Wildcats Face UDC, D'Youville In Final Regular Season Homestand This Weekend

2/21/2024 4:41:00 PM

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

JUMP BALL
The Daemen University women's basketball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for the final homestand of the regular season to host a pair of East Coast Conference games. The Wildcats will tip off against the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds on Thursday at 5:30 PM, then host D'Youville University on Sunday at 12 PM in their final home game of the 2023-24 season. Daemen enters this weekend's games with a 15-7 overall record and still sits atop the ECC at 10-3, while UDC comes in with a 16-8 overall record and 8-4 conference record, and D'Youville is 9-15 on the year and 7-7 in ECC play.

1K CLUB
On Sunday, senior guard Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) became the 28th player in Daemen women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points after totaling 56 points on the weekend (28 points per game) in Daemen's 1-1 week. The senior guard scored a career-high 36 points in Daemen's key 68-64 ECC win over STAC on Friday, shooting 11-of-26 from the field, 7-of-16 from downtown and 11-of-11 from the charity stripe, and a game-high 20 points in the 50-44 loss to Mercy on Sunday after going 7-of-27 from the field. Paige totaled nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals on the weekend, and was named the ECC Player of the Week for the second time this season for her efforts. With 1,010 points, Paige ranks 26th all-time in scoring for the Wildcats.

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
Daemen split last week's home conference games, topping St. Thomas Aquinas College 68-64 in a key ECC victory on Friday night, but dropping Sunday's game to Mercy, 50-44. In Friday's victory over the Spartans, Daemen took a 57-50 lead early in the final frame, but the Spartans scored 11 unanswered points and took a 61-57 lead with 5:57 left to play. Daemen scored the next seven points and took a 64-61 lead following a putback by Pikett with 1:24 left. STAC answered with a bucket by freshman Bailey Chapman, and the score remained 64-63 until Paige made two free throws with 19 seconds left. Ericson was off the mark with a three-pointer at the other end and Paige made two more free throws with nine seconds left to secure the win. Daemen shot 50-percent (7-for-114) in the second quarter and finished 24-for-64 (38%) from the field overall. Paige scored a career-high 36 points against STAC on Friday night (11-of-26 from the field and 7-of-16 from downtown). The Wildcats connected on 9-of-24 three-pointers and made 11-of-17 from the charity stripe. Sunday's game came down to the wire and just like the first time these two teams played earlier this season, the Wildcats and Mavericks traded points to the very end. Where the Wildcats benefited from free throws down the stretch in the first meeting in January, the Mavericks won the game on free throws, scoring six points from the charity stripe in the final minute and a half of the game. Daemen shot 27% from the field (17-of-62) and connected on just two of 17 triples in the game. Mercy led for 94% of the game and shot 31% (17-of-54) from the field while banking one of 11 three balls. Mercy out-rebounded Daemen 45 to 33 on the day. Paige led the way for the Wildcats with a game-high 20 points in the loss to Mercy (7-of-27 from the field and 2-of-11 from beyond the arc).

FINAL HOME GAMES
The Wildcats wrap up their 11-game home schedule this weekend. In Sunday's loss to the Mavericks, the Wildcats' 23-game home win streak was snapped, a streak that dated back to the 2021-22 season and was the was the sixth-longest home court win streak among Division II women's basketball programs. Prior to last Sunday's six-point loss, the last time the Wildcats lost at home was on Feb. 18, 2022 with a 61-53 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas. Daemen went a perfect 12-0 at home in the 2022-23 season, and was 8-0 at Lumsden this season, including upsetting #5 Ferris State 61-56 on Jan. 3.

RAGING PAIGE
As the ECC's leading scorer, Paige is averaging 21.5 ppg -- third-most in NCAA Division II women's basketball -- with a career-high 473 points in her senior season, while posting 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. She leads the league and ranks 13th in the nation with a 41.5 three point percentage and is second in Division II with 3.45 triples per game. Paige is one three point field goal away from tying the Daemen record for most single-season triples (77) held by Raeann Stillwell, and is two triples away from breaking the record.

REGIONAL POLL
The Wildcats are ranked eighth in the latest Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) regional rankings, as released on Monday. The East Region consists of teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast 10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Athletic Conference. Ranked third in the nation in the weekly WBCA Division II Coaches Poll, Jefferson (23-1) remains atop the East Region, taking all six first place votes. Assumption (20-4) and Bentley (20-4) are tied for second while Saint Rose (18-5) and Southern New Hampshire (17-6) round out the top five. Holy Family (19-6) and Pace (16-9) are tied for sixth, Daemen (15-7) is eighth and Chestnut Hill (16-7) and Southern Connecticut (15-10) are tied for ninth in the region.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
With just two weekends left in the regular season, the ECC leader board is pretty top-heavy right now, with the Wildcats just one game in the lead (10-3). Mercy (9-4) and St. Thomas Aquinas (9-3) are tied for second in the conference, while District of Columbia is half a game back from the Mavericks and Spartans. Playing in their first year of postseason eligibility, D'Youville sits in fifth at 7-7. Staten Island, Molloy, Queens and Roberts Wesleyan are the final four teams in the league.

1. Daemen (10-3 ECC, 15-7 overall)
T2. Mercy (9-4 ECC, 16-8 overall)
T2. STAC (9-4 ECC, 15-10 overall)
4. UDC (8-4 ECC, 16-8 overall)
5. D'Youville (7-7 ECC, 9-15 overall)
6. Staten Island (5-8 ECC, 8-16 overall)
7. Molloy (4-8 ECC, 9-12 overall)
8. Queens (2-9 ECC, 6-16 overall)
9. Roberts Wesleyan (1-9 ECC, 5-13 overall)

THANK YOU, SENIORS
The Wildcats are honoring three seniors -- Natalie Angeletti (Holland, N.Y.), Kaytlyn Matz (Panama, N.Y.) and Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) -- ahead of Sunday's game against D'Youville. Angeletti and Matz have compiled a 71-20 overall record, 48-7 ECC record, have won three consecutive ECC regular season titles and back-to-back ECC Tournament titles, while advancing to the East Region tournament for three years in a row, and have never played on a team with a losing record while at Daemen.

Angeletti, a 6-foot senior forward, has started all 22 games this season, and ranks second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game while averaging 4.3 points per game and is shooting 41% from the field (36-of-88). Over her four-year career at Daemen, Angeletti has been a two-year starter, averaging 19.2 minuter per game and shooting 43.8% from the field, 27.5% from beyond the arc and 72.3% from the free throw stripe while totaling 435 total rebounds, 4.8 rebounds per game and 4.8 points per game. Angeletti picked up CSC All-District in 2023, and earned the ECC Elite 19 award in 2022-23, awarded to the player with the highest GPA in the league.

Matz, a 6-foot senior forward, is a three-year starter for the Wildcats. This season, she has started in 21 of Daemen's 22 games, averaging 22.3 minutes per game and posting 4.5 ppg, 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 29.8% (34-of-114) from the field, 25.6% (8-of-11) from beyond the arc and 72.7% (8-of-11) from the free throw line. In her four-year Daemen career, Matz has shot 31.6% from the field, 27.3% from beyond the arc and 60.3% from the charity stripe while averaging 5 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game.

McDuffie, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, scored her 1,000th career point this season after starting in all 22 games while playing 27.6 minutes per game. The senior guard is shooting 32.7% (71-of-217) from the field, 28% (18-of-64) from beyond the arc and 67% from the free throw line to average 9.5 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per game and 2 assists per game. She has scored 367 total points (7.8 ppg) over her two year Daemen career. McDuffie was named the ECC Tournament MVP in 2023. She played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Niagara County Community College where she scored 199 points in her freshman season and 523 during her sophomore season as a Timberwolf.

UP NEXT
Daemen will wrap up the regular season next Saturday, March 2 in Rochester, N.Y. as they take on Roberts Wesleyan at 2 PM.

THE FIREBIRDS
Ranked third in the ECC preseason poll, UDC got off to a fast start, winning all 11 games easily to open the 2023-24 season with a perfect record. The Firebirds currently sit fourth in the conference with an 8-4 ECC record and a 16-8 overall record, winning three of their four games in February including Feb. 11's 71-65 win over Daemen. As the top scoring offense in the ECC, UDC averages 70.2 points per game, riding off the offense firepower from junior guards Destiny Ryles (16.2 ppg) and Tori Williams (12.7 ppg) and senior guard Latavia Jackson (12.1 ppg). Ryles ranks fourth in the league in scoring and leads the league in assists (5.9 per game) as well as assist/turnover ratio (1.8).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 10-9 over the Firebirds. UDC won the first meeting between these two teams on Feb. 11, 71-65 in Washington, D.C.

THE SAINTS
D'Youville comes into Sunday's match up with a 9-15 overall record and a 7-7 record in ECC play and currently sit fifth in the league standings. 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. The Saints average 61.6 ppg while allowing their opponents to score an average of 64.1 ppg. D'Youville is led offensively by 5-foot-9 junior guard Anna Jankovic who is averaging 14.2 ppg, a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game and 2.5 steals per game. Junior point guard Stella Mollica ranks second on the team in scoring with 8.6 ppg. 6-foot junior forward Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott pulls down 5.3 rebounds per game, averages 8.5 ppg, and leads the Saints with 22 total blocks on the year.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats own a 20-1 overall record over the Saints, with the sole loss coming last season at D'Youville. Daemen beat D'Youville 80-61 in the first meeting this season on Feb. 4, marking head coach Jenepher Banker's 200th career win.

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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