East Region Champion Wildcats Head To Missouri For Elite Eight

EAST REGION CHAMPIONS

The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight after winning the program’s second NCAA Division II East Region Championship. Coming into the eight-team regional tournament as the No. 6 seed, Daemen put on a clinic, taking down No. 3 seed Saint Rose (52-47) in the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Assumption (68-58) in the semifinals and No. 4 seed Jefferson (69-62) in the regional championship game to take home the hardware. Daemen senior guard Alahna Paige averaged 20.3 points in the three Daemen wins and was named the East Regional's Most Outstanding Player. Senior forward Natalie Angeletti earned all-tournament team honors after averaging 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. 

Playing in the East Region Championship for the third time in four seasons, the Wildcats never let themselves get down too much to the high-powered Ram offense and trailed just 16-13 after one. Daemen got hot in the second quarter and outscored Jefferson 20-10 in the quarter, with Angeletti scoring nine of Daemen’s 20 second-quarter points. The Wildcats led 33-26 at the half. Jefferson came out of the break scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 36-33 lead in the first four minutes of the third quarter, but the Cats closed out the third quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 49-40 lead into the fourth after shooting 61.5% (8-of-13) from the field. Just like in the beginning of the third quarter, Jefferson went on a run to open the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of 14 points in the first four and a half minutes of the quarter to cut the lead to one, 52-51. Sophomore forward Claire Pikett drilled a triple in response, and after taking an elbow to the face and sitting out for a few minutes in the fourth quarter, Paige put an exclamation point on the game with a three-pointer of her own to bring the Cats up 58-51 with 4:04 left to play. Jefferson was never able to bring the gap closer than four points. Daemen nailed free throws down the stretch to finish the game with a 69-62 victory. Sophomore forward Cecilia Lapertosa accounted for 11 of Daemen's 28 points off the bench and added 10 rebounds.

AN ECC THREE-PEAT

Daemen secured its fifth straight NCAA tournament bid after winning the East Coast Conference tournament championship - their third straight conference title and fourth in the last five seasons. After going 13-3 in regular season league play, the Wildcats earned the tournament's No. 1 seed and the right to host the semifinals and finals (for a fourth straight season).

In their semifinal meeting with fourth-seeded District of Columbia, the Wildcats overcame an 11-point deficit with less than nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Daemen erupted for 29 points in the period, none more important than Alahna Paige's pull-up three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining which broke a 66-66 tie and sent the Wildcats to the ECC tournament championship for a fifth straight season. Paige finished with 23 points while Gabby McDuffie chipped in with 18.

Another fourth quarter rally was in store for the tournament final as Daemen met second-seeded Mercy. The visiting Mavericks led 48-40 with under six minutes to play, but were held without a field goal for the remainder of the contest, allowing Daemen to finish with a 15-2 flurry for a 55-50 win. Paige was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 27 points. She was joined on the all-tournament team by McDuffie (five points, six rebounds) and Shyla Montgomery who scored four of her eight points in the pivotal fourth quarter run. 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR PAIGE

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. She was also named MVP of both the ECC Tournament and the NCAA East Regional. With her 26-point outing against Saint Rose in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament she 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 Division II-era record for points in a season (554) in 2021-22. Paige ranks second among all NCAA Division II players in points per game (21.8) and three-pointers per game (3.27). Paige broke Daemen's 10-year program record for single-season triples (78), and currently sits at 98 three pointers on the year. She became the 28th player in program history to record 1,000 career points earlier this season and enters the Elite Eight ranked 16th among Daemen’s all-time leaders in career points (1,190) and sixth in career three-pointers (168). Paige has scored in double-figures in every game this season (30 games) and has scored 20 or more points in 18 games. Paige has scored 30 points or more in three games, including a career-best 36 points in Daemen's win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 16. She also leads the Wildcats in assists (93) and ranks second in steals (36).

SENIOR CLASS

Seniors Alahna Paige, Natalie Angeletti and Kaytlyn Matz have the led the program to new heights over their four-year careers. All three have played in 98 of a possible 99 games and have led the Wildcats to a 79-20 record over the past four years. Daemen has claimed four East Coast Conference regular season titles, three ECC Tournament titles (2022, 2023, 2024), four NCAA Tournament appearances, three NCAA regional championship game appearances (2021, 2022, 2024) and two NCAA regional championships (2021, 2024).Fellow senior Gabby McDuffie is a junior college transfer and has also been a big part of the last two seasons. She was named MVP of last year’s ECC Tournament and earned Second Team all-conference honors this season.