Rich Barnes

Women's Basketball Hosts Nationally-Ranked Gannon Wednesday

11/18/2025 1:19:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Connor Griffin, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications | cgriffin@daemen.edu

HOME OPENER
The Daemen University women's basketball team hosts No. 5 Gannon in its home opener Wednesday evening. The Wildcats have won their last three straight home openers. Daemen is looking for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since January 3, 2024, when it defeated #5/11 Ferris State 61-56 at home.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats went 2-0 in their opening weekend at the WilmU Tip-off Tournament. Daemen opened with a 78-44 win over Wilmington on Friday afternoon. The victory marked Nate Beutel's first as the Daemen head coach. Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) led the team with 14 points. She also contributed a career-best eight steals and collected five rebounds. Joline Raposo (Tampa, Fla.) scored 11 points and recorded nine steals off the bench, breaking the program's NCAA era record for the most steals in a game. Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) dished out a team-leading four assists, logged six steals, and scored five points. Damen outscored Wilmington in every quarter and never trailed in the game. On Saturday, the Wildcats stormed past Goldey-Beacom, 96-61. Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) led the way with a career-high 20 points, converting 6-of-11 field goals. Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) contributed 17 points and nine rebounds, adding two assists and two steals. Pikett also recorded five helpers and a game-high seven steals.

PIKETT EARNS WEEKLY PRAISE
Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) was named ECC CO-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. The senior recorded 15 steals (7.5 per game), logged two blocks, and collected eight rebounds in two Daemen wins over the weekend. Pikett posted a career-high eight steals in Daemen's win over Wilmington. She also recorded a block and grabbed five rebounds while chipping in a team-high 14 points. On Saturday in the win over Goldey-Beacom, Pikett logged seven steals. She recorded five in the first half and two in the second to help the Wildcats grow their lead. Pikett also posted a block and collected three rebounds.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
The Wildcats recorded 36 steals against Wilmington on Friday, the most in a game in the program's Division II era. Raposo broke the program record (Division II era) for steals in a game with nine, while Pikett logged eight and Montgomery posted six. Additionally, the Wildcats had 10 blocks in the contest, led by freshman Brianna Caliri (Staten Island, N.Y) with three and Jalea Abrams (Elmira, N.Y.) with two. On Saturday, the Wildcats logged 18 steals with seven from Pikett while Lapertosa and Auer each snagged two. Caliri registered two of Daemen's five blocks in the contest.

NEW LEADER
Nate Beutel was named the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Daemen in September. Beutel has more than a decade of coaching experience. He served as the head women's basketball coach for 13 successful seasons at SUNY Niagara, where he led the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II program to 314 wins. The six-time NJCAA Region III Div. II Coach of the Year and five-time NJCAA Div. II East District Coach of the Year developed nearly 50 All-Region players, including eight NJCAA Div. II All-Americans and seven Region III Div. II Players of the Year. Following his 13 years as the head coach at SUNY Niagara, Beutel made the jump to the Division I level this summer, being named the Director of Basketball Operations and an Assistant Coach at the University at Buffalo. He takes over the reins following the retirement of Jenepher Banker in August after nine seasons leading the Wildcats.

WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Wildcats welcomed four new players this season, with three transfers and one freshman. Junior Abrams arrived in Amherst from ECC foe Queens. Daemen also added some international flair, with Julia Fontanillo (Valladolid, Spain) coming on board after two seasons at Raritan Valley CC. Sophomore Kaylee Marvin (Ontario, N.Y.) joined the team from Wheeling University. Caliri is the lone freshman this year.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (4-1)
Gannon is ranked No. 5 nationally in the WBCA poll. The Golden Knights are coming off a 68-43 win over Charleston last Sunday after beating Davis & Elkins 90-37 the previous day. Gannon also picked up a 70-55 victory over No. 4 North Georgia and fell to Northern Michigan 60-58. Bri Claxton is the Golden Knights' top scorer (15.0 PPG). Kate Ratliff averages 12.6 PPG and a team-leading 3.0 assists per game. Sophomore Jotdan Popyk averages 8.6 PPG and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per contest.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 6-11 against Gannon, including a 3-2 mark in their Division II era. Daemen is 2-3 in the previous five meetings as the Golden Knights have won two straight, including a 55-39 win on their home court last season. The Wildcats last beat Gannon on Jan. 29, 2021, with a 70-68 victory in Erie, Pa.

UP NEXT
Daemen remains home, hosting Chestnut Hill at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

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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