Lewis Glass

No. 6 Seed Women's Basketball To Face No. 2 Seed Assumption In East Region Semifinals

3/16/2024 12:09:00 PM

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

ONTO THE SEMIFINALS!
The No. 6 seeded Daemen University women's basketball team will face the No. 2 seed Assumption University Greyhounds in the first of two NCAA Division II East Region semifinal games on Saturday evening at 5 PM. The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals with a statement 52-47 victory over No. 3 seed Saint Rose in the first quarterfinal game of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. It is the third time the Wildcats have played in the East Region semifinals (2021, 2022), and Daemen is 2-0 in semifinal games. The Wildcats are 21-7 overall on the year, while Assumption is 25-5.

QUARTERFINAL VICTORY
Playing in the tournament-opening game on Friday, the sixth-seeded Wildcats came out hot, going on an 8-0 run in the middle of the first after a pair of Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) triples, and led by as much as 10 over the Golden Knights in the first quarter. Saint Rose outscored Daemen 15 to 9 in the second quarter after going on a nine point run from the end of the first to the beginning of the second quarter, and headed into the half up by one, 26-25 at the break. The Wildcats and Golden Knights traded points throughout the fourth, but a pair of three's from Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) lifted Daemen up 37-33 after three quarters. Saint Rose would tie the game up late in the fourth quarter but never take a lead over the Wildcats, as a jumper from Paige with 54 seconds left in the game to give the Wildcats the 49-47 lead over Saint Rose would be the game winner. Angeletti banked three free throws down the stretch to seal the deal for Daemen, 52-47. Paige led the Wildcats offensively for the 24th game this season, totaling 26 points after shooting 40% from the field and beyond the arc. Angeletti tied a career-high with 17 points, going 4-of-7 beyond the arc and coming in clutch from the charity stripe with 5-of-6 free throws in the win. It marked Daemen's won their fifth game in the NCAA Tournament, moving to 5-3 all-time.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR PAIGE
Daemen guard Alahna Paige has put together a record-breaking senior season, earning East Coast Conference Player of the Year as well as Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) East Region Player of the Year. With her 26-point outing against the Golden Knights on Friday afternoon, Paige became the first Daemen player in the Division II era (2015-present) to score 600 points in a single season, and is the seventh Daemen player all-time to score 600 in a season. Katie Titus held the previous D2-era record for points in a season (554) in 2021-22. Paige ranks second in NCAA Division II women's basketball, scoring 22.1 points per game. As the nation's leader in three-pointers per game (3.39), Paige broke Daemen's 10-year program record for single-season triples (78), and currently sits at 95 three pointers on the year. She became the 28th player in Daemen program history to record 1,000 career points in her breakout senior season. After going 95-of-231 beyond the arc this season, the senior guard is shooting 41% from three-point land, 14th in NCAA Division II women's basketball. Paige has scored in double-figures in every game this season (28 games) and has scored 20 or more points in 17 games, including each of the last eight games for the Wildcats. Paige has scored 30 points or more in three games, including knocking down a career-best 36 points in Daemen's win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 16. She leads the Wildcats and ranks sixth in the league with 3.1 assists per game (87 total) and adds 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

STREAKING
The Wildcats are riding a six-game win streak coming into Saturday's semifinal game. Over the past six wins, Daemen is averaging 64.8 points per game while allowing their opponents to score an average of 56.8 points per game. The Wildcats' six-game win streak is the longest of the season. Daemen went on two separate five-game win streaks during the 2023-24 regular season.

CLOSE VICTORIES
After posting blowout victories over District of Columbia (82-68) and D'Youville (67-51) on Feb. 22 and 25, the past four games for the Wildcats have all been within five points. Daemen topped Roberts Wesleyan 64-59 in the regular season finale to claim their fifth straight ECC regular season title, then as the top seed in the ECC Tournament beat UDC 69-66 on a buzzer-beater triple from Paige. In the ECC Championship, the Wildcats took down Mercy 55-50 in a comeback victory, outlasting the top-ranked defense in the conference. With those three close victories on hand, the Wildcats faced a tough test in No. 3 seed Saint Rose in the East Region quarterfinal. Playing against the No. 1 defense in the nation, the Wildcats pulled their experience both in the NCAA Tournament and in tight match ups and were able to come out on the winning side of a close game yet again, beating the Golden Knights 52-47 to continue their run through the postseason. Friday's win over Saint Rose marked the lowest-scoring victory for the Wildcats this season.

THE 2023-24 SEASON AT A GLANCE
Daemen put together an 18-7 overall record and 13-3 record in ECC games this season and sat towards the top of the conference in multiple categories throughout the season, leading the conference in winning percentage (72.0) and field goal percentage (40.6) and ranking second in scoring offense (64.9 points per game), scoring margin (6.6), three point percentage (33.5), free throw percentage (74.3), and scoring defense (58.3). The Wildcats opened the year with a loss to #18 Bentley, but responded with three non-conference wins before traveling down to Florida where they dropped a pair of games to Palm Beach Atlantic and Nova Southeastern. Daemen opened ECC play with a 23-point win over Roberts Wesleyan, and continued their conference domination with a 15-point win at Molloy and a 20-point win at Queens. Over winter break, the Wildcats picked up a big win at Saint Michael's, and picked up the program's first top-five win on Jan. 3, taking down #5 Ferris State 61-56 at home. Daemen dropped their final non-conference game of the season at Indiana (Pa.), but got back in the win column with a 19-point win over Staten Island. The Wildcats snapped a 14-game conference win streak with a 70-59 loss at STAC on Jan. 19, but responded with a four-point comeback victory over Mercy to begin a five-game conference win streak before falling at UDC, 71-65 on Feb. 11. Daemen put together a pivotal 68-64 win over STAC at home on Feb. 16, but could not complete the comeback over Mercy at home on Feb. 18 to drop their third and final conference game of the year, 50-44. The Wildcats won three straight games to close out regular season play, topping UDC 82-68, D'Youville 67-51 and claiming their fifth ECC regular season title after topping Roberts Welsyean 64-59. Daemen is riding a five-game win streak coming into the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT
The winner of Daemen/Assumption will advance to the East Region Championship game where they will face the winner of No. 1 Bentley and No. 4 Jefferson on Monday at 7:30 PM.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
Assumption enters the East Region semifinals with a 25-5 overall record after topping Franklin Pierce 58-43 in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. The Greyhounds never trailed in the game and finished shooting 46.8% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc while out-rebounding the Ravens 33 to 26 in the victory. 5-foot-10 senior guard Molly Stokes was the only Greyhound to score double-digits on Friday, pacing the team with 14 after going 5-of-9 from the field. Assumption features a well-balanced offense, as five players recorded 8+ points including 24 bench points in the quarterfinal game. On the year, the Greyhounds average 66.3 points per game while their defense allows just 53.3 points per game, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division II women's basketball. A successful shooting team across the board, Assumption ranks sixth in the nation with a 46.2 shooting percentage touting three players who shoot over 50% from the field on the year. All five Assumption starters are talented offensively, with D2CCA East Region First Teamer Stokes leading the team with 15.1 points per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. 5-foot-11 junior forward Marina Callahan averages 13.7 ppg and shoots 51.4% from the field while totaling 36 blocks, 6.7 rebounds per game and 92 assists. 6-foot junior forward Kaije Hall is the third Greyhound to average double-digit points on the year (10.7 ppg) shooting a team-high 55% from the field as well as leading the team 7.8 boards per game along with 29 blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Greyhounds have met just once. Daemen won the Nov. 10, 2018 match up 73-48 in Worcester, Mass. at Assumption.

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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