Washington, D.C. - Redshirt junior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) scored 20 points and sophomore Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) registered her team-leading seventh double-double of the season to lead second-seeded Daemen College to a 76-56 victory over third-seeded New York Tech here today in semifinal round action of the 2020 East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championship.
Daemen, which avenged a loss to New York Tech in the semifinals of last year's tournament, improves to 22-5 and advances to face fourth-seeded Molloy College in the tournament championship game. Molloy (22-8) upset top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College, 66-60, in today's other semifinal game. New York Tech, the defending tournament champion, closes out the year with a 20-10 mark.
The championship game will tipoff at noon tomorrow (March 8) at the UDC Sports Complex on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia. The game will be streamed nationwide on ESPN3 as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase.
Daemen will be making its first-ever appearance in the ECC Tournament championship game. The tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the 64-team National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Championship. The Wildcats are looking to make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since becoming eligible for the tournament in 2016.
The NCAA Tournament field will be unveiled Sunday night at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Wildcats entered the weekend ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II East Region poll.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Filbert, a first-team All-ECC selection this year, scored 20 or more points for the third time in the last six games and the sixth overall this season. She played all 40 minutes and also totaled four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
- Titus, a second-team all-conference selection this year, connected on 6-of-16 shots and totaled 16 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals.
- Graduate student Ashli Jeune (Westhampton, N.J.) added 15 points, as she drilled three three-pointers and went 6-of-8 from the free throw line. She also contributed three assists and three steals.
- Senior Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y.) made 3-of-6 three-point attempts and finished with nine points and three assists, while junior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) totaled six points, 14 rebounds and three assists. Heinold is a third-team all-league selection, while White was voted to the first team.
- Reserves Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) and Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) both saw significant playing time. Buchsenschutz, a junior guard, played 17 minutes, hit two big three-pointers and finished with eight points. Maerkl played 18 minutes (two shy of her season high) and totaled two points and four rebounds.
- Junior guard Shalie Frierson went 3-for-5 from downtown for NY Tech and finished with 20 points, three assists and two steals. Sophomore forward Ketsia Athias added 11 points, while junior forward Meg Knollmeyer grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SUMMARY
First Quarter (Daemen 16, NY Tech 13) - Daemen scored the first seven points of the game, but the Bears chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 13-13 after Frierson drained her second three-pointer of the quarter with 2:30 left in the frame. A three-pointer by Heinold with 1:43 left in the quarter closed out the scoring and gave the Wildcats a 16-13 lead.
Second Quarter (Daemen 19, NY Tech 12) - New York Tech managed just three free throws over the first 6:37 of the second quarter, which allowed the Wildcats to build a 26-16 lead. Daemen then went scoreless for nearly four minutes and its lead was down to three points, 26-23, Buchsenschutz stopped the scoring draught by hitting one of two free throws. The Bears turned the ball over on their next possession and Buchsenschutz answered with a corner three-pointer that gave the Wildcats 30-23 lead. NY Tech answered with a bucket by Athias, but the Wildcats gained a double-digit lead after Jeune drained a three-pointer and Titus hit a jumper off a feed from Jeune with less than 10 seconds left in the frame.
Third Quarter (Daemen 24, NY Tech 12) - NY Tech opened the third quarter scoring with a three-pointer by Frierson to cut the Daemen lead to seven points, but Daemen put together a 16-2 run to take control. Titus scored seven points during the run, and her layup with 5:50 left in the frame capped the rally and gave the Wildcats a 51-30 lead. The Wildcats later took a 23-point lead, 57-34, after Heinold drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key, and Daemen took a 59-37 lead into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter (NY Tech 19, Daemen 17) - A three-pointer by Heinold just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the game (62-37), but Daemen did not score again until the 6:53 mark which allowed the Bears to cut the lead to 14 points, 62-48. The Bears cut the lead to 12 points, 64-52, after a layup by sophomore Zoe Amalbert with 4:32 to play, but NY Tech would not score again until the 1:50 mark. By that point Daemen had regained a 17-point lead (69-52) and control of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- After making a season-low three three-pointers in a 47-43 loss at New York Tech last weekend, the Wildcats made 12 of the 32 three-pointers they attempted today. Daemen entered the game averaging a league-high 8.4 three-pointers a game, and it marks the eighth time this season Daemen has made 10 or more three pointers in a game. Daemen shot 41-percent (25-61) from the field overall a d made 14-of-19 free throws.
- New York Tech attempted just eight shots (3-for-8) in the decisive third quarter and finish 16-for-44 (36%) from the field overall. The Bears made 8-of-17 from downtown, but went just 16-of-27 from the charity stripe.
- Daemen posted a 42-32 edge in total rebounds and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds—which led to a commanding 20-3 advantage in second chance points. The Wildcats also held the edge in points off turnovers (23-11) and points in the paint (18-14).
GAME NOTES
- Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2012-13 season—and the 16th time in program history.
- Daemen was making its third-straight appearance in the ECC Tournament. Today's win marked the first-ever ECC Tournament win for the Wildcats. Daemen suffered a 76-64 loss at Roberts Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the 2018 tournament. The Wildcats earned a bye into the semifinals last year, but were upset by New York Tech, 65-44.
- Daemen has now held 22 of its 27 opponents to 65 points or less and the Wildcats are 21-1 in those games.
- Daemen is now 36-7 over its last 43 games dating back to last season.
- Heinold has now made at least one three-pointer in 19-straight games. She has totaled a career-high 69 three-pointers this year and is just one triple shy of becoming the fifth player in program history to make 70 or more three-pointers in a season—and the first since Raeann Stilwell made a school-record 77 in 2013-14. She has totaled 177 three-pointers in 94 career games and ranks third among the program's all-time leaders.
- Filbert has now scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games. She stands 23 points shy of 1,000 for her career and 11 rebounds shy of 400 career caroms.
- White has totaled career-highs for points (324), rebounds (174), assists (44) and steals (29) this season.
- Titus has posted a career-high 343 points and 220 rebounds this season and stands just 17 points shy of 700 for her career.
- Jeune now ranks second among the ECC leaders in free throws attempted (133) and made (91) this season.
NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats go after their first-ever ECC Tournament championship when they take on Molloy College in the title game tomorrow at noon.
Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department.
