Game #11
Daemen Wildcats (8-2, 3-1 ECC) vs. Staten Island Dolphins (5-8, 1-2 ECC) 
Date: Friday, Jan. 6
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Staten Island, N.Y. | Sports & Recreation Center
Live Stream: via ECC Network
Live Stats: via csidolphins.com
 

---

JUMP BALL
The 8-2 Daemen University women's basketball team travels downstate to take on 5-8 Staten Island in an East Coast Conference road game on Friday night. The Wildcats and Dolphins tip off at 5:30 PM at Staten Island's Sports & Recreation Center.

RETURN TO ECC PLAY
After splitting two non-conference games to Saint Anselm and St. Michael's over the winter break, the Wildcats return to conference play with a 3-1 ECC record with early conference wins over Molloy, Queens and Mercy and a one-point overtime loss to St. Thomas Aquinas under their belts. Staten Island comes into the matchup with a 1-2 record in conference games, picking up a win over Mercy in their ECC opener before losing conference games to St. Thomas Aquinas and District of Columbia. 

LAST GAME OUT
The Wildcats are coming off a 63-48 victory over St. Michael's on Monday in their final non-conference game of the season. Three Wildcats recorded double-digit points against the Purple Knights, with graduate student Paige Emborsky (Newfane, N.Y.) leading the way offensively. The guard knocked down a five three-point field goals, four of which came in the fourth quarter alone, and scored a career-tying high 18 points in the win. Junior forward Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) recorded her third career double-double, tallying 10 points and snagging 11 rebounds. Junior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) totaled 11 points and shot 67-percent from beyond the arc (2-of-3) and notched a team-high five assists against St. Michael's. The Wildcats earned their first win over St. Michael's since Dec. 30, 2017. 

PAIGE & PAIGE ON DISPLAY
The dynamic guard duo of Paige Emborsky and Alahna Paige has been on display through the first 10 games of the season. Emborsky leads the team in scoring on the year, averaging 12.2 points per game, and is the only Wildcat to score triple-digit points thus far. Paige ranks second on the team in scoring behind Emborsky, and averages 9.5 points per game. The two Paiges combine for 35-percent of all of Daemen's points on the year, but also excel on the defensive side of the ball. Emborsky ranks second on the team in rebounds, totaling 45 on the season to average 4.5 boards per game. Paige has pulled down 29 defensive rebounds on the year, but ranks second on the team in assists (23) and third on the team in steals (12).  

ROAD WARRIORS
Friday's game marks Daemen's fifth road game of the season, and begins an almost month-long stretch where the Wildcats will be on the road for five out of the next six games. Daemen will return to Lumsden Gymnasium next Wednesday, Jan. 11 when they play host to longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan in a 5:30 PM midweek matchup, but then will return to the road for the next four straight games with ECC matches against D'Youville, District of Columbia, Molloy and Queens. On the season, the Wildcats have a 2-2 record on the road, with their lone two losses on the year coming from away games. 

POLL POSITION
The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the East Region in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Regional Poll, as released prior to Daemen's 63-48 win over St. Michael's on Monday afternoon. The Wildcats spent the two prior ranked third in the region, but after their Dec. 29 game against Goldey-Beacom was canceled and Southern New Hampshire picked up wins over the winter break, the Penmen moved just ahead of Daemen in the regional rankings. 

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 11 in a midweek matchup against Roberts Wesleyan in the battle of I-90. The Cats and RedHawks tip off at Daemen at 5:30 PM.

---

SCOUTING THE STATEN ISLAND DOLPHINS
The start of the 2022-23 season has been a rollercoaster for Staten Island so far. The Dolphins opened up the season with a four-game losing streak before rattling off three wins in a row. Staten Island then lost back-to-back ECC games to St. Thomas Aquinas and District of Columbia but have split the next four games 2-2 and are coming off a 68-60 win over Adelphi in the Dolphins' final game of 2022 on New Years Eve. Sophomore forward Jenalyse Alarcon, who was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, leads the Dolphins in almost every statistical category. Alarcon has 153 total point on the year to average 11.8 ppg, and is the only Staten Island player to tally triple-digit rebounds on the season (111) to average 8.5 rebounds per game. She aslo leads the team in steals (21) and blocks (15). Junior guard Ashley Lambert is the only other Dolphin to total triple-digit points (136) and averages 10.5 ppg while leading the team with a three-point shooting average of 34-percent (24-of-71). Sophomore guard Kaia Johnson leads the team in assists (39) and ranks third in scoring with 7.6 points per game in the 12 games that she has played. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. STATEN ISLAND
Series Record: 2-0 Daemen
Conference Record: 2-0 Daemen
Away Record: 1-0 Daemen
Last Meeting: 73 Daemen 48 Staten Island | Jan. 28, 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.

Follow the Daemen women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.