Women's Basketball Opens 2023-24 Season At Redhawks Classic

11/8/2023 12:18:00 PM

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

JUMP BALL
The Daemen University women's basketball team opens up the 2023-24 season down the road in Rochester, N.Y. at the annual Redhawks Classic this weekend. The Wildcats will kick off the season and the tournament against Bentley University on Friday at 6 PM, then will face Felician University on Saturday in a 1 PM matchup.

QUICK LOOK
The Wildcats played the Division I University at Buffalo Bulls on Oct. 28 in their lone exhibition game prior to the start of the 2023-24 season. The Cats and Bulls played close through the first three quarters but UB pulled away in the fourth to take the game 58-42. Seniors Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) and Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) led the team with 10 points a piece, with Angeletti posting a team-high 83-percent from the field after knocking down 5-of-6 from the field. Sophomore Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) and Paige each posted a team-high five rebounds, while sophomore Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) and redshirt freshman Kayla Campbell (Franklin, N.Y.) each totaled three steals and three rebounds a piece.

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).

FRESH FACES
The Wildcats return three starters and nine returners Daemen brings back from last season, six of whom played in all 25 games on the year. Paige earned Second Team All-ECC honors and leads the team this year after starting in 24 of 25 games and posted a team-high 79 total assists (3.16 assists per game) and ranked second on the team in minutes (averaging 26.9 minutes per game), points (10.0 ppg) and steals (29). Angeletti started in 24 of the Wildcats' 25 games and led the team with 147 rebounds (5.9 rebounds per game) and ranked second shooting 49.4% from the field. Senior Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) started in 23 games and averaged 5.8 ppg and ranked third on the team with 40 assists on the year. Pikett put together a solid freshman season in 2022-23 and led the team with 33 blocks while pulling down 3.6 rebounds per game and averaging 4.7 ppg. ECC Tournament MVP Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) ranked fifth on the team in scoring last season after transferring into Daemen from Niagara County Community College and averaged 6.4 ppg. Montgomery led the Wildcats with 44 steals last season. The Wildcats welcomed five newcomers this season, with 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) adding height and length after spending her freshman season at Queens College. A pair of WNY natives in Meghan Trapper (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) add depth at guard along with freshman guard Tayla Barros (Boston, Mass.) and junior Marlene Bussler (Battle Creek, Mich.) who transferred in from Grand Rapids CC.

DYNASTY CATS
Over the last four seasons, the Wildcats have posted an overall record of 79-18 and a 51-7 record in ECC play while picking up four consecutive ECC regular season titles and three of four ECC Tournament titles. Daemen has been a staple in the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament for the past four seasons, coming home with the hardware of winning the 2021 East Region Championship and advancing to the regional championship game in 2022. The three seniors -- Angeletti, Matz and Paige -- have earned conference championship rings in each of their three seasons with the Wildcats and have never played on a losing team at Daemen.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will host Bloomsburg on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 6 PM for their home opener.

THE FALCONS
The Wildcats open the season with a tough matchup against Bentley, who won the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament for the second consecutive season and played in the East Region semifinals last season. The Falcons return 11 players and three starters from the 2022-23 team that posted a 22-10 overall record, including second team All-NE10 senior guard Maggie Whitmore who started all 32 games and led Bentley with an average of 12.8 ppg. Whitmore earned WBCA Division II honorable mention All-America after shooting 45.9% on the year and adding 6.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Sophomore Ciara Norman played in 31 games for the Falcons and averaged 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game will mark the first time in program history that the Wildcats and Falcons meet on the court.

THE GOLDEN FALCONS
Felician posted an 11-15 overall record and 8-10 record in CACC play last season where they averaged 63.3 points per game and shot 37.4-percent from the field. The Golden Falcons were picked to finish fourth in the north division in the 2023-24 CACC Preseason Poll. Felician suffered two major losses of Sarah McSpadden and Natalia Lucic to knee injuries last season, but both players are returning to the court this year and will look to make an impact along with redshirt senior Briana Lee, who averaged 19 ppg, earned First Team All-CACC, D2CCA East Region First Team honors and was named the All-Met Division II women's college basketball Co-Player of the Year.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 4-0 series record over Felician, with the last meeting ending in a 72-60 win in the Redhawks Classic in 2022.

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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