AMHERST, N.Y. - Former Daemen University women's basketball standout Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.), who concluded her career this past spring, is taking her talents overseas where she'll continue her career at the professional level. The 5-foot-9 guard has inked her first professional contract, agreeing to join Al Zohour SC, a club based out of Cairo, Egypt. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Al Zohour is one of 16 teams that competes in the Egyptian Superleague. Filbert will join the team on October 1st.
"A couple years ago, I really locked in. It's an option, you always knew it was an option, but you never really knew if it was something that I could do. A couple of years ago, I solidified 'Yeah, I'm going for this,'" said Filbert. "I wasn't ready to stop playing yet, so I was just like, where else can I go to do that? When Sarah (Saba) went over, I was like oh, someone can do that, that's a real option for me! So I was like, you know what? Let's just do it!"
Filbert started all 27 games for the Wildcats last year and led Daemen to a 22-5 overall record and their third-straight appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Women's Basketball Championship. The Wildcats also claimed their third-straight East Coast Conference (ECC) regular-season title after going 16-1 in league play. Seeded first in the ECC Championship Tournament, Daemen claimed its second title in the past three years following wins over fourth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan College (84-62) and second-seeded Molloy College (74-67). Daemen then advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Division II Tournament East Regional after upsetting top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University and fourth-seeded Jefferson University. Daemen's season came to an end following a heart breaking 67-65 loss to seventh-seeded Pace University in the regional title game. Daemen was looking to become the first program to claim back-to-back NCAA Tournament East Region titles since Bentley University in 2011-2012.
Filbert scored in double figures 15 times last year and ranked second on the team in points per game (11.7), rebounds per game (6.4) and total steals (29). She also led the team in assists (108) and minutes played per game (33.0). She scored a team-high 27 points in Daemen's 70-59 victory over top-seeded and regional host Southern New Hampshire University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
A four-time All-ECC selection, Filbert played in 120 games (111 starts) over her career and totaled 1,413 points, 599 rebounds, 360 assists and 141 steals. She ranks ninth all-time in both career points and career assists among Daemen's all-time leaders. She is also just the fourth player in program history with at least 1,300 points, 550 rebounds and 300 assists.
Filbert was also honored with the 2022 Daemen Sports Medicine P.R.I.D.E. Award, presented this past spring during the Wildcat Night of Honors event. Instituted in 2018, the P.R.I.D.E. Award is presented annually to the student-athlete who best exemplifies perseverance, resilience, integrity, determination and expectations of excellence during an injury rehabilitation process. Filbert was lauded for her efforts in recovering from an injury that ended her 2020-21 season, causing her to miss the Wildcats' run to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
"Tiara is an incredibly hard worker. She's a player that never takes a rep off, ever. Practice, pregame, game, anything, she's just one of the hardest workers you'll ever meet. We talked to Sarah [Saba] when she was going over as well, and Sarah actually went over and did it. Tiara and I talked when she was a junior and thought that [going overseas] was a real option for her as well, so since then she's had that in her mind to work towards that," said Daemen women's basketball head coach Jenepher Banker. "It's really exciting that she saw it through and continued to work hard, which she always will. She's a great player. It's exciting that she'll get to see part of the world. It's a lot more than just basketball."
Filbert becomes the fourth player in program history to sign a professional contract, joining former Daemen greats Sarah Saba, Sarah Soroka and Monica Kosior.
"Sarah [Saba] was very helpful, she played in Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany and Spain, so she was really good to be able to reach out to and ask what she's gone through. Now Tiara is going to Egypt, so now there's another country there and more contacts," said Banker of the impact that her former players going overseas have on current and future Daemen players. "Just like Tiara seeing Sarah doing it, now our younger players and incoming players know somebody who's actually going and doing it, so that's very meaningful. It opens up that door for players who aren't thinking about it initially. Sarah was not thinking about it initially, Tiara was not thinking about it initially, but now they see their teammates doing it, so they're like huh, maybe I can do it. It's very meaningful."
"I'm excited for new experiences. The different competition levels, you're never going to play against the same person twice, so who knows what playing different countries are like," said Filbert.
Filbert graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Promotion.
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.
