Geoff Schneider

No. 3 Seed Daemen Opens East Regional Against No. 6 Seed Felician

3/12/2026 2:54:00 PM

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

GOING DANCING!
The #9 (#3 seed) Daemen women's basketball team is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive season, taking on the #6 seed Felician in the East Region Quarterfinals on Friday at 12 p.m. Southern Connecticut State earned the #1 seed, hosting the entire East Region Tournament. The other quarterfinal matchups include #2 seed Bentley vs #7 seed Mercy at 2:30 p.m., #1 SCSU vs #8 Saint Michael's at 5 p.m., and #4 Assumption vs #5 Holy Family at 7:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats won their fifth straight ECC title on Sunday, defeating the #2 seed Mercy, 73-68, in the final. Daemen's defense was pivotal, forcing 24 turnovers that led to 24 points. The Wildcats also capitalized on 11 three-pointers and secured a crucial lead in the final quarter to secure the win. Daemen's strong fourth quarter, where they outscored the Mavericks 18-12, was pivotal in earning the victory. Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y. led the scoring for the Wildcats with 25 points, hitting six three-pointers, recording four steals, and grabbing four rebounds. Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) added 20 points, making three shots from beyond the arc and collecting six steals. Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) finished with 13 points and converted all six of her free-throw attempts while corralling seven rebounds. Julia Fontanillo (Valladolid, Spain) scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds. Kyleigh Chapman (Canandaigua, N.Y.) contributed defensively with two blocks while dishing out a team-high five assists.

ECC TOURNAMENT HONORS
Buntley was named ECC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The sophomore averaged 22.0 points, 4.0 steals, and 4.5 rebounds per game in the Wildcats' two games. Pikett and Auer were named to the All-Tournament Team. Pikett averaged 14.5 points, 2.5 steals, and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Auer posted 12.5 points per game on 53.8% shooting, 7.0 rebounds per game, and 2.0 assists per game.

DAEMEN IN THE NCCA TOURNAMENT
The Wildcats are dancing for the seventh straight year after earning the ECC's automatic bid with the tournament championship victory. Daemen is 8-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and was 2-1 in the tournament last season. The Wildcats were the #2 seed and defeated #7 seed Jefferson (70-48) in the regional quarterfinals before falling to #3 seed Holy Family (68-55) in the semifinals. Daemen won the East Region in 2024, before falling to Texas Woman's in the Elite Eight. Daemen won the program's first-ever East Region title and trip to the Elite Eight in 2021, and made it back to the East Region championship game, where they fell in a two-point heartbreaker to Pace in the 2022 tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the East Regional in 2023 but fell to No. 6 Jefferson in the quarterfinals.

CO-REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS
Daemen claimed a share of the ECC regular season title with Mercy after defeating Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 25. The Wildcats earned the No. 1 seed through tiebreakers. This marks the seventh consecutive season that Daemen has earned at least a share of the title.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Pikett was named East Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Pikett started all 25 games for the Wildcats during the regular season, playing 29.4 minutes per contest. Pikett led the ECC in steals (87) and steals per game (3.5), also sitting ninth nationally in the latter. The forward is fourth in the ECC in blocks (41) and tied for third in blocks per game (1.6). Additionally, Pikett averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, ranking third on the team in all three categories. She recorded five-plus steals in six contests this season, including a career-high eight in the season-opener against Wilmington (DE).

ALL-CONFERENCE WILDCATS
Four Wildcats earned All-ECC recognition. Pikett was joined by Buntley on the first team. Shyla Montgomery (Brockton, Mass.) and Auer landed on the third team. Daemen has produced at least one all-conference selection in each of the previous 10 seasons. Buntley led the Wildcats in scoring (16.9 PPG) on 41.1% shooting, ranking third in the ECC in points per game during the regular season. She started all 25 games, averaging a team-leading 29.6 minutes per contest, while also recording 5.4 rebounds per game, second-best on the team, and 1.7 steals per game. Montgomery started all 22 games she played during the regular season. She led the Wildcats and ranked tied for fourth in the ECC in assists per game (3.0). The senior finished second on the team and second in the ECC in steals per game (2.6), while averaging 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Auer started all 25 of Daemen's games during the regular season, ranking fourth on the squad in minutes per game (28.0). She finished second on the team in field goal percentage (45.9%), averaging 8.8 points per game and tying for fourth on the squad. Auer also averaged 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, ranking tied for 15th in the ECC in the latter.

'CATS JUMP INTO THE TOP 10
Daemen women's basketball moved up to #9 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats are ranked for the 10th consecutive week and the 11th time this season. It is the program's first time in the top ten of the WBCA poll since March 2021, when it was ranked eighth. The team is 2-1 against nationally ranked opponents, with wins over #24 Holy Family (66-61) and #18 Bentley (75-62), and a loss against #5 Gannon (57-50).

IN THE RANKINGS
The Wildcats led the ECC with 72.4 points per game, while holding their opponents to 56.6 points per game, finishing second in the conference. Daemen led the ECC in steals per game (15.67 SPG), ranking fifth nationally. Additionally, Daemen's 4.74 blocks per game are the best in the ECC and rank tied for 13th nationally.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FALCONS (24-7, 15-5 CACC)
Felician is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Golden Falcons defeated Georgian Court in the CACC quarterfinals, Caldwell in the semifinals, and Holy Family in the championship to earn its first confernece title and an automatic bid. Felician is led offensively by First Team All-CACC selection Stephanie Fromby, who is averaging 19.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Ane Valle was named CACC Defensive Player of the Year after posting 2.7 steals per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, 4.9 assists per game, and 16.3 points per game. Noella Biduaya averages 13.0 points per game, 2.0 steals per game, and 4.5 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 5-1 against the Golden Falcons, with the last five of those meetings at the Redhawk Invitational in Rochester, N.Y. The teams' most recent meeting came in November 2024, when Daemen fell 59-55. The Wildcats won 74-57 in 2023, 72-60 in 2022, 72-50 in 2021, and 65-54 in 2016, all in Rochester.

UP NEXT
If Daemen advances, the Wildcats will play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between the #2 seed Bentley and the #7 seed Mercy on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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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