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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Alahna Paige celebrates
Geoff Schneider/East Coast Conference
66
Dist. Columbia UDC 20-10,11-5 ECC
69
Winner Daemen Daemen 19-7,13-3 ECC
Dist. Columbia UDC
20-10,11-5 ECC
66
Final
69
Daemen Daemen
19-7,13-3 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Dist. Columbia UDC 13 15 19 19 66
Daemen Daemen 12 13 15 29 69

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

Paige's Last Second Triple Lifts Wildcats Over Firebirds, 69-66, In ECC Semifinals

Daemen Advances To The ECC Championship Game For The Fifth Straight Season

AMHERST, N.Y. – When the game is on the line, you lean on your best players, and in the 2024 East Coast Conference semifinal game against fourth-seeded District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon, the Daemen University women's basketball team leaned on none other than 2024 ECC Player of the Year Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.), who's huge triple in the final three seconds of the game lifted the Wildcats to a 69-66 win over UDC. The top-seeded Wildcats advance to their fifth straight ECC Championship game where they will face the winner of second-seed St. Thomas Aquinas and third-seed Mercy on Sunday at noon.
 
After shooting 35% (15-of-42) through the first three quarters, the Wildcats went off in the fourth quarter, shooting 9-of-15 from the field (60%) and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc in the final 10 minutes of play. Paige, who entered the fourth with just nine points after going 2-of-11 from the field, scored 14 fourth-quarter points, knocking down both Daemen triples of the final quarter including the game-winner. Senior guard Gabby McDuffie (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 18 points for the Wildcats, with 10 points coming in the final quarter of play. The senior leadership of guards McDuffie and Paige combined for 24 of Daemen's 29 fourth-quarter points.
 
In the back-and-forth semifinal, Daemen finished the game shooting 42% from the field, banking 24-of-57 from the field, 5-of-19 from beyond the arc and 16-of-20 from the charity stripe. UDC, who outscored the Wildcats in each of the first three quarters, shot 37% from the field (26-of-71), 27% (8-of-30) beyond the arc and 67% (6-of-9) from the free throw line in the game.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • The Wildcats are ranked sixth in the East Region in the third and final NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, released on Wednesday by the Regional Advisory Committee. The NCAA announces 10-team rankings for each of the eight regions across the country for three successive weeks leading up to the NCAA Championship selection announcement, which will be made live on Sunday, March 10 at 10:30 PM on NCAA.com. 
  • After being named ECC Player of the Year on Thursday, Paige played all 40 minutes of the game and tallied her 14th 20+ point outing, scoring 23 points while shooting 38% from the field (6-of-16), 50% beyond the arc (3-of-6) and 89% from the charity stripe (8-of-9). The senior guard added six defensive rebounds and five assists in the win.
  • Second Team All-ECC honoree McDuffie totaled 18 points after shooting 44% (8-of-18) from the field and knocking down both free throws attempted tonight. She finished with eight rebounds – four offensive boards – and three assists.
  • Senior guard Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) finished with 11 points on the day after banking 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and added five defensive rebounds.
  • Third Team All-ECC sophomore forward Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) totaled nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds (10 defensive) while notching two blocks and two steals on the day.
  • UDC's First Team All-ECC junior guard Destiny Ryles led the Firebirds offensively with 20 points, while Kensley Benjamin added 14 points for the Firebirds after banking 4-of-5 triples.
GAME NOTES
  • The back-to-back defending ECC Champion Wildcats are 8-3 in the ECC Tournament, and have won three of the last four ECC Tournament Championships (2020, 2022, 2023). As the winners of the past five ECC regular season titles, Daemen is looking to win three straight ECC Tournament titles for the first time since Saint Rose's six consecutive tournament titles (1995-2000). 
  • The Firebirds opened the game on a 9-2 run after going 4-of-5 from the field in the first three minutes of the quarter, but the Wildcats got their feet back under them and closed out the quarter outscoring UDC 10-4 and finished the first down 13-12. The Wildcats and Firebirds both shot 35% in the first quarter, with Daemen going 5-of-14 from the field and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
  • In the first five minutes of the second, the Firebirds went 3-of-6 from the field to open the quarter on a 7-3 run to take a 20-15 lead. Again, the Wildcats put together a surge at the end of the quarter, scoring 10 of the last 15 points in the half, including back-to-back triples from Angeletti, to make it a three-point game at the half, 28-25 with UDC on top. Daemen shot 34% (9-of-26) from the field in the first quarter compared to 29% from the Firebirds. Angeletti led the way for the Cats in the first half with nine points.
  • Paige tied the game up with a triple to open the third quarter, and McDuffie brought the Cats on top with a layup and a jumper in the Wildcats' first three offensive possessions of the second half to give Daemen a 32-28 lead. Despite the hot start for Daemen, it was UDC that went on a tear to end the quarter, outscoring Daemen 19-8 down the stretch after connecting on 7-of-13 field goals with seven different Firebirds scoring points to take a 47-40 lead over Daemen into the final 10 minutes of play.
  • The Wildcats and Firebirds traded points to open the fourth quarter, with each team shooting 3-of-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from beyond the arc through the first three and a half minutes of the quarter. Daemen went on a 10-4 run to make it a one-point game, 57-56, after going 3-of-3 from the field and banking 4-of-5 from the charity stripe over two minutes of play. After a UDC layup and a pair of free throws, the Wildcats erased a five-point Firebird lead after scoring ten unanswered points to take a 66-61 lead into the final minute of play. In 30 seconds of gameplay, the Firebirds tied the game up at 66 with a layup and huge three from Ryles with 15 seconds left on the clock. With the game tied up and just three seconds left, Daemen sent the ball over to Paige who drained the biggest three of the game for the go-ahead bucket. Following a UDC timeout, Ryles chucked up a triple that fell short and ended the Firebirds' run in the tournament while sending the Wildcats back to the ECC Championship game.
  • Daemen outscored UDC 29-19 in the final quarter, shooting 60% from the field (9-of-15). 
  • The Wildcats out-rebounded the Firebirds 46 to 37 in the game, pulling down 35 defensive boards compared to 37 total rebounds for UDC. 
  • With today's win, Daemen is 12-9 all-time against UDC.
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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