AMHERST, N.Y. — The Daemen women's basketball team will open its 2026-27 campaign on Monday, Nov. 9, at Saginaw Valley State. Prior to the start of the season, head coach
Nate Beutel spoke about the newcomers, expectations, and the 2026 squad as a whole.
"We have a great mix with six returning players, five transfers, and seven freshmen that bring a lot of that enthusiasm on a daily basis, and I just love the mixture that we have," Beutel said. The chemistry that we've been able to build in a short amount of time here in the fall is great, and I'm really excited to see them play our brand of basketball, which is tough, together, fast, and exciting," he added.
Daemen enters the season picked #1 in the ECC Preseason Poll. The Wildcats received 79 points and seven first-place votes to top the poll. The Wildcats were also ranked tied for 15th in the WBCA NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Preseason Poll.
Beutel begins his second year at the helm after leading Daemen to a 26-4 record last season, its best in the program's Division II era. The Wildcats won their seventh straight ECC regular season title and hosted the conference tournament. Daemen defeated #5 seed Staten Island 75-61 in the ECC semifinals, then earned a 73-68 win over #2 seed Mercy to claim the program's fifth consecutive and sixth overall ECC Championship.
Earning the #3 seed in the NCAA East Region, the Wildcats beat #6 seed Felician, 75-62, in the regional quarterfinals and #2 seed Bentley, 58-55, in the semifinals. Daemen's season ended with a 78-62 loss to #5 seed Holy Family in the regional finals.
The Wildcats return fifth-year forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) after she missed much of last season with an injury. Lapertosa averaged 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. She shot 48.5% from the field in 14 games played. Senior Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) earned Third Team All-ECC last season after playing in all 30 contests and averaging 9.1 PPG on 47.4% shooting (second-best on the team). She also averaged 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Julia Fontanillo Aparicio (Valladolid, Spain) finished second on the team and tied for 12th in the ECC in assists per game (2.4). The guard was also tied for fourth on the team and tied for 10th in the ECC in steals per game (1.7). Fontanillo averaged 4.2 points per game on 41.8% shooting. Guard Kyleigh Chapman (Canandaigua, N.Y.) played in all 30 games and started 17. She ranked fourth on the squad in rebounds per game (4.7). The junior also averaged 2.2 assists per game and recorded 21 blocks.
Brianna Caliri (Staten Island, N.Y.) averaged 10.3 minutes, 3.5 points, and 3.0 rebounds per game as a freshman last year. Mackenzie Owens (Colden, N.Y.) will be suiting up this season after joining the program midway through last year.
Daemen also welcomed 12 new players to this year's squad, with five freshmen and seven transfers. The new players bring talent from successful high school and junior college careers to playing at the Division I level.
Following the game against Saginaw Valley State, the Wildcats compete at the Redhawks Tip-Off Classic in Rochester, N.Y., hosted by Roberts Wesleyan. It begins against Felician on Nov. 13 in a rematch of last season's NCAA East Region quarterfinal. The following day, the team will play Saint Anselm. Daemen then plays at Gannon (Nov. 18), an exhibition at Division I Binghamton (Nov. 21), and at Shippensburg (Nov. 29). ECC play begins on the road at Mercy (Dec. 3) and Molloy (Dec. 5).
The Wildcats welcome Adelphi for their home opener (Dec. 12), then host AIC (Dec. 16). Daemen travels to Florida for the Lynn Holiday Classic, taking on Palm Beach Atlantic (Dec. 19) and Lynn (Dec. 20). The non-conference portion wraps up at Saint Michael's on New Year's Eve.
Highlighting the remainder of the ECC slate includes home tilts against Molloy (Jan. 14), St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 16), Roberts Wesleyan (Jan. 21), Staten Island (Jan. 30), Queens (Feb. 6), UDC (Feb. 11), D'Youville (Feb. 18), and Mercy (Feb. 20).
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.
