AMHERST, N.Y. - Freshman Sarah Ericson drilled five three-pointers and scored 17 points to lead the St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team to a 61-53 victory over Daemen College tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

Daemen saw a couple long winning streaks come to end with the loss and dropped to 15-4 overall and 13-1 in East Coast Conference play. The Wildcats remain atop the ECC standings despite the setback.

The Wildcats entered the game riding a 13 game overall winning streak—which ranked as the longest winning streak among all NCAA Division II East Region teams. Daemen had also won 22 straight regular season conference games dating back to the start of last season. The Wildcats entered the game ranked eighth in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll. STAC improved to 10-14 overall and 9-6 in conference.

Twelve of Daemen's first 15 points came via the three-pointer and the Wildcats took a 15-12 lead after redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) knocked down a triple with 4:13 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats managed just three free throws the rest of the quarter and STAC took a 20-18 lead into the second quarter. Daemen scored the first four points of the second quarter, but the Wildcats went scoreless for nearly seven minutes which allowed the Spartans to build a 29-22 lead. A layup by senior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, N.Y.) with just over two minutes to play in the quarter ended the scoring drought for Daemen and the Wildcats made it a three-point game, 29-26, following a bucket by senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) with 20 seconds to play before halftime. STAC took a 32-26 lead into the break after senior Alexa Huertas hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

The Wildcats chipped away at the STAC lead early in the third quarter and cut it to three points, 39-36, after Titus hit a three-pointer with 5:36 left in the quarter, but the Spartans responded with nine unanswered points and took a 48-36 lead after Huertas made two free throws with 3:53 left in the quarter. STAC took a 51-40 lead into the final quarter. Both teams struggled to score early on in the fourth quarter and STAC held a 53-40 lead when the Wildcats mounted one last rally and cut the lead to six points, 53-47, with just over two minutes to play. STAC got back-to-back layups by senior Victoria Kurisko to regain a double digit lead and the Wildcats came no closer than six points (58-52) down the stretch.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Erickson connected on 6-of-11 shots overall and was 5-of-8 from downtown. She also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and handed out a team-high five assists.
• Huertas added 13 points for the Spartans, while freshman Erin Leary contributed 11 points and six rebounds.
• Titus paced the Wildcats with 16 points—13 of which came in the first half. She also totaled six rebounds and two assists.
• Filbert added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Ivy finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen had prevailed in the previous four meetings between the two teams, including a 64-48 win last month at STAC.
• Daemen averaged 74.3 points per game and had outscored its opponents by an average of 19 points during its 13 game winning streak. Tonight marked just the third time this season the Wildcats have been held to under 55 points.
• The Wildcats made just 9-of-33 shots in the first half and finished just 20-of-65 (31%) from the field overall. Daemen connected on 4-of-8 three-pointers in the first quarter, but the Wildcats made just 3-of-20 from downtown over the final three quarters.
• STAC shot 61-percent (8-of-13) in the first quarter and finished 23-of-50 (46%) from the field overall. The Spartans made 9-of-19 from the behind the three point arc.
• STAC finished with a 38-34 edge in total rebounds. Daemen had out-rebounded its opponent in every game during the 13 game winning streak.
• Daemen finished with 12 assists on 20 field goals. The Wildcats have now recorded 10 or more assists in 16 straight games.
• Filbert increased her career totals to 1,320 points, 554 rebounds, 332 assists and 132 steals in 112 career games. She ranks 12th in career scoring at Daemen and is just the sixth player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
• Titus has scored in double figures in 15 straight and 18 of 19 games this season. She became the 27th member of Daemen's 1,000-Point Club during a win over Angelo State University earlier this year and has now totaled 1,332 points, 730 rebounds and 146 blocks in 92 career games. She is nine points shy of moving into the Top-10 in career points at Daemen. She is just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
• Titus also recorded her 175th career three-pointer tonight. She ranks fourth in career three-pointers made (175) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
• Daemen is now 66-14 in its last 80 games, a span that dates back to mid January of 2019.

NEXT JUMP BALL

The Wildcats return to action Sunday (Feb. 20) when they host Mercy College in an ECC game. It will mark the final home game of the regular season for Daemen and players will be recognized as part of the program's Senior Day celebration before the game.


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.