Geoff Schneider

#20 Daemen Welcomes Rival D'Youville to Lumsden Gymnasium Friday Evening

1/22/2026 2:25:00 PM

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

BATTLE FOR BUFFALO
The #20 Daemen women's basketball returns home for its lone game of the week, hosting Buffalo rival D'Youville at 6 p.m. on Friday.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen remained unbeaten in ECC play with road wins over Queens and Molloy last weekend. The Wildcats cruised past Queens 81-43 on Friday. Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) finished with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting and added seven rebounds. Kyleigh Chapman (Canandaigua, N.Y.) logged a double-double, scoring 12 points and collecting 13 rebounds, while recording three steals and two assists. Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) contributed 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals. On Sunday, the Wildcats secured a 73-60 victory over the Lions. After a close three quarters, Daemen outscored Molloy 19-10 in the fourth to pull away and earn the win. Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 22 points and recorded four steals and five rebounds. Pikett tallied 19 points, five steals, and six rebounds. Brianna Caliri (Staten Island, N.Y.) added 11 points and collected nine rebounds.

NATIONALLY-RANKED 'CATS
The Wildcats moved up to 20th nationally in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. Daemen is ranked for the third consecutive week and the fourth time this season, moving up from last week's #23 ranking. Off to a 15-2 start, including an 8-0 ECC record, Daemen most recently picked up two more ECC victories to remain undefeated in conference play and expand its win streak to six games, taking down Queens (81-43) and Molloy (71-60) on the road. The Wildcats have two wins over nationally-ranked opponents this season, defeating #24 Holy Family (66-61) and #18 Bentley (75-62).

ECC WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Pikett and Buntley were both named to the ECC Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. Pikett averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 steals, 2.5 blocks, and 2.5 assists per game, helping the #23 Wildcats earn two road wins over the weekend. Against Queens on Friday, the senior scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds while logging five steals, two blocks, and three assists. On Sunday against Molloy, Pikett posted 15 points and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds. She also recorded seven steals, three blocks, and two assists. Buntley averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game. Against Queens on Friday, Buntley logged a team-high 22 points on 52.9% shooting, while recording five rebounds, four steals, and a block. The sophomore scored nine points and recorded four rebounds, a steal, and an assist on Sunday.

HOT AT HOME
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Daemen has posted an 80-9 record at Lumsden Gymnasium (.899 winning percentage). The Wildcats have won at least 10 home games in each of the last four seasons, and are off to a 6-1 start at home in 2025-26. Daemen's home dominance has been even greater in ECC play as the Wildcats are 57-2 in home conference games over that same span. They'll enter this weekend having won 14 straight home conference games.

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), 11th in rebounding (7.0 RPG), second in blocks (2.0 BPG), seventh in steals (1.9 SPG), and fourth in field goal percentage (48.5%). Pikett is the conference leader in steals (3.5 SPG), and she sits sixth in blocks (1.5 BPG). Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) is second in steals (2.5 SPG), while Joline Raposo (Tampa, Fla.) (1.6 SPG) ranks tied for 13th. Montgomery is also fourth in assists (3.1 APG) while Julia Fontanillo (Valladolid, Spain) sits tied for 12th (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 Caliri 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). This past weekend, Daemen recorded 23 steals against Molloy and 22 against Queens, their second and third most in a game this season, respectively. The Wildcats also recorded five blocks against the Lions. Daemen leads the ECC and sits tied for eighth nationally in blocks per game (5.2 BPG). The Wildcats also lead the conference in steals per game (15.7), ranking fifth nationally.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS (7-9, 4-4 ECC)
D'Youville is coming off back-to-back losses over the weekend, falling 69-65 at Molloy last Friday, then dropping a 57-56 decision at Queens last Sunday. Freshman Molloy O'Toole leads the team in scoring (14.9 PPG) and rebounding (7.5 RPG) and is shooting 40.7% from three. Fellow freshman Alyssa Neumann is averaging 10.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and a team-leading 1.3 assists per game. Aliviya Vallone Russell is the Saints' leader in assists (2.9 APG) while averaging 8.2 PPG. As a team, D'Youville sits second in the ECC behind the Wildcats in field goal percentage (40.9%.)

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 22-2 all-time against the Saints. The teams split the regular season series last season with the Wildcats topping D'Youville 65-59 at home before falling 67-58 on the road. The road defeat was Daemen's only conference loss of the season.

UP NEXT
Daemen is back home for one game next weekend, hosting Western New York foe Roberts Wesleyan at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

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.

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