Geoff Schneider

Wildcats To Play Palm Beach Atlantic, Nova Southeastern On Florida Road Trip

11/22/2023 10:35:00 AM

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

SUNSHINE STATE OF MIND
The Daemen University women's basketball team is on the road down in sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida to play a pair of games against Sunshine State Conference opponents. The Wildcats will play Palm Beach Atlantic University on Friday, Nov. 24 in a post-turkey day match up at 2 PM, then will face Nova Southeastern University at 12 PM on Saturday, Nov. 25. The Sailfish come into Friday's game with a 2-1 record, while the Sharks are still winless on the year, 0-2. Daemen enters their Florida trip 3-1 on the year.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats went 2-0 in non-conference matches against Bloomsburg and Millersville last week and are riding a three-game win streak on the year. The Cats topped the Huskies of Bloomsburg 69-60 in a midweek match up with a trio of seniors -- Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.), Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) and Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) combining for 47 of Daemen's 69 points as each player totaled double-digit points. Matz led the way with 19 after shooting 78-percent (7-of-9) from the field and draining 5-of-7 beyond the arc. Saturday's match against Millersville was exciting from the jump, and the Wildcats and Marauders battled it out throughout four quarters but a late three from Matz in the final seconds of the game sealed the deal for the Cats. Paige led the way with 17 points, while sophomore forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) posted her first double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

PAIGE-ING DOCTOR BUCKETS
Senior guard Alahna Paige leads the team and ranks second in the East Coast Conference with 17 points per game. She is shooting 37.7-percent from the field, knocking down 20-of-53, 40.7-percent from beyond the arc (11-of-27) and 85-percent from the free throw stripe (17-of-20). She is the only player on the team with double-digit three pointers this season, averaging 2.8 three-balls per game, and has drained multiple threes in three of the four games played this season. Her .407 three-point field goal percentage ranks third in the league after just Molloy's Sophia Yearwood (.429) and Roberts Wesleyan's Danielle Dicintio (.500).

DEFEND HOME COURT
The Wildcats have a serious home court advantage at Lumsden Gymnasium. Since the 2018-19 season, Daemen owns a 52-6 overall record on their home court, including two seasons of undefeated play at home (2019-20, 2022-23). The Cats have won 16 straight home matches, including conference playoff games, and haven't lost at home since Feb. 18, 2022 when they fell to St. Thomas Aquinas, marking their only ECC loss in the 2021-22 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
The Wildcats open ECC play with a home game against longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2 PM.

THE SAILFISH
After posting a 10-16 overall record in the 2022-23 season, Palm Beach Atlantic comes into Friday's match up with a 2-1 record, picking up early-season wins over West Florida and West Alabama but falling to Valdosta State. The Sailfish return eight members from last season's team and their top four leading scorers including Darria Whitley, Kash Ayuso and Mariyah Fletcher who all averaged double figures last year. Ayuso and Whitley lead the team offensively, with Ayuso averaging 18.7 ppg after shooting 46.7-percent from the field and going 5-of-13 from beyond the arc on the year. 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Claire Davis leads the team with 7 rebounds per game, while 5-foot-9 senior forward Fletcher averages 6.7 boards per game.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 2-0 record over the Sailfish, with both games being played in the 2000-01 season.

THE SHARKS
Nova Southeastern opened up the 2023-24 season with two close loses at home to Auburn University Montgomery and Montevallo in the SSC-GSC Crossover Classic on Nov. 10-11. The Sharks are coming off an impressive 21-9 season in 2022-23 where five of their nine losses came in the final month of play. As the seventh-seed, Nova Southeastern fell to fellow Sunshine State Conference member and second-seeded Eckerd in the NCAA Division II South Region, 79-73 to end the year. The Sharks return eight First Team All-SSC players, including 5-foot-10 graduate forward Madison Frederick who averaged 17.1 ppg last season and has posted 13.5 ppg this year. 5-foot-11 junior guard Aubrey Stupp leads the team this season with a 71.4 shooting percentage (10-of-14) from the field and averages 15.5 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats have played Nova Southeastern just once, with the Sharks taking the sole match up 77-74 in Daemen's last Florida trip on Nov. 29, 2019.

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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