Shyla Montgomery dribbles down the court

Wildcat Women Welcome STAC, Mercy To Lumsden This Weekend

12/12/2024 12:41:00 PM

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

COMING HOME
Riding a six-game win streak, the Daemen University women's basketball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium to host St. Thomas Aquinas College and Mercy University in a pair of East Coast Conference games. The Wildcats, who enter with a 6-3 overall record and are 2-0 in conference so far, will take on the Spartans on Friday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 PM and wrap up their final conference game of 2024 against the Mavericks on Sunday, Dec. 15 in a matinee 11 AM tilt. STAC is 3-5 on the year and 1-0 in ECC games, while Mercy is 5-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

LAST WEEK WRAPPED
The Wildcats opened up ECC play with a pair of wins over Staten Island (54-48) and District of Columbia (79-64) last weekend. In Daemen's ECC opener against the Dolphins, the Wildcats never trailed in the game and shot 36.4% from the field, going 24-of-66 while knocking down three triples. Freshman forward Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively for the first time in her collegiate career, totaling a career-high 13 points. The Wildcats out-rebounded CSI 42 to 29 and were led by junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) who pulled down 17 rebounds, one shy of an NCAA era (2015-present) record for single-game rebounds. Lapertosa added 10 points on the day for her second double-double of the season. Junior guard Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) and graduate student guard Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) each added eight points. On Sunday, three of Daemen's five starters combined for 56 of the Wildcats' 79 total points. Daemen had three double-digit scorers for the sixth game this season and were led offensively by junior forward Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) who posted a season-high 20 points on the day. Lapertosa posted her third double-double of the season and was the only player to play all 40 minutes of the game. Both Lapertosa and DiCintio totaled 18 points as the Wildcats shot a season-best 46.8% from the field and knocked down a season-high 15 three point field goals. DiCintio was 5-of-10 beyond the arc in the win.

PRAISE FOR LAPERTOSA
For her efforts in the ECC opening weekend, Lapertosa was named both the ECC Player and Defensive Player of the Week. The junior forward totaled 28 points (14 ppg) and 27 rebounds (13.5 rpg) while posting her second and third double-double (points-rebounds) of the season in the victories. It marked the first time this season that the Wildcats were included in the ECC Weekly Awards.

POLL POSITION
Daemen remains ranked 10th in the East Region in the Week 5 Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) Regional Poll, as released on Monday. The East Region consists of teams from the ECC, Northeast 10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Bentley (60 points, 6 first place votes) remains atop the poll. Holy Family (51 points) moved up to second from fifth, jumping Jefferson (46), Southern Conecticut State (45) and Assumption (33) who round out the top five. Dominican (29) remains sixth, while New Haven (26), Saint Anselm (17), Adelphi (15) and Daemen (8) are the final five teams in the top 10. The Wildcats are the lone ECC team in the East Region top-10.

STREAKING
The Wildcats are riding a six-game win streak after opening the season 0-3. The last time Daemen won six+ consecutive games was back in the 2022-23 season when they closed out the regular season and ECC Tournament winning 10 straight before falling in the East Region Tournament.

TRIPLE THREAT
Despite Daemen ranking sixth in the league in scoring (61.0 ppg), a trio of Wildcats are averaging 10+ points per game this season. Daemen's top three-point threat in 2024-25, DiCintio is coming off an 18-point performance against the Firebirds after draining 5-of-10 beyond the arc and has scored 6+ field goals in a single game in four games this season, averaging 11.6 ppg. She leads the Wildcats beyond the arc, shooting a league-best 39.4% with 26 of 66 triples. Scoring in the double figures in seven of nine games this season, Lapertosa is averaging 10.9 points per game and is shooting 41.4% from the field while also leading Daemen and ranking third in the ECC with 9.8 rebounds per game. Auer has scored in the double figures in five games and is averaging 10.4 ppg while shooting 42.3% from the field, the best of any Wildcat starter, while also doling out a team-high 23 assists (2.5 per game).

UP NEXT: ISLAND TIME
The Wildcats are headed to Hawaii!! Daemen will travel to the Hawaiian Islands next week to play in the Hoops In Hawai'i Classic where they will face Alaska Anchorage and Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu on Friday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Dec. 21 in their final games of the fall.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
The only team in the ECC that the Wildcats have a losing record all-time against, STAC comes into Friday's game after a tough start to the season. The Spartans are 3-5 on the year, and after opening the year with a 65-51 win over Brockport in their season opener, dropped five straight games before getting back on track in December with a pair of wins over Pace and their conference opener against Roberts Wesleyan. Without their top scorers (Sarah Erickson and Erin Leary) from 2023-24, the Spartans have another pair of double-digit scorers this season in 5-foot-9 senior guard Syrita Faraj (15.4 ppg, third in the ECC) and 5-foot-9 sophomore guard Bailey Chapman (11.1 ppg). Faraj leads STAC at the boards with 9.3 rebounds per game. 6-foot graduate forward Karolina Jaruseviciute is averaging 9.5 ppg and leads the Spartans shooting an impressive 52.5% from the field.

SERIES HISTORY
The Spartans own a 14-10 record all-time over the Wildcats. Daemen and STAC have split the regular season every year since the 2021-22 season.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Picked as the top team in the ECC Preseason Poll after advancing to the ECC Championship game for the first time and NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985, Mercy touts a 5-4 overall record and 1-0 record in ECC play ahead of this weekend's match up. Coming in as the league's top scoring offense averaging 66.4 points per game, Mercy is led offensively by ECC Preseason Player of the Year Jaclyn Stanavich (14.3 ppg, 6th in the ECC) who ranks second in the ECC shooting 47% from the field. 6-foot junior forward Anjelina Barrera ranks second on the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) while pulling down a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game and leading the Mavs with 15 blocks and 19 assists. 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Amani Abuhatab is also scoring in the double-digits this season (13.0 ppg) and leads the league shooting 60.5% from the field after going 46-of-76.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 20-3 all-time against the Mavericks. The Wildcats had a 16-game win streak from 2016 to 2024 that Mercy snapped on Feb. 18, 2024 with a 50-44 win at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats got revenge against the Mavs in the ECC Championship game, topping the Mavs 55-50 to win their third consecutive ECC Tournament title.

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, Instagram at @DaemenWBB

Print Friendly Version