AMHERST, N.Y. -- For the first time in her career, Daemen University women's basketball junior Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) swept the East Coast Conference weekly awards, earning both the ECC Player and Defensive Player of the Week honors. It marks the first time this season that a women's basketball player earned an ECC weekly award. 

Lapertosa, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, had a stellar weekend and helped lead the Wildcats to a pair of wins over Staten Island and District of Columbia to open up ECC play. Lapertosa led the Wildcats both offensively and defensively in their 2-0 week, totaling 28 points (14.0 points per game) and 27 rebounds (13.5 rebounds per game) while adding eight assists, four blocks and three steals.

Shooting 12-of-28 from the field on the weekend, the Daemen junior forward posted her second and third double-doubles of the season in wins over the Dolphins and Firebirds. Lapertosa was one shy of tying Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present) record for single-game rebounds (17, 11 defensive) while adding 10 points, three assists, three steals, and three blocks in the win over Staten Island on Friday, and followed up by posting a season-high 18 points with 10 rebounds (seven defensive), five assists, and a block in the 'Cats 79-64 victory over District of Columbia on Sunday. 

Lapertosa is having a stellar junior campaign and has started all nine games this season for the Cats. Ranking second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game, she is shooting 41.4% from the field and leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game, 12 total blocks, 20 assists and 15 steals. Lapertosa has scored a double-double (points-rebounds) in three games this season and has scored in the double-figures in seven of the nine games so far while tallying double-digit rebounds in four games. 

The Wildcats are back at home this weekend and welcome St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday night (5:30 PM) and Mercy on Sunday (11 AM) to Lumsden Gymnasium.  
 

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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.

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