wildcats have beaten nationally-ranked Pace in the season opener, topped regionally-ranked Le Moyne for the first time since 2013, and rank fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, they are seventh in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (40%) and are ninth in the nation in scoring defense (points allowed per game).
EMBORSKY FOR THREE
Daemen graduate transfer
Paige Emborsky (Newfane, N.Y.), who spent her final two undergrad years at Division I Abilene Christian University, has been making a splash for the Wildcats beyond the arc this season. The guard picked up her first
ECC Player of the Week award for her efforts last 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, and was a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point land against the Knights. She ranks second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (70.4%), and 14th in three point shots made per game (3.17 per game). Through six games, Emborsky leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game, and ranks second on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game.
A LOTTA ALAHNA
Junior guard
Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) put together her two best defensive games of the season during last 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. Paige ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 ppg, and ranks second in assists (2.3 assists per game).
SEASON HIGHS
In Daemen's ECC opener against Molloy, the Wildcats put up season-high numbers as a team. Daemen scored 74 points, made 27 field goals on 68 attempts, pulled down 41 rebounds and recorded 14 steals, all single-game leading statistics on the year. The Wildcats also recorded season-high stats individually, as junior guard
Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored a season-high 17 points against the Lions, while
Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) took 14 field goal shots, Emborsky made five three-pointers, McDuffie made four free throws on seven attempts, and freshman guard
Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) recorded four steals.
POLL POSITION
With their 6-0 start, the Wildcats
moved up in the national rankings this week. Daemen moves up to No. 13 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) this week, marking the Wildcats' third-highest ranking in the poll ever. The Cats also moved up to No. 7 in the fourth NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Women's Basketball Media Poll for 2022-23. Cracking into the rankings last week, Daemen was previously ranked No. 23 in last week's WCBA poll, and No. 10 in the D2SIDA national poll. The Wildcats remain atop the East Region at No. 1 this week in the
D2SIDA Regional Poll, released on Monday.
UP NEXT
After this weekend, the Wildcats will travel to take on Saint Anselm in a non-conference match on Sunday, Dec. 18 at noon in Manchester, New Hampshire.
SCOUTING THE ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SPARTANS
After posting a 14-15 overall record and 12-6 ECC record in 2021-22, St. Thomas Aquinas comes into Friday's matchup with Daemen with a 6-2 overall record and 1-1 in ECC play on the year. They dropped their conference opener to District of Columbia with a 10-point loss, but responded on Saturday with an 82-59 victory over Staten Island. The Spartans are ranked No. 6 in the East Region in the latest D2SIDA Regional Poll. St. Thomas Aquinas is led offensively by a pair of sophomores in forward
Erin Leary and guard
Sarah Ericson, who average 14.3 ppg and 13.3 ppg, respectively, and are the bread and butter of the team. On the season, the Spartans are shooting 41.7-percent from the field, and 27.8-percent from three-point land. Only four Spartans have banked three's this season, with Leary leading the way shooting 31-percent (9-of-29) for three. Ericson, Leary, and junior forwards
Karol Jarusevicuite and
Angelique Holguin combine for 240 of STAC's 355 total rebounds on the year.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Record: 12-7 St. Thomas Aquinas
Conference Record: 11-7 St. Thomas Aquinas
Away Record: 7-2 St. Thomas Aquinas
Last Meeting: 61 St. Thomas Aquinas, 53 Daemen | Feb. 18, 2022 | Amherst, N.Y.
SCOUTING THE MERCY MAVERICKS
The Mavericks finished the 2021-22 season with an 11-16 overall record and 9-9 record in ECC play, and enter Sunday's match just under .500, 4-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Mercy has lost three of their last four games, including being on the losing side of a four-point game against Staten Island last week. The Mavs have been evenly matched through their nine games this season, and are averaging 62.3 ppg, the exact same number as their opponents. Led by a host of upperclassmen, senior guard
Katie Wall and graduate student guard
Taysha Bender average 13 ppg and 10.9 ppg, respectively, and lead the team in scoring. The top four scorers on the team are seniors or older, and combine for almost 60-percent of all points scored for Mercy this season (330 points of a total 561). Junior forward
Maria Tedesco averages 5.9 rebounds a game, followed by senior guard
Asha Talib with 5.4 and Bender with 5.0 on the season.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MERCY
Record: 16-2 Daemen
Conference Record: 16-2 Daemen
Away Record: 9-1 Daemen
Last Meeting: 81 Daemen, 49 Mercy | Feb. 20, 2022 | Amherst, N.Y.
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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