Geoff Schneider

Women's Basketball Welcomes Chestnut Hill on Sunday

11/21/2025 3:35:00 PM

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

BACK IN ACTION
The Daemen University women's basketball team remains at home for its second of five straight contests at Lumsden Gymnasium, hosting Chestnut Hill on Sunday afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen narrowly fell to No. 5 Gannon 57-50 in its home opener on Wednesday evening at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Golden Knights outscored the Wildcats 34-16 in the second half, securing the win with a strong defensive effort that included 12 steals. Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 14 points, leading Daemen scorers, while grabbing six rebounds and logging two steals. Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) tallied three steals and added seven rebounds to the team's defensive play. Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) contributed nine points and one block, providing support on both ends of the court.

PIKETT EARNS WEEKLY PRAISE
Pikett 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.

DOUBLE DOUBLE FOR LAPERTOSA
Lapertosa posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, including 11 defensive boards last game. The senior recorded her first double-double of the season and the ninth of her career. She has scored in double-digits in all three of Daemen's games thus far.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
The Wildcats recorded 36 steals against Wilmington on Nov. 14, 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 Nov. 15, 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. The Wildcats logged seven steals and four blocks against Gannon last game.

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 GRIFFINS
Chestnut Hill is 1-1 after splitting its opening weekend. The Griffins fell to Mollloy (85-72) on Nov. 15 before defeating Queens 69-57 the following day. Sarah Tamoun leads the team in scoring (14.5 PPG), also averaging 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Tiayo Adelekan is averaging a double-double through the first two games with 12 PPG and 11.5 RPG. The Griffins finished last season 16-13, including a 12-4 CACC mark.

SERIES HISTORY
The teams met for the first time last season in Philadelphia, where the Wildcats came out with a 73-53 win.

UP NEXT
Daemen has a week off before hosting Holy Family on Nov. 30 at 12 p.m.

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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