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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Danielle DiCintio dribbles a ball against D'Youville
44
Staten Island CSI 13-8,7-2 ECC
50
Winner Daemen Daemen 13-6,9-0 ECC
Staten Island CSI
13-8,7-2 ECC
44
Final
50
Daemen Daemen
13-6,9-0 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Staten Island CSI 20 9 5 10 44
Daemen Daemen 10 5 20 15 50

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

Second Half Surge Lifts Wildcats Over CSI, 50-44

AMHERST, N.Y. – Paced by a 20-point third quarter, the Daemen University women's basketball team completed the comeback in a tight match-up between the top two teams in the East Coast Conference. Daemen defeated the College of Staten Island on Friday night, 50-44, to remain undefeated in ECC play with a 9-0 conference record and improve to 13-6 overall. Staten Island, who ranks second in the league behind only Daemen, drops their second ECC game of the year, with both losses coming at the hands of the Cats, drops to 7-2 in the ECC and 13-7 on the year.
 
It was a tale of two halves for the Wildcats today. After scoring just 15 points and shooting 25% from the field in the first half, Daemen went on a tear in the second half, outscoring the Dolphins 35 to 15 in the final two quarters while shooting 39% from the field (11-of-28). In a balanced offensive attack, four Wildcat players finished with double-digit points on the night.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Freshman forward Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Wildcats on the night with 12 points after going 4-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. She nearly had a double-double, totaling nine rebounds – six offensive boards – and adding one assist on the night.
  • Junior guard Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) finished with 11 points after shooting 38% from the field (3-of-8), 1-of-2 beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Pikett added five defensive rebounds, three blocks, one steal and one assist.
  • Graduate student guard Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) totaled 11 points after shooting 3-of-9 beyond the arc and adding another field goal on the day. DiCintio was all over the stat sheet in the win, tying Daemen's single-game steal record (7) in the NCAA era (2015-present) while adding five defensive rebounds, three assists and one block on the night.
  • Junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) finished with 10 points after shooting 44% (4-of-9) from the field and added four rebounds. 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Daemen took a 6-4 lead at the five minute mark in the first, and that would be the last time the Cats would lead in the quarter. Staten Island closed out the first quarter on a 16-4 scoring run after shooting 5-of-6 from the field and led the Cats 20-10 after the first 10 minutes of play.
  • The second quarter was much lower scoring, with 14 total points being scored between the two teams. CSI outscored Daemen 9-5 and took a 29-15 lead into the half. The Wildcats scored just one field goal in the quarter on a triple from DiCintio.
  • Daemen opened the third on a 10-2 run to bring the game within five points, 31-26, following buckets by Buntley, Lapertosa, Pikett and DiCintio. A triple from Pikett brought the game within one, 34-33, with 2:22 left in the quarter, and took the lead with a pair of Meghan Trapper (Buffalo, N.Y.) free throws minutes later. The Wildcats led 35-34 after three quarters after outscoring Staten Island 20-5 in the third. Daemen shot 41.2% (7-of-17) in the quarter.
  • With the Cats leading by as much as five in the fourth (39-34), Staten Island scored nine of the next 11 points and took a 43-41 lead with 2:21 left to play. DiCintio responded 20 seconds later with a triple to lead 44-43. A Lapertosa layup with 1:21 left gave Daemen the three point lead, 46-43, a lead which they would never relinquish. Lapertosa and Pikett each drained free throws in the final minute of play and won the game, 50-44.
GAME NOTES
  • The Wildcats moved up to seventh in the East Region in the latest Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) Regional Rankings, released on Monday. Staten Island entered the top-10 this week for the first time this season.
  • Daemen moved to 9-0 all-time against Staten Island tonight. Today's six-point win marked the smallest margin of victory in the history of the match up (since 2021).
  • DiCintio tied Daemen's single-game steal record in the NCAA era (2015-present) with seven steals against the Dolphins.
  • Buntley scored in the double figures for the fifth straight game tonight.
  • The Dolphins out-rebounded Daemen 45 to 36 tonight. CSI made their presence heard on the offensive side of the ball, pulling down 18 O-boards compared to just seven from Daemen.
UP NEXT
Daemen will host the University of the District of Columbia on Sunday in a matinee noon game at Lumsden Gymnasium.
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, Instagram at @DaemenWBB
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