AMHERST, N.Y. -- The Daemen University women's basketball team moved up to eighth in the East Region in the Week 8 Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) Regional Poll, released on Monday evening. The East Region consists of teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast 10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
Bentley (60 points, 6 first place votes) remains atop the region followed by Holy Family (53 points), Southern Connecticut State (49), New Haven (34) and Dominican (33) in the top five. Assumption (32), Saint Anselm (24), Daemen (18), Jefferson (14) and Adelphi (13) are the final five teams in the region.
The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak with wins over Molloy (74-65) and Queens (64-44) this weekend to improve to 10-6 on the year and 6-0 in ECC action. Daemen is the only remaining team in the ECC with an undefeated conference record.
In Friday night's nine-point win over Molloy, the Wildcats were led on both sides of the court by a dominant performance from junior forward
Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) who totaled 15 points, 16 rebounds and five assists on the night. She was one of five Daemen players that scored in the double-digits and shot 43% from the field. Daemen outrebounded the Lions 46 to 37 on the night – including 18 offensive boards. Lapertosa accounted for eight of those O-boards. Freshman forward
Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with a 17-point performance after shooting 46% from the field. Junior forward
Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) finished with 15 points off three triples, a field goal and four free throws. Graduate student guard
Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) totaled 11 points off a pair of three's and two field goals. Junior guard
Joline Raposo (Tampa, Fla.) finished with 10 points – all in the first half – after shooting 66% from the field. The Wildcats then trekked down to Flushing, N.Y. on Sunday and topped Queens 64-44. Leading for all but one minute of game play, the Wildcats went off against the ECC's top defense in the Knights today, shooting 45.6% from the field (26-of-57) and 38% beyond the arc (8-of-21) while standing tall defensively themselves, allowing the home team Queens to shoot just 25% from the field and a meager 16% from three. Three Wildcats scored in the double-digits, with DiCintio leading the charge with a 20-point performance along with freshman forward
Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) and junior forward
Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) chipping in 16 and 12 points, respectively. After struggling offensively in their games in the Hoops In Hawaii Classic on Dec. 20-21, the Wildcats have scored 60+ points in each of their last three games. Daemen is now averaging 60 points per game.
The Cats will welcome crosstown rival D'Youville to Lumsden Gymnasium this Saturday for a noon matchup.
D2CSC East Region Poll - Week 8
1. Bentley (6) -- 60 points
2. Holy Family -- 53 points
3. Southern Connecticut State -- 49 points
4. New Haven -- 34 points
5. Dominican -- 33 points
6. Assumption -- 32 points
7. Saint Anselm -- 24 points
8.
Daemen -- 18 points
9. Jefferson -- 14 points
10. Adelphi -- 13 points
( ) denotes first place votes
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.
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