STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Daemen University women's basketball team opened up East Coast Conference play with a 54-48 victory over the College of Staten Island on Friday night. Winners of five straight games, the Wildcats move to 5-3 overall and 1-0 in ECC games on the year, while Staten Island drops to 5-5 and 0-1 in ECC action.
Daemen 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 Cecilla Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) who pulled down 17 rebounds, one shy of an NCAA era (2015-present) record for single-game rebounds.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Buntley posted a career-high 13 points after shooting 6 of 11 from the field including a triple and added five rebounds. The freshman played just 12 minutes in the game on her personal best day.
- Lapertosa tallied a double-double for the third time this season, scoring 10 points and totaling 17 rebounds – including six offensive boards – while three assists, three blocks and three steals. The junior was 5-of-14 from the field today.
- Junior guard Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) scored eight points off four field goals while adding three rebounds and two steals.
- Graduate student guard Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) finished with eight points off a pair of field goals, a three, and three of four free throws along with one offensive board.
- Staten Island junior guard Dana Phelan led all players with 23 points off seven field goals, three triples and six free throws.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Wildcats never trailed in this one and led by as much as 12 in the first quarter. Daemen shot 42.1% from the field after banking 8-of-19 and were led by Buntley who totaled seven points in the first as the Wildcats took an 18-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.
- The second quarter was lower scoring for both teams but the Wildcats stayed atop the Dolphins, out-scoring CSI 10 to 7 in the quarter while shooting 5-of-18 from the field. Daemen missed all eight triples in the second but took a 28-16 lead into the half. Led again by Buntley with six points in the quarter, the Wildcats shot 27.8% from the field and out-rebounded the Dolphins 16 to 9 in the second.
- The Cats led by as much as 15 in the third quarter but the Dolphins brought it closer with a 7-4 run in the final six minutes of play to make it a 10-point game, 38-28, after three.
- Staten Island got hot in the fourth quarter, going on a 13-6 run in the first seven minutes of the fourth to make it a five-point game, 46-41. A floating jumper from Montgomery stopped the Dolphin run and made it a seven-point game again, and the Wildcats responded with point after CSI point through to the end of the game to win, 54-48.
- The Dolphins outscored Daemen 20-16 in the final quarter but never led in the game.
GAME NOTES
- Daemen is still undefeated against Staten Island. With today's victory, the Wildcats are 8-0 all-time against the Dolphins in a history that dates back to when CSI joined the ECC in 2021.
- The Wildcats got back into the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region poll, ranking 10th in the Week 4 regional poll, released on Monday.
- Daemen won their ECC opener for the seventh straight season today.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will travel to the nation's capital to play at the University of the District of Columbia in a 1 PM game on Sunday.
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
