AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season, topping Saint Michael's College 67-49 in the Wildcats' home opener on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 1-3 on the year, while the Purple Knights move to 3-2 overall.
The Wildcats were balanced offensively in the victory, with 10 players recording points to finish with 23 points off the bench.
Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) leading Daemen with 12 points. The Wildcats shot 41% (25-of-61) from the field and knocked down 9 of 26 triples while out-rebounding St. Michael's 38 to 34 on the day.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) shot 80% on the day, going 4-of-5 from the field and banking all four from the free throw stripe while tallying a team-high 12 points. Lapertosa led the team with 9 rebounds – 4 offensive boards – along with three assists, three steals and one block.
- Graduate student guard Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Sophomore guard Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) totaled 9 points after shooting 50% (4-of-8) from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, and totaling 5 rebounds, six assists and one steal.
- Freshman forward Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with nine points after going 4-of-9 from the field while adding six rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes of play.
- Junior guard Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) totaled 8 points after knocking down her first two triples of the season.
- St. Michael's freshman guard Margaret Montplaisir led all players with a career-high 17 points for the Purple Knights.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Wildcats got off to a hot start, scoring the first six points of the game off buckets from Auer, Pikett and Montgomery. Daemen led by as much as 11-2 early in the first and continued with the gas offensively, finishing off the first quarter up 20-8 after shooting 50% from the field. DiCintio led the Wildcats with six points off two triples.
- In the first five minutes of the second, Daemen put together a 13-10 run with Lapertosa tallying 8 points in the quarter. The Purple Knights narrowly outscored the Wildcats 20-18 in the second quarter after SMC's Margaret Montplaisir accounted for 12 of their 28 first-half points. Daemen led by 10, 38-28, at the break.
- The Cats kicked off the third quarter scoring 16 the first 23 points through the first six minutes of play and finished off the third quarter up 56-38.
- The Wildcats and Purple Knights each scored 11 points in the final quarter while Daemen shot 5-of-15 from the field.
GAME NOTES
- The Wildcats are ranked ninth in the East Region in the latest Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) Regional Rankings, released on Monday. The Wildcats were ranked in the East Region throughout the 2023-24 season.
- Today marked eighth all-time meeting between the two teams. The Wildcats are 5-3 all-time and have won the last three match ups.
- Macie Trimarchi (Colonie, N.Y.) made her season debut against the Purple Knights this afternoon.
UP NEXT
Daemen will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to play at Chestnut Hill on Thursday, Nov. 21 before returning back to Lumsden Gymnasium on Sunday, Nov. 24 where they will host Saint Anselm in a noon game.
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.
