AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's basketball team won their third straight game of the season, and second straight at home, with a 56-52 win over Millersville on Saturday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium. With the win, Daemen moves to 3-1 on the year, and extends their win streak at home to 16 straight games. Millersville drops to 1-2 on the season.
The first ever meeting between Daemen and Millersville was a very back-and-forth one between the Wildcats and the Marauders. Daemen finished shooting 34-percent (19-of-56) from the field, six-of-25 from beyond the arc, and banked 12-of-18 from the free throw stripe. The Cats totaled 33 rebounds in the win.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) scored in the double-figures for the fourth straight game, leading the Wildcats offensively with 17 points after shooting 31-percent from the field (5-of-16), 38-percent from beyond the arc (3-of-8) and 80-percent (4-of-5) from the free throw line.
- Sophomore forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) posted her first double-double of the year, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 sophomore shot 63-percent from the field (5-of-8) and banked 3-of-5 from the free throw line while pulling down a team-high eight defensive boards.
- Senior guard Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) scored nine points after banking three-of-10 from beyond the arc while pulling down four rebounds and tallying a team-high four steals and three assists.
- Senior forward Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) shot 57-percent (4-of-7) for nine points while totaling four points and a steal in the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Daemen opened up the game on a 7-0 run as Paige drained a triple early, but the Marauders went on a 6-0 run of their own to make it a one-point game halfway through the quarter. The Wildcats led 13-10 after the first.
- Daemen shot 40-percent (4-of-10) from the field and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, while the Marauders shot 33-percent (5-of-15) from the field in the first. Paige and Lapertosa each posted four points in the first. Both teams tallied eight rebounds in the first 10 minutes of play.
- Paige kick-started Daemen's scoring in the second with a big three. Millersville put went on a 7-2 run in the last six minutes of the quarter to take a 21-20 lead over the Wildcats, but a pair of Daemen free throws on a late foul lifted the Wildcats up 22-21 going into the half.
- The Wildcats made just three field goals and one three pointer in the second quarter as they were outscored 11-9 by Millersville.
- Daemen opened the third quarter on an 8-4 run after a pair of three-point buckets from Matz and Paige. The Wildcats outscored Millersville 17 to 13 in the quarter to lead 39-34 after three quarters of play, shooting 44-percent (7-of-16) from the field.
- Lapertosa accounted for four of Daemen's nine third-quarter rebounds.
- The Wildcats and Marauders traded points throughout the fourth, and the game stayed within one point for the final few minutes of play with each team banking buckets up and down the court. Daemen held onto the lead at the very end with a big three from Matz to take a 54-52 lead and sealed the deal with two more free throws in the final seconds.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida over Thanksgiving week where they will play two games. Daemen will play at Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday, Nov. 24 and at Nova Southeastern on Saturday, Nov. 25.
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.
