James P. McCoy

#23 Women's Basketball Heads Downstate to Play Queens and Molloy

1/15/2026 9:00:00 AM

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

BACK ON THE ROAD
#23 Daemen women's basketball hits the road to take on Queens and Molloy this weekend. The Wildcats hold a 13-2 record, including a 6-0 ECC mark.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen resumed ECC action at home last weekend, earning two victories. Last Friday, the Wildcats secured a 67-54 win over District of Columbia. Daemen capitalized on 21 turnovers by UDC, converting them into 24 points, and dominated the boards with a 47-39 rebounding advantage. Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 17 points and collected nine rebounds, and dished out two assists. Kyleigh Chapman (Canandaigua, N.Y.) recorded 12 rebounds and added five steals while scoring seven points. Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) contributed 12 points, converting five of her 10 field goal attempts. Daemen then defeated Staten Island 78-52 on Sunday. Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) led the team with 22 points, making nine of her 15 field goal attempts and contributing four steals. Buntley scored 17 points and added six rebounds while Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) posted 10 points and recorded three steals.

NATIONALLY-RANKED 'CATS
The Wildcats stayed at #23 in the WBCA poll for the second straight week after jumping back in the polls last week. Off to a 13-2 start, including a 6-0 ECC record, Daemen most recently defeated District of Columbia (67-54) and Staten Island (78-52) to remain undefeated in conference action. It marks the second straight season that the Wildcats have started conference action with six consecutive wins.

PIKETT NAMED CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Pikett was named ECC Co-Player of the Week, announced by the conference on Monday. The senior averaged 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game in Daemen's two wins last weekend. Pikett scored 12 points and logged six rebounds against UDC on Sunday. The forward then logged a team-high 22 points on 60% shooting (9-of-15) against CSI, tying her career high in points. She also recorded five rebounds, four steals, and four assists.

IN THE RANKINGS
Buntley leads the team and ranks third in the ECC in scoring (15.5 PG). Lapertosa is seventh in the conference in scoring (13.7 PPG), 10th in rebounding (7.0 RPG), second in blocks (2.0 BPG), sixth in steals (1.9 SPG), and tied for fourth in field goal percentage (48.5%). Pikett is the conference leader in steals (3.1 SPG), and she sits tied for seventh in blocks (1.5 BPG). Montgomery (2.3 SPG) is third in steals, while Joline Raposo (Tampa, Fla.) (1.9 SPG) ranks tied for ninth. Montgomery is also fourth in assists (3.1 APG) while Julia Fontanillo (Valladolid, Spain) sits tied for ninth (2.6 APG).

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 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. Daemen logged 17 steals and seven blocks at Mercy (Dec. 12) and 16 steals and six blocks against Queens (Dec. 5). The Wildcats logged 14 steals in both of their games this past weekend, also posting four blocks against UDC. Daemen leads the ECC and sits tied for ninth nationally in blocks per game (5.4 BPG). The Wildcats also lead the conference in steals per game (14.73), ranking tied for 11th nationally.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS (4-11, 1-3 ECC)
Queens is coming off a 65-61 loss to Molloy last Saturday and has dropped its last four games. The Knights' lone conference win came over Roberts Wesleyan (59-45) on Dec. 14. Queens is led in scoring by Nkiru Awaka (14.7 PPG), who is averaging a double-double with 11.1 RPG. She also averages 2.1 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game. Daja White is averaging 14.1 PPG and a team-best 3.2 assists per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 14-9 all-time against Queens and has won each of the past 14 matchups, including a 68-62 victory over the Knights earlier this season on Dec. 5.

SCOUTING THE LIONS (4-11, 2-2 ECC)
Molloy defeated the Knights 66-61 last Saturday after falling to Southern New Hampshire, 73-47, on Dec. 31. The Lions' other conference victory came over Roberts Wesleyan (77-58) on Dec. 12. Colleen McCullagh leads the Lions and the ECC in scoring (19.9 PPG) and is also averaging 8.5 RPG. Sophia Yarwood is averaging 12.3 PPG and 2.1 assists per game, while Rosa Rizzitelli has posted 10.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 4.1 APG.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 23-4 all-time against the Lions and have won the last 13 meetings, including one at home earlier this season on Dec. 7 by a score of 78-66. Daemen earned three victories last year. The Wildcats swept the regular season series and then defeated Molloy 62-44 in the ECC Semifinals.

UP NEXT
Daemen is back home for one game next weekend, hosting crosstown rival D'Youville at 6 p.m. on Friday.

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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