Geoff Schneider

Cats To Host Bloomsburg, Millersville This Week

11/14/2023 11:52:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

BACK IN TOWN
The Daemen University women's basketball teams will host a pair of home games this weekend, first taking on the Bloomsburg Huskies in their 2023-24 home opener on Wednesday, November 15 in a 6 PM match up.Daemen will host the Millersville Marauders in their final home game until December on Saturday at noon. The Wildcats, Huskies and Marauders each come into this week's games with 1-1 records.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats split their opening weekend 1-1 at the Redhawks Classic, first falling to Bentley 61-76 in the season opener on Friday night. Daemen senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) led all shooters with a game-high 24 points after shooting 53-percent (8-of-15) from the field and knocking down four of seven three-point shots. Daemen got back on track in their final match up of the Redhawks Classic, topping Felician 74-57 on Saturday afternoon as Four Wildcats totaled double-digit points in the balanced offensive attack. Senior guard Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) led the way with 18 points after shooting 33-percent (4-of-12) from the field, knocking down a three-ball and dominating from the free throw stripe with 9-of-10 in the win. Sophomore transfer Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) posted her first double-digit outing as a Wildcat with 11 points, while junior forward Julia Hauer (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Paige each tallied 10 points in the win. Every Wildcat that stepped onto the floor scored, as 10 players finished with points for the Cats.

SENIORITY
The senior guard duo of Paige and McDuffie was on display over the weekend. Paige leads the team with 34 points through two games, averaging 17 ppg while shooting 42-percent (11-of-26) from the field and 50-percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc along with nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. McDuffie ranks second on the team behind Paige in scoring with 26 total points to average 13 ppg for a .353 shooting percentage from the field and adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. As two of Daemen's nine returners from the 2022-23 squad, Paige and McDuffie are an integral part of this offense that averages 61 points per game through two matches.

HOME, SWEET HOME
The Wildcats have a serious home court advantage at Lumsden Gymnasium. Since the 2018-19 season, Daemen owns a 50-6 overall record on their home court, including two seasons of undefeated play at home (2019-20, 2022-23). The Wildcats haven't lost at home since Feb. 18, 2022 when they fell to St. Thomas Aquinas, marking their only ECC loss that season.

PRESEASON POLL
The back-to-back defending East Coast Conference champion Wildcats were picked second in the 2023 ECC Preseason Coaches Poll. Daemen was narrowly edged out by St. Thomas Aquinas College for the top spot in the poll for the second-straight year. Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas both collected four first-place votes, but STAC earned 75 total points to claim the preseason No. 1 ranking. The Wildcats totaled 74 total points. The University of the District of Columbia (59) earned one first place vote and finished third, just ahead of Mercy (55) in fourth. D'Youville University (42) made the move from last place in last year's poll to fifth place this year. The remainder of the poll consists of Queens College (37), the College of Staten Island (27), Molloy University (19) and Roberts Wesleyan University (17). The Wildcats are the four-time defending ECC regular season champions and have claimed the ECC Tournament title in three of the past four years (2020, 22, 23).

UP NEXT
Daemen will travel to Florida next weekend where they will play games against Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday, Nov. 24 at 2 PM, and face Nova Southeastern on Saturday, Nov. 25 at noon.

THE HUSKIES
Bloomsburg had a tough 2022-23 season with which they lost 11 straight games during the middle of the year to finish with a 9-17 overall record, and missed the PSAC Tournament for the first time in 12 seasons. The Huskies return four players with at least nine starts from last year, with Katie Starr leading the way as Bloomsburg's leading scorer last season. Through two games, the junior forward is averaging 26 ppg and 9 rebounds, and is shooting 69-percent (16-of-23) from the field. She tallied 31 points and 15 rebounds in the Huskies' season opener against Livingstone on Saturday, and is the only player on the team with double-digit points per game.

SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies own a 4-1 series record over the Wildcats, but last season's 66-45 Daemen win marked the first time the two teams played since 2001.

THE MARAUDERS
Millersville posted an 18-12 overall record and 12-10 PSAC record last season with their postseason run ending in the PSAC quarterfinals. The Marauders come into this weekend's match with a 1-1 record after dropping their season opener to Virginia Union on Saturday but picked up an overtime win against Shaw on Sunday. Millersville touts a balanced offense, with 6-foot junior forward Makiah Shaw leading the way with 12.5 ppg and a team-high six rebounds per game while shooting 46-percent (11-of-24) from the field. Sophomore guard Marin Miller averages 10 ppg, while a trio of Marauders -- Morgan Mahoney, La'Shyra Williams and Jillian Crawford -- each average 9 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the first between Daemen and Millersville.

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 University women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.

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