Amherst, N.Y. - The ride continues for the Daemen College women's basketball team. After winning their first-ever NCAA Tournament game two nights ago, the Wildcats claimed their first-ever NCAA Tournament regional championship following a 58-40 victory over long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus. Daemen was seeded second in the six-team NCAA East Regional and served as regional host. Roberts Wesleyan was seeded fifth.
Daemen is the NCAA East Region champion and is one of eight regional champions that will advance to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight, which will take place at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center from March 23-26. The eight regional champions will be seeded by the NCAA and Daemen's national quarterfinal opponent will be announced at a later date.
The Wildcats, who had their NCAA Tournament debut canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last March, improved to 14-2 with the win. Roberts Wesleyan saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end and closes out the year with a 12-7 record. The Redhawks were making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Daemen entered tonight's game ranked in both Division II national polls—a first for the Wildcats during their NCAA Division II era (2015—present). The Wildcats sit at No. 16 in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) media poll and also come in at No. 15 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II top 25 coaches poll.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Regional Most Outstanding Player Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) drilled four three-pointers in the first half and finished 5-of-8 from downtown overall. She totaled a game-high 22 points and also registered seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. She has now scored in double figures in eight straight games. The junior forward contributed 17 points and seven boards in Daemen's semifinal round win over third-seeded Georgian Court University.
- Senior Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) was named to the all-tournament team. She played 35 minutes and totaled 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. The East Coast Conference Player of the Year, she entered the game just one point shy of becoming the 26th member of Daemen's 1,000-Point Club. She has now totaled 1,012 points and 580 rebounds in 97 career games.
- Junior forward Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) also played 35 minutes and finished with eight points and three rebounds.
- Senior guard Autumn Buchsenschutz (Port Allegany, Pa.) returned to action after missing the last three games. She played 29 minutes and totaled a team-high five assists.
- Freshmen Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) and Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) both saw considerable playing time. Angeletti played a season-high 31 minutes and contributed five points and six rebounds. Paige played 24 minutes and totaled six points, three rebounds, and two steals.
- Senior guard Paige McCormick and junior center Dimitra Gkizani were named to the all-tournament team from Roberts Wesleyan. McCormick made three three-pointers and scored 17 points for the Redhawks tonight. Gkizani, who totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds in a semifinal round win over top-seeded Dominican College, managed just five points and five rebounds tonight. Junior Taryn Wilson, who was named Most Outstanding Player after leading RWC to a win over Daemen in the ECC Tournament title game last week, went just 1-of-10 from the field overall and 0-for-5 from three-point land tonight.
- Freshman Anyssa Fields of Georgian Court was also named to the all-tournament team.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SUMMARY
First Quarter (Daemen 9, Roberts Wesleyan 4) - Both teams scored on their first possession, but after that point were to come by at both ends of the court. Daemen took a 7-4 lead after Titus hit her first three-pointer of the game with 5:47 left in the quarter, and the hosts made it 9-4 following a bucket by redshirt freshman Alina Estrella (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 4:11 left in the frame. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter, as the teams combined to go 0-for-8 from the field and commit 10 turnovers.
Second Quarter (Daemen 15, Roberts Wesleyan 12) - Roberts Wesleyan scored the first five points of the second quarter to tie the game at 9-9, but Daemen regained the lead following a triple by Titus and the hosts later took a 20-14 lead after Titus drilled her fourth three-pointer of the half. The Wildcats eventually took a double-digit lead, 24-14, following a jumper by sophomore Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) with just over a minute left before halftime. A buzzer-beating putback by freshman Toni Neely-Primus snapped a six-minute scoreless stretch for the Redhawks and made the score 24-16 at the break.
Third Quarter (Daemen 17, Roberts Wesleyan 7) - Daemen regained a double-digit lead after Ivy scored early in the second half and the Wildcats later took a 29-16 lead following a putback by White at the 7:54 mark. The Daemen lead was 11 points when Titus intercepted a pass in the RWC zone, went the distance for the layup, and was fouled. She converted the conventional three-point play for a 34-20 lead with 4:54 left in the quarter. The Daemen lead was 38-23 with 10 seconds left when Titus swished a three-pointer from the top of the key to close out the scoring in the frame.
Fourth Quarter (Daemen 17, Roberts Wesleyan 17) - Daemen took an 18-point lead into the final quarter and the lead grew to 22 points after Angeletti made a corner three-pointer with 7:40 left. Roberts Wesleyan scored the next five points to cut the lead to 17 points with just over five minutes left, but the Redhawks went scoreless over the next four minutes and Daemen scored six unanswered points during that stretch to secure the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Daemen shot 50-percent (6-of-12) during the second quarter and finished 22-of-54 (41%) from the field overall. The Wildcats made 6-of-22 from downtown and connected on 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
- Roberts Wesleyan made just 6-of-28 shots (21%) in the first half and finished just 14-of-56 (25%) from the field overall. The visitors made 4-of-25 from long range and went 8-for-11 from the free throw line.
- Daemen finished with a 46-28 edge in total rebounds. Daemen also finished with an edge in points off turnovers (17-11) and points in the paint (26-10). The Redhawks owned a 13-12 advantage in second-chance points.
- Tonight's game marked the fifth meeting between the two rivals this season. Daemen swept the three regular season meetings, before the Redhawks prevailed, 59-53, in the ECC Tournament championship game last week. Daemen has prevailed in eight of the last nine meetings between the two rivals and owns a 48-25 edge in the all-time series.
GAME NOTES
- Women's basketball becomes the first program from Daemen to win an NCAA Tournament regional championship since the Wildcats first became eligible in 2015. Women's volleyball advanced to the regional finals in 2016, but dropped a 3-2 decision to American International College.
- Daemen becomes just the fourth women's basketball team from the East Coast Conference to win an NCAA Regional title, joining Saint Rose (2000), Dowling (2013), and Queens (2017).
- Daemen has won 29 of its last 33 games dating back to last season, and 51 of its last 60 games dating back to the 2018-19 season. The Wildcats are coming off an impressive 2019-20 campaign when they finished 23-5 overall, claimed their first-ever ECC tournament title, and earned their first-ever selection to the NCAA Division II Championship.
- Daemen was without the services of redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) for the eighth-straight game. The ECC Preseason Player of the Year and first-team All-ECC selection, she is averaging 13.3 points per game this season and ranks 20th among Daemen's all-time leading scorers with 1,096 points in 93 career games.
- Titus has now registered at least one block in 15-straight games. She has totaled a league-high 39 blocks this season and has become the 11th player in program history to record 100 career rejections. She ranks ninth in career blocks at Daemen with 126.
- Daemen has held 14 of its 16 opponents to less than 40-percent shooting from the field and has forced 15 or more turnovers in 13 of its 16 games. The Wildcats forced 20 turnovers tonight.
- Roberts Wesleyan was averaging 73.5 points per game during its nine-game winning streak.
- The Wildcats held the Redhawks to less than 50 points in each of Daemen's four wins over RWC this season.
- Daemen has held 38 of its last 44 opponents to 65 points or fewer, posting a 35-3 record in those contests.
NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen's next game will a week from tomorrow (March 23) when it takes on an opponent to be announced during the first round of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight. All Elite Eight games will take place at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center.
Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department
