AMHERST, N.Y. - Senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) scored a game-high 31 points in just 23 minutes of action to lead the Daemen College women's basketball team to an 81-49 victory over Mercy College today at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

It marked Daemen's final home game of the 2021-22 regular season and the program honored Titus, Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.), Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) and Mary Foster (Elmira, N.Y.) during a pre-game Senior Day ceremony. The Wildcats improved to 8-2 at home this season and are now 36-6 at Lumsden Gymnasium since the start of the 2018-19 season.

Daemen improved to 16-4 overall and 14-1 in the league with the win, while Mercy dropped to 10-14 overall and 8-8 in the league following its eighth-straight loss. The Wildcats remain atop the ECC standings and are one win away from clinching the ECC regular season championship and the top seed in the upcoming ECC Tournament.

Daemen opened the scoring with a three-pointer by Titus and the Wildcats later took an 11-4 lead following back-to-back layups by Titus and senior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) midway through the first quarter. Another layup by Ivy gave Daemen a 17-6 lead with just under three minutes left in the quarter, but Mercy closed out the frame with a 5-1 spurt and the Wildcats took an 18-11 lead into the second quarter. Despite playing with out Titus and redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (two fouls each) for most of the second quarter, the Wildcats still managed to build on their lead and eventually opened up a 14 point lead, 28-14, following a conventional three-point play by junior Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) with 4:42 left before halftime. Mercy outscored the Wildcats 10-5 the rest of the half and Daemen took a 33-24 lead into the break.

Daemen opened the third quarter with a 10-0 spurt and the hosts later opened up a 21 point lead, 47-26, following a conventional three-point play by Titus midway through the third quarter. The teams traded buckets the rest of the quarter and Daemen took a 61-39 lead into the final quarter. Daemen opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run and the Wildcats maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the game.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Titus, who entered the game averaging league-high 19.7 points, connected on 12-of-21 shots overall and made 4-of-10 from downtown. It marked the fourth time this season—and the second time in the past three games—that she has scored 30 or more points.
• Ivy connected on 5-of-8 shots and totaled 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Maerkl had a productive 13 minutes off the bench, as she equaled her season-high for both points (9) and rebounds (7).
• Buchsenschutz played 26 minutes and added five points, three rebounds and four assists.
• Filbert added four points, seven rebounds and two assists in just 20 minutes of action.
• Junior guard Katie Wall paced the Mavericks with three three-pointers and 22 points.

GAME NOTES

• The Wildcats entered the game ranked eighth in both the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll and the NCAA Division II East Region rankings.
• Today marked the 18th all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercy. The Wildcats have now won 13 straight in the series and Daemen leads the all-time series, 16-2.
• The Wildcats connected on 16-of-32 shots in the second half and shot 46-percent (29-of-63) from the field overall. Daemen connected on 7-of-22 shots from behind the three-point arc.
• Mercy shot just 29-percent (8-of-28) in the first half and finished 19-of-55 (34.5%) from the field overall. The Mavericks made just 3-of-17 from the behind the three point arc.
• Daemen finished with a 46-25 edge in total rebounds. Daemen has out-rebounded its opponent in 18 of 20 games this season.
• Daemen finished with 22 assists on 29 field goals. The Wildcats have now recorded 10 or more assists in 17 straight games. it marked the seventh time this season Daemen has recorded 20 or more assists.
• Titus entered the game just nine points shy of moving into the Top-10 in career points among Daemen's all-time leaders. She has scored in double figures in 16 straight and 19 of 20 games this season and has now totaled 1,363 points, 733 rebounds and 147 blocks in 93 career games. She ranks ninth in career scoring and eighth in career blocks at Daemen, and is just eight rebounds shy of moving into the Top-10 in career rebounds. She is just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
• Titus also moved into third place among Daemen's all-time leaders in career three-pointers today. She has made 179 three-pointers over her career and ranks third behind Raeann Stilwell (243) and Jessica Ruddell (242).
• Filbert increased her career totals to 1,324 points, 561 rebounds, 334 assists and 132 steals in 113 career games. She ranks 12th in career scoring at Daemen and is tied for 10th in career assists. She is just the sixth player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
• Daemen is now 67-14 in its last 81 games, a span that dates back to mid January of 2019.

NEXT JUMP BALL

The Wildcats close out the regular season later this week when they travel to Molloy College (Feb. 24) and Queens College (Feb. 26) for conference games.


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.

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