Geoff Schneider

Women's Basketball To Play First ECC Doubleheader Of The Year Against Molloy, Queens

12/7/2023 2:03:00 PM

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

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Daemen University women's basketball team hits the road for their first East Coast Conference doubleheader of the season, trekking downstate to play at Molloy University on Friday night at 5 PM and at Queens College on Sunday at 3 PM. The Wildcats come into this weekend with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-0 record in ECC play. Molloy is 2-5 on the year and 0-2 in ECC action, while Queens is 2-7 overall and 0-2 in ECC games.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Wildcats got back in the win column last Saturday with an 81-58 ECC victory over Roberts Wesleyan in their first conference game of the season at Lumsden Gymnasium. Senior guards Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) and Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) combined for 47 of Daemen's 81 points. Paige led the way for the seventh straight game with 24 points after knocking down five triples on the day. McDuffie posted a career-high 23 points after going 6-of-10 from the field, 10-of-13 from the free throw line and snagging seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Roberts Wesleyan led 28-27 at the half, but a huge third quarter for the Wildcats (outscoring RWU 23-15) gave Daemen a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Daemen shot 54-percent (6-of-11) in the final quarter and finished 25-of-63 (40% from the field overall, draining 10-of-28 triples and 21-of-25 from the charity stripe. The Wildcats improved their home win streak to 17 straight, not losing a home game since the 2021-22 season. With the win, Daemen improved to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in ECC play. Daemen won their sixth-straight ECC opener.

A LOTTA ALAHNA
Paige leads the team and ranks second in the East Coast Conference in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game. On the year, the senior guard has scored in the double-digits in all seven games, with a season-high 24 points last Saturday against Roberts. She is shooting 40-percent from the field, knocking down 38-of-94, 44.7-percent from beyond the arc (21-of-47) and 87.5-percent from the free throw stripe (28-of-32). Paige is the only player on the team with 20+ three pointers this season, averaging three triples per game, and has drained multiple threes in all but two games played this season. She knocked down a season-high five three point field goals on Saturday. Her .447 three-point field goal percentage ranks second in the league behind just Roberts Wesleyan's Danielle Dicintio (.474).

CAT DYNASTY
Since the 2019-20 season, the Wildcats have posted an overall record of 83-21 and a 52-7 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.

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 will have a 20 day holiday break and get back to the court on Dec. 30 with a 5 PM road game at Saint Michael's in Colchester, VT.

THE LIONS
Picked to finish eighth in the 2023 ECC Preseason Coaches Poll after a 5-20 (4-12 ECC) record in the 2022-23 season, the Molloy Lions got off to a slow start in the 2023-24 season. Molloy comes into Friday's match up with a 2-5 overall record and an 0-2 record in ECC play after back-to-back conference losses to Staten Island (71-73 OT) and District of Columbia (63-81). Molloy ranks second in the league in points scored behind only UDC this season, averaging 66.7 ppg. The Lions are led offensively by senior guard Trinity Hudson, who averages 12.4 ppg and a team-high 12.4 rebounds per game, and junior forward Samantha Mueller, who averages 11.9 ppg. Junior guard Janel Moore averages 7.4 ppg but runs the offense with 33 assists and 21 steals on the year. 6-foot-2 junior center Danielle Hippner leads the team with 14 blocks on the year, notching a block in all seven games this season including a season-high 5 blocks against Jefferson on Nov. 12.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 17-4 overall record over Molloy, and have won the last seven games played, a streak that dates back to March 2020.

THE KNIGHTS
After posting a 9-20 overall record and 5-11 record in ECC play in 2022-23, Queens was picked sixth in the 2023 ECC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Knights come into this weekend's games with a 2-7 record and 0-2 record in ECC games, and are riding a three-game lose streak. The Knights rank last in the league in points scored on the season, averaging just 51.6 ppg. A trio of Knights are averaging double-digit points this season, led by sophomore guard Brianna Davis with 15.1 ppg. 6-foot freshman forward Nkiru Awaka averages 11.8 ppg after shooting 47.6-percent from the field and leads the team with 10.2 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Jalea Abrams is averaging 10.6 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Knights are 9-9 all time. Queens won the first nine straight matches between these two teams (2013-Jan. 2018), but Daemen is on a nine game win streak, winning all games since Feb. 2018.

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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