Claire Pikett high fives teammates on her way back to the bench

Geoff Schneider

Regular Season Finale On The Docket For Women's Basketball

2/28/2025 11:27:00 AM

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

REGULAR SEASON ROUND UP
The 2024-25 East Coast Conference regular season champions Daemen University women's basketball team will host longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan University in the regular season finale on Saturday, March 1 for a 2 PM match up at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats come into the game with an 18-7 overall record and 14-1 record in ECC play while the Redhawks sit at 2-21 on the year and 2-13 in conference games.

LAST WEEKEND
The Wildcats dropped their first conference game of the season in a tough 67-58 loss at crosstown rival D'Youville University last Saturday, snapping Daemen's 10-game win streak. The Wildcats shot just 35% (24-of-68) from the field and just 27% (6-of-22) beyond the arc in the loss. Daemen graduate student Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) led the Wildcats offensively with 22 points on the day while three Saints totaled 15 points in D'Youville's victory. Junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) finished with 11 points after going 4-of-10 from the field and added seven rebounds – three O boards – along with a team-high five assists and one steal. Junior guard Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) each finished with eight points after they both shot 4-of-12 from the field and both added four rebounds. Pikett finished with three blocks and three steals while Auer totaled three steals and two assists.

POSTSEASON TIME
As the six-time defending ECC regular season winners, the Wildcats earned the top seed and will host the 2025 ECC Championship Tournament at Lumsden Gymnasium next weekend, March 8-9. Daemen will host the lowest seed in the first of two semifinals on Saturday, March 8 at 12 PM. The winners of the two semifinal games will advance to the championship game on Sunday, March 9 at 12 PM.

SECOND IN THE EAST
In the second NCAA Division II regional rankings, released on Wednesday, Daemen is ranked second in the East Region behind only Bentley. The East Region consists of the top teams from the East Coast Conference, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Northeast-10 Conference, and the regional rankings are used to determine at-large bids to the East Regional portion of the NCAA Tournament following conference tournaments at the end of the season. The top 10 teams in the East Region are Bentley (26-1), Daemen (18-7), Saint Anselm (16-8), Holy Family (21-5), Southern Connecticut State (18-8), Assumption (15-12), New Haven (16-9), Jefferson (20-6), Dominican (20-7) and Staten Island (19-7). Eight teams advance to the East Region Tournament and will be announced on Sunday, March 9 in a selection show on NCAA.com.

STAT CATS
Daemen leads the ECC in team defense, allowing their opponents to score an average of 55.9 points per game while scoring 60.8 ppg this season. Three Wildcats are averaging double-digit points this season with graduate student guard Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) leading the Cats offensively and ranking ninth in the league with 12.2 ppg. DiCintio is Daemen's top three-point threat, scoring 71 triples on the year while shooting 36.4% beyond the arc (third in the ECC). Junior forward Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) ranks second on the team in scoring with 10.8 ppg and is second on the team in rebounding (6.4 rebounds/game) while leading the Cats with 48 blocks this season (1.9 blocks/game ranks third in the ECC). Freshman forward Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) ranks third on the team with 10.0 ppg while shooting 41.3% from the field (10th in the ECC). Junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) leads the Cats at the boards with 8.4 rebounds per game (fourth in the ECC) and is averaging 9.6 points per game while leading the Wildcats in shooting 43% from the field (eighth in the ECC).

SENIOR NIGHT
Saturday will be the final regular season home game for graduate student Danielle DiCintio. Transferring to Daemen this season after spending her undergraduate years at Roberts Wesleyan, DiCintio made an immediate impact offensively for the Wildcats and leads the team with 12.2 points per game. On top of being a prolific shooter and deep threat for the Wildcats (she's shooting 36.4% beyond the arc this season and leads the league with an average of 2.8 triples per game), DiCintio leads the team in assists (71 total) and ranks seventh in the league with 2.8 assists per game. In her final season of eligibility, DiCintio scored her 1,000th point against Hawaii Pacific in Daemen's road trip to the Hawaiian Islands in December.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will stay at home next weekend as they host the 2025 ECC Tournament.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
In a down year for Roberts Wesleyan, the Redhawks come into their regular season finale on Saturday with a 2-21 overall record and 2-13 record in ECC play. RWU averages just 54 points per game and allows their opponents to score an average of 70 points per game this season. The Redhawks are led offensively by 5-foot-8 graduate student guard Georgia Haverlock who ranks second in the league with 16.5 ppg and is sixth in the league with a 45.1% shooting percentage this season. 6-foot senior forward Grace Dow is Roberts' leading rebounder, averaging 7.5 rebounds/game along with 32 total blocks and 8.8 ppg.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 56-25 all-time against Roberts and have won each of the past nine match ups between the two teams.

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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