Geoff Schneider

Daemen Squares Off Against Roberts Wesleyan at Home Saturday

1/30/2026 10:56:00 AM

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

WESTERN NEW YORK BOUT
The #16 Daemen women's basketball team hosts Western New York foe Roberts Wesleyan at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats currently hold a 16-2 record, including a 9-0 ECC mark, as they look to remain undefeated in conference play.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen defeated crosstown rival D'Youville 63-45 at Lumsden Gymnasium last Friday, forcing 26 turnovers and scoring 20 points off of those opportunities. The Wildcats maintained control throughout the game, never relinquishing the lead, and secured the win with a strong defensive effort. Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) led the team with 26 points, on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, and added five steals and two blocks. Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) contributed 15 points and collected seven rebounds. Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) posted a team-leading four assists and recorded two steals while scoring four points. Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) finished with 11 points while shooting 5-for-7 from the field. She also logged five assists and three rebounds.

NATIONALLY-RANKED 'CATS
The Wildcats climbed to #16 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats are ranked for the fourth consecutive week and for the fifth time this season, moving up from last week's #20 ranking. It is the program's second-highest ranking since April 2024, when they were tabbed #12. Daemen currently holds a 16-2 record, including a 9-0 ECC mark. It marks the second straight season that the Wildcats have started conference action 9-0. Daemen has posted two wins over nationally-ranked opponents this season, defeating #24 Holy Family (66-61) and #18 Bentley (75-62).

PIKETT NAMED ECC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Pikett was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday. She posted a career-high 26 points on 59% shooting (10-of-17) and 67% from beyond the arc (6-of-9), helping Daemen defeat rival D'Youville. Defensively, the senior recorded five steals, two blocks, and one rebound. This is the fourth time this season that Pikett has earned a weekly honor from the league, and the second in three weeks, after being named Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 12.

HOT AT HOME
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Daemen has posted an 81-9 record at Lumsden Gymnasium (.900 winning percentage). The Wildcats have won at least 10 home games in each of the last four seasons and are off to a 7-1 start at home in 2025-26. Daemen's home dominance has been even greater in ECC play as the Wildcats are 58-2 in home conference games over that same span. They'll enter this weekend having won 15 straight home conference games.

IN THE RANKINGS
Buntley leads the team and ranks third in the ECC in scoring (15.4 PPG). Lapertosa is eighth in the conference in scoring (13.7 PPG), 10th 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 (3.6 SPG), and she sits tied for sixth in blocks (1.5 BPG). Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) is second in steals (2.5 SPG), while Buntley and Joline Raposo (Tampa, Fla.) (1.6 SPG) are tied for 12th. Montgomery is also tied for fourth in assists (3.1 APG) while Julia Fontanillo (Valladolid, Spain) sits tied for 14th (2.5 APG).

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Daemen leads the ECC and sits tied for ninth nationally in blocks per game (5.0 BPG). The Wildcats also lead the conference in steals per game (15.4), ranking fifth nationally. Daemen has logged double-digit steals in all but one game this season. 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. Brianna Caliri (Staten Island, N.Y.) 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). Daemen recorded 23 steals at Molloy (Jan. 18) and 22 at Queens (Jan. 16), its second and third most in a game this season, respectively. The Wildcats also recorded five blocks against the Lions.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS (4-11, 1-6 ECC)
Roberts is coming off a 53-39 loss at D'Youville on Wednesday. Last Saturday, the Redhawks earned their first ECC win of the season, defeating Staten Island, 75-74. Jada Mushat leads the team in scoring (12.3 PPG) while Aniyah Jones is averaging 12.0 PPG and is tied with Erin Frazier for the Redhawks' lead in steals (2.0 SPG). Frazier is also averaging a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game, while dishing out 2.3 assists per game.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 57-25 all-time against Roberts and have won the last 10 meetings between the two teams. Last season, Daemen defeated the Redhawks 70-46 on the road and 80-51 at home.

UP NEXT
Daemen is back on the road next weekend, traveling to District of Columbia on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. contest, then heading to Staten Island for a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.

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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