Macie Trimarchi dribbles the ball at exhibition game at Syracuse

Rich Barnes

Women's Basketball Hosts Molloy, Queens This Weekend

2/13/2025 12:05:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Director of Athletics Communications | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

FINAL DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND
The Daemen University women's basketball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium this weekend for the final doubleheader weekend of the regular season. The Wildcats will host Molloy University on Friday, Feb. 14 in a 5:30 PM tilt then welcome Queens College on Sunday, Feb. 16 for a matinee match up at noon. Winners of eight straight games, Daemen comes in at 16-6 overall and sits at the top of the East Coast Conference with a perfect 12-0 record. Molloy is currently fourth in the league with a 5-5 ECC record and is 12-10 overall on the year, while Queens is 4-6 in ECC games and 9-11 overall and is sixth in the conference.

BIG ROAD WINS
The Wildcats went 2-0 in games against St. Thomas Aquinas College and Mercy University this past weekend. On Friday night, the Cats cruised to a 72-53 victory over the Spartans to earn the regular season sweep over STAC for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Led by solid shooting both from the field (43.5%) and beyond the arc (37.9%), the Wildcats outscored STAC in every quarter and never trailed in the game, leading for all 40 minutes. Four of Daemen's five starters tallied double-digit points, and the fifth just one-point shy of double figures, to combine for 66 of the Wildcats' 72 points on the night. Freshman forward Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with a career-high 21 points after shooting 50% both from the field (9-of-18) and beyond the arc (3-of-6) while being one rebound shy of a double-double (9). Sophomore guard Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) tallied a double-double for the first time in her collegiate career, totaling 14 points and 10 rebounds while shooting a team-high 70% (7-of-10) from the field. Junior guard Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) finished with 12 points and doled out eight rebounds and four blocks. Freshman guard Morgan White (New Carlisle, Ind.) posted a career-high 10 points, and graduate student guard Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) totaled nine points all from three pointers and added a season-high nine assists and seven rebounds. In Sunday's 56-40 win over Mercy, the Wildcats outscored Mercy 39 to 19 in the second half while shooting 54.8% from the field in the final two quarters (17-of-31) to win their 12th straight ECC win. Daemen finished the game shooting 43.9% from the field after going 25-of-57 from the field. Four Wildcats finished with double-digit points in the win with Pikett leading the way with her second double-double of the season (15 points, 11 rebounds). DiCintio added 12 points, Buntley finished with 11 points, and junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) finished with 10 points after shooting 71% from the field.

WEEKLY AWARDS
For the first time in her young career, Buntley was named the ECC Rookie of the Week after averaging 16.0 points per game over the weekend, finishing with 32 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block. A starter for the Wildcats since Dec. 15, Buntley has put together a stellar freshman campaign. In her 12 starts, she is averaging 13.6 points per game, seven rebounds per game, while shooting 44% from the field over that span.

POLL POSITION
Daemen improved to fifth in the East Region in the latest Division II College Sports Communicators regional rankings this week. The East Region consists of teams from the ECC, Northeast 10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Wildcats have been ranked in the region throughout the season. Bentley (6 first place votes, 60 points) remains atop the East, followed by Holy Family (53 points), Southern Connecticut State (46) and Saint Anselm (38) in the top four. Dominican (36) and Daemen (36) are tied for fifth in the region. Jefferson (23), New Haven (15), Staten Island (12) and Assumption (9) are the final four teams.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
With four games left to play in the regular season, the Wildcats sit atop the ECC with a perfect 12-0 record in conference games and are two wins away from clinching their sixth consecutive ECC regular season title. Staten Island is second in the league at 10-2 in ECC play. Mercy is third at 7-5, and Molloy rounds out the top four with a 5-5 record. District of Columbia is fifth at 6-6, Queens is seventh (4-6), D'Youville eighth (4-8), St. Thomas Aquinas (2-10) and Roberts Wesleyan (2-10) are tied for last in the league. To win the regular season title, Daemen needs either two wins this weekend, or one win and a Staten Island loss.

School	Games Played	ECC Record
Daemen	12	12-0
Staten Island	12	10-2
Mercy	12	7-5
Molloy	10	5-5
District of Columbia	12	6-6
Queens	10	4-6
D'Youville	12	4-8
St. Thomas Aquinas	12	2-10
Roberts Wesleyan	12	2-10

ALUMNI APPRECIATION
At halftime in Sunday's game against Queens, Daemen will honor some alumni that helped paved the way for the Wildcats over the years in an alumni appreciation celebration. For more information of if you are an alumni interested in attending, please email assistant coach Summer Hemphill, shemphil@daemen.edu.

UP NEXT
Daemen will make the short trek across town to play at D'Youville next Saturday (Feb. 22)

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Molloy comes into the weekend sitting fourth in the league with a 5-5 ECC record through 10 games and is 12-11 overall. Touting the ECC's top scoring offense, the Lions average 64.3 points per game and are led offensively by 5-foot-11 senior forward Samantha Muller with 12.2 ppg and 5-foot-11 junior guard Sophia Yearwood who averages 11.3 ppg and leads the Lions with a 43.5% shooting percentage on the year. 6-foot-2 senior center Danielle Hippner leads the ECC and ranks third in NCAA Division II women's basketball with 2.9 blocks/game and has 67 total blocks (4th most in the country) on the year.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 20-4 all-time against the Lions and have won the last 10 meetings, including topping Molloy 74-65 in the first matchup on Jan. 10.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
The sixth place team in the ECC, Queens comes in with a 4-6 ECC record and 9-11 overall record. Averaging 58.1 ppg, the Knights are led by 5-foot-8 sophomore guard Jalea Abrams who ranks third in the ECC with 16.1 ppg. Fellow sophomore in 6-foot forward Nkiru Awaka leads the Knights defensively with 11.6 rebounds per game and averages 13.0 ppg. Awaka has scored a double-double (points-rebounds) in each of the last seven games and dropped a season-high 30 points and 23 rebounds against Roberts Wesleyan on last Friday.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 12-9 all-time against Queens and has won each of the past 12 match ups, including a 20-point victory over the Knights in the last meeting on Jan. 12.

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

Print Friendly Version