Geoff Schneider

Women's Basketball To Play At Crosstown Rival D'Youville On Sunday

2/2/2024 11:53:00 AM

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

JUMP BALL
The Daemen University women's basketball team will head across town to play at crosstown rival D'Youville University on Sunday, 1 PM in an East Coast Conference match up. The Wildcats come into the game as the league leader with a 12-5 overall record and 7-1 record in ECC play, while the Saints enter this weekend tied for third place with a 5-3 ECC record and 7-11 overall record.

200 CLUB
After notching two wins last weekend, head coach Jenepher Banker is just one win away from her 200th career win as a head coach. Banker entered the 2023-24 season with a 187-121 record, and comes into Sunday's game with 199 total wins and 126 losses. In her eight seasons at the helm of the Wildcats, Banker has compiled a 132-65 overall record including a 90-30 ECC record as head coach.

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
Daemen went 2-0 on the weekend, picking up ECC wins over Molloy and Queens at home. The Wildcats topped Molloy 60-50 on Friday night in a game where senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Cats with 28 points after shooting 45% (9-of-20) from the field for her seventh 20-point game of the season. Sophomore forward Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) shot 55% (6-of-11) from the field for 14 points in the win. Seniors Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) along with freshman guard Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) each tallied seven rebounds in the win. McDuffie and Angeletti pulled down two offensive boards, while Auer snagged seven defensive rebounds. In Sunday afternoon's matinee matchup against Queens, the Wildcats came back from a 10-0 deficit to open up the game, going on a 41-10 run to end the first half and finished with a 67-51 victory. Daemen shot 39% (23-of-59) from the field on the day and was even more impressive beyond the arc, shooting 44% (12-of-27) for three. Daemen senior forward Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) finished with a team-high 16 points after banking 4-of-5 triples while adding two defensive boards. Senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) added 15 points in the win.

STAT CATS
The Wildcats are the top-ranked defense in the ECC, allowing just 58.2 points per game on the year while giving up a league-low 989 total points through 17 games. Daemen also has the highest margin of victory in the conference with 5.5, with the Wildcat offense scoring an average of 63.6 ppg while giving up 58.2 ppg. The Wildcats lead the league with a 40.4 field goal percentage and rank second in the ECC in team three-point percentage (35.1%). As she has all season, Paige still leads the league in scoring, averaging 20.3 ppg, three point field goal percentage (44.2%), three pointers per game (3.1), and free throw percentage (87.4%), while ranking second in the league in field goal percentage (41.9%).

REGIONALLY RANKED
The Wildcats remain ranked ninth in the East Region in the Week 10 Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) Regional Poll, released on Monday afternoon. The East Region consists of teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast 10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Athletic Conference. Bentley (16-2) remains atop the East Region, garnering all six first-place votes. Jefferson (18-1) remained in second place in the region, while Assumption (15-3), Saint Rose (14-3) and Southern New Hampshire (12-5) round out the top five. Pace (13-5), Holy Family (16-5), Chestnut Hill (14-5), Daemen (12-5) and American International (11-8) are the final five teams.

CONFERENCE DOMINATION
Daemen has posted an overall record of 91-23 and a 58-8 record in ECC play since the 2019-20 season, 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.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats hit the road next weekend to play at Staten Island (Feb. 9) and District of Columbia (Feb.11) for their final road trip doubleheader of the regular season.

THE SAINTS
D'Youville comes into Sunday's match up with a 7-11 overall record and a 5-3 record in ECC play, and are riding a two-game win streak after sweeping Molloy and Queens last weekend. The Saints have faced some tough competition in the 2023-24 season, playing three nationally-ranked teams, including #2 Grand Valley State and #5 Ferris State, as well as facing regionally-ranked AIC and Saint Rose in non-conference games. Tied for third in the ECC, the Saints average 60.9 ppg while only allowing 55.0 ppg in conference games, making them the second-ranked defense in the league in ECC games behind only Daemen. D'Youville is led offensively by 5-foot-9 junior guard Anna Jankovic who is averaging 14.1 ppg, a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game and 2.3 steals per game. Junior point guard Stella Mollica ranks second on the team in scoring with 8.3 ppg, but has been shut down over the last three games against STAC, Queens and Molloy, only totaling 11 total points. 6-foot junior forward Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott pulls down 4.9 rebounds per game, averages 7.4 ppg, and leads the Saints with 15 total blocks on the year.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 19-1 overall record over the Saints, with the sole loss coming last season at D'Youville. Daemen had previously won all 18 meetings. The Wildcats topped the Saints 70-53 in the regular season finale at Lumsden Gymnasium last year on Feb. 25, 2023.

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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