Geoff Schneider

Women's Basketball To Play At Saint Michael's In Final Game Of 2023

12/27/2023 3:25:00 PM

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

CHEERS TO 2023
The Daemen University women's basketball team will play their final game of 2023 when they travel to Colchester, VT to play the Saint Michael's Purple Knights on Saturday, December 30. The Wildcats come into the game with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-0 record in East Coast Conference play, while the Purple Knights enter with a 4-6 record after starting Northeast-10 Conference play with a 0-5 record.

LAST GAME OUT
Daemen remained undefeated in conference play after cruising to a pair of victories over Molloy and Queens. After a big third quarter where Daemen outscored the Lions 20-11, the Wildcats topped Molloy 60-45 on Friday, Dec. 8. Senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) played all but four minutes in the game and finished with 17 points after knocking down 3-of-5 triples. Senior guard Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) posted her third straight double-digit outing, finishing with 10 points. In Sunday's conference match up with the Knights, Paige led the Wildcats to a 78-58 victory after knocking down a career-high eight three-point field goals for a career-high 29 points in the game. Paige's eight triples ties a Daemen record for most three-point field goals made in a game. Senior forward Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) totaled 13 points after shooting 6-of-9 from the field while adding team-highs in rebounds (eight), assists (five) and blocks (two). Sophomore forward McDuffie followed up with a solid 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

ECC DOMINANCE
The Wildcats are 3-0 against conference opponents this season and are riding a three-game win streak coming into Saturday's match up. Over the last four seasons, the Wildcats have posted an overall record of 82-18 and a 54-7 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.

LEAGUE LEADER
Paige leads the team and the ECC in scoring this season, averaging 19 points per game in nine games on the year. The sharpshooting senior is ranked third nationally with 3.6 three-pointers per game and fourth in NCAA Division II with a .508 three-point field goal percentage. Paige averages 35 minutes per game and is shooting 43.8-percent from the field (53-of-121) and has banked 32-of-63 from beyond the arc this season while doling out a team-high 25 assists.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Lumsden Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 3 for the first time since December 2 as they host Ferris State at 1 PM in a non-conference match up.

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
After winning just one game in the 2022-23 season, Saint Michael's comes into Saturday's game with a 4-6 overall record and an 0-5 record in NE-10 play. The Purple Knights won their last outing in a non-conference game against Caldwell, 67-62, snapping a two-game losing streak after losses to Franklin Pierce and Post. The 2023-24 squad is comprised of 10 returners and five newcomers, and are led offensively this season by 5-foot-5 freshman guard Amber Furch who is averaging 10.1 ppg and 6-foot senior forward Makayla Blake who averages 9.8 ppg. Furch leads the Purple Knights beyond the arc, knocking down 21-of-52 triples on the year while shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Purple Knights are 3-3 all-time, with Daemen winning the last match up last season 63-48 over the Purple Knights at Lumdsen on Jan. 2, 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 women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.

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