AMHERST, N.Y. - Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) totaled a career-high 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to lead top-seeded Daemen College to a 74-67 victory over second-seeded Molloy College in the championship game of the 2022 East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament today at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

The Wildcats claimed their second ECC Tournament title in the past three years and with it the ECC's automatic bid to the 64-team National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Tournament. The entire NCAA Tournament field will be unveiled tonight at 10 p.m. Daemen is the defending NCAA Division II East Region champion and will be making its third-straight appearance in the championship field.

Daemen, which was making its third-straight appearance in the ECC Tournament championship game, improves to 20-4 on the year. Molloy, which had won 10 of its last 11 games, closed out the year at 17-10.

Daemen opened the game with a three-pointer from Matz and the hosts later took an 8-0 lead following another triple by Matz with with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter. Molloy regrouped following a timeout and eventually cut the lead to two points, 12-10, midway through the quarter. The Wildcats then embarked on a 14-0 run over the next 3:45. A hook shot in the lane by senior Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) with a minute left in the quarter capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 26-10 lead. Daemen took a 28-11 lead into the second quarter.

After shooting 9-of-18 in the first quarter, the Wildcats connected on just 3-of-15 shots in the second quarter, but the Lions were unable to make a substantial dent in the Daemen lead. Daemen held a 30-17 lead with just under seven minutes to play before halftime, but neither team scored until redshirt sophomore Alina Estrella (Brooklyn, N.Y.) connected on a jumper with three minutes to play to give the Wildcats a 32-17 lead. Molloy quickly cut the lead to 10 points, 32-22, but the score remained that way until Estrella took a feed from freshman Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) and drilled a buzzer-beating three pointer to give the Wildcats a 35-22 halftime lead.

Daemen took a 44-28 lead three minutes into the third quarter after redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) hit a step back three-pointer, but the Lions put together a 13-4 run and cut the lead to seven points, 48-41, following a layup by freshman Janel Moore with 1:38 left in the quarter. Matz answered with her fifth three-pointer of the game on Daemen's next possession and the Wildcats would take a 53-45 lead into the final quarter.

Molloy outscored the Wildcats 8-2 over the first 2:22 of the final quarter, but Daemen got a layup from Ivy and a big three-pointer from the top of the key by Paige to regain a seven point lead, 60-53. The Daemen lead was five points, 63-58, when the Lions got two free throws by Moore and a three-pointer by sophomore Trinity Hudson to knot the game at 63-63 with three minutes to play. A conventional three-point play by senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) then gave Daemen a 66-63 lead. Both teams came up empty on their next possession and Hudson made one of two free throws with 1:50 left to make it a two point game. Titus then fed Filbert for a layup to give the hosts a 68-64 advantage with 1:33 left. The score remained that way until Matz came up with a big offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:05 to play. She made both free throws to make it a six point lead, and the advantage eventually went back to double digits, 74-64, after Titus made two free throws with 27 seconds to play. Moore closed out the scoring with a three-pointer with eight seconds left.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Matz played a career-high 37 minutes, connected on 6-of-10 shots overall and made 5-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. She also contributed three assists and steal. Matz, who entered the weekend averaging 6.3 points per game, shot 8-of-15 from downtown town and totaled 34 points and 14 rebounds during the tournament to earn Tournament MOP honors.
• Paige played all 40 minutes today after logging 37 minutes during a semifinal win over Roberts Wesleyan College yesterday. An all-tournament selection, she totaled a season-high 15 points and added four rebounds and five assists.
• Titus—the 2021-22 ECC Player of the Year—registered her seventh double-double of the year and finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals.
• Ivy followed up a strong effort in yesterday's semifinal win (19 points) with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks today. She was named to the all-tournament team.
• Filbert, who scored 20 points in the semifinal win, was limited to just 24 minutes today after getting into early foul trouble and finished with seven points and two assists.
• Five players scored in double figures for the Lions. Junior guard Cameron Corbett, who scored 19 points in Molloy's ECC semifinal win over St. Thomas Aquinas College, played all 40 minutes and scored 14 points today. Graduate student Maya Thomas went 4-of-8 from downtown and finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. Corbett and Thomas were named to the all-tournament team. Senior forward Gabriella Aspuru scored 10 points in the second half and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

GAME NOTES

• The Wildcats entered the game ranked ninth in the third and final NCAA Division II East Region rankings.
• Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau for the second time in the past three seasons. The Wildcats went 23-5, claimed its first-ever ECC Tournament title and made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2019-20.
• Today's game was a rematch of the 2020 ECC Tournament championship game in which the Wildcats posted a 68-56 victory to claim its first-ever ECC Tournament crown. Titus was named the Tournament MVP after totaling 24 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in the title game.
• Today marked the 19th all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy. The Wildcats have now won five-straight in the series and lead the all-time series, 15-4. Daemen is also 11-2 all-time against Molloy in the Jenepher Banker era (2016-17—present.).
• The Wildcats shot 40-percent (25-of-62) from the field overall and connected on 9-of-23 shots from behind the three-point arc. Daemen finished a perfect 15-of-15 from the charity stripe.
• Molloy finished 22-of-66 (33%) from the field overall and made 11-of-27 from downtown (8-of-17 in the second half). The Lions connected on 12-of-15 free throws.
• Daemen finished with a 45-39 edge in total rebounds. Daemen has out-rebounded its opponent in 21 of 24 games this season.
• Daemen finished with 18 assists on 25 field goals. The Wildcats have now recorded 15 or more assists in 17 of their 24 games.
• Daemen finished with an advantage in points off turnovers (16-12), points in the paint (26-16) and fast break points (10-6).
• Titus has now totaled 1,436 points, 758 rebounds, 154 blocks and 188 three-pointers in 97 career games. She ranks eighth in career scoring, ninth in career rebounds, seventh in career blocks and third in career three-pointers made among Daemen's all-time leaders. She is the first player in program history to reach 1,400 points, 750 rebounds, 150 blocks and 150 three-pointers.
• Filbert moved into the Top-10 in career scoring at Daemen during yesterday's semifinal win. She increased her career totals to 1,366 points, 588 rebounds, 348 assists and 138 steals in 117 career games. She ranks 10th in career scoring and ninth in career assists. She is just the fourth player in program history with at least 1,300 points, 550 rebounds and 300 assists.
• Daemen is now 71-14 in its last 85 games, a span that dates back to mid January of 2019.

NEXT JUMP BALL

The 64-team field of the NCAA Division II Tournament will be revealed tonight (March 6) at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com. The eight-team East Regional will take place at a site to be determined next weekend. The regional champion will advance to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama, from March 21-25.


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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