Manchester, N.H. – One game at a time.
Since arriving for the 2022 NCAA East Regionals earlier this week, Daemen women's basketball has had the same approach and mentality as their postseason run has continued. A mentality that has become part of the program's identity over the past couple seasons.
And now, the Wildcats have another game to prepare for: an opportunity to defend their NCAA East Regional title and return to the Elite Eight.
With an electric 34-point effort on 15-of-21 from the floor and a trio of third-quarter three-pointers from senior Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) to spark the Daemen offense, eighth-seeded Daemen defeated fourth-seeded Jefferson, 70-52, in the second semifinal contest held Saturday night at the Stan Spirou Field House on the campus of Southern New Hampshire. This came just one night after Daemen defeated top-seeded Southern New Hampshire, 70-59, in the regional quarterfinals.
The victory continues Daemen's new journey in the 2022 NCAA Tournament when they face No. 7 Pace in the East Regional finals on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Pace advanced after knocking off No. 3 Chestnut Hill, 65-60, in earlier action Saturday. The Wildcats now improve to 22-4 on the season (16-1 ECC regular season) while Jefferson concludes its season with a 22-9 record (11-5 CACC regular season. Saturday night continued Daemen's winning ways this season. In this span, the Wildcats have now seven consecutive contests and 20 of their last 21 contests since early December and are now 21-3 against East Region opponents this season.
Saturday's win also marked the 100th victory for sixth-year head coach Jenepher Banker, who reached the milestone in 154 career games with the Wildcats. Banker, who previously spent five seasons coaching at Penn State Behrend from 1988 to 1993, recorded her milestone 150th win at the collegiate level in Daemen's 76-59 victory at Staten Island on December 17, 2021. Banker is also 9-0 against Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opponents in her Wildcat coaching career.
Despite redshirt senior Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) picking up two fouls within the first minute after her 27-point night against the Penmen less than 24 hours beforehand, the Wildcat offense had another strong start on their weekend stay. A three-pointer from freshman Sydney Hvizdzak (Little Valley, N.Y.) and Titus' first score of the night gave the Wildcats a 6-0 lead with 8:07 left in the first frame. The Rams, however, responded and scored nine unanswered points, off the momentum from top scorer and sophomore forward Haley Meinel to move in front, 9-6, with 6:30 left. Senior forward Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) ended Daemen's scoring drought with a drive to the basket to bring the deficit back within one point. The Rams expanded their lead to six points (14-8) with under four minutes left to cap what was a 14-2 run. Daemen though ended the frame with a 7-2 of their own over the last 2:45 as Hvizdzak drilled her second and final triple of the night and Titus scored twice. Jefferson held onto a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Rams had a 20-17 lead in the early stages of the second quarter before the Wildcats heated up even more. A three-pointer from sophomore Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.) tied the score at 20-20 with 7:32 left. In a flash, the Wildcats went on a 17-4 run with the clock winding down to just over three minutes left in the half as Titus made more shots inside the arc and eventually finished with 20 points at the half. The Rams finally stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer from freshman Sam Yencha and another driving lay-up from Meinel to spark a 7-2 run at the half, with the lone Wildcat basket coming from red-shirt junior Alaina Estrella (Brooklyn, N.Y.) during this stretch. Daemen had a 36-29 lead at halftime.
Then, Daemen's three-point shooting lit up the score-sheet in the third quarter as Titus continued to put on a shooting clinic, recording her three-point conversions on her three shots early in the frame. The last conversion gave Daemen a 50-37 lead with 4:53 remaining in the frame. Right when the Rams were able to respond, sophomore forward Natalie Angeletti (Panama, N.Y.) emerged with a pair of cuts to the basket on consecutive possessions to keep Daemen's double-digit lead. Titus later crossed the 30-point plateau with a jumper inside with under a minute remaining to give Daemen a 56-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Scoring opportunities shifted its focus to the free-throw line as Filbert made six of her overall nine points at the free-throw line down the stretch. Titus also scored her final basket of the night off a pass from Filbert with under five minutes remaining. Junior forward Marina Maerkl (Binghamton, N.Y.) scored Daemen's final bucket with 0:02 remaining as Daemen scored at least 70 points in a contest for the sixth time in their last 11 contests.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Along with recording 34 points in a game-high 39 minutes played, Titus also posted a team-high 14 rebounds for her team-high ninth double-double of the season. Including her 15-point, 12 rebound effort Friday against SNHU, this is now the second time where the 2021-22 ECC Player of the Year has recorded consecutive double-doubles this season (Dec 12-17, 2021.) Titus has now finished in double-figure scoring in 24 of Daemen's 27 contests this season and has now done so 72 times in her career.
- In addition to her nine points, Filbert finished with a team-high five assists in 21 minutes played.
- Angeletti scored four of her six points in the third quarter and recorded 10 rebounds in tonight's victory. Hvizdzak also finished with six points and tied with sophomore forward Kaytlyn Matz (Johnsburg, Ill.) and sophomore guard Alahna Paige for the second-highest assist total with four each.
- Meinel finished as Jefferson's lone scorer in double-figures tonight with 15 points while Yencha added nine points and four rebounds. Morgan Robinson posted a team-high 12 rebounds and scored five points.
- Nine different players overall scored in Daemen's win.
GAME NOTES
- The Wildcats entered the game ranked ninth in the third and final NCAA Division II East Region rankings.
- Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau for the second time in the past three seasons. The Wildcats went 23-5, claimed its first-ever ECC Tournament title and made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2019-20.
- Tonight was the inaugural meeting between Daemen and Jefferson. This was the Rams' fourth straight appearance in the "Big Dance" and their sixth in their last seven seasons. The Rams did not compete in the 2020-21 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Wildcats shot 26-of-54 (48.1%) from the floor. Daemen also finished 7-of-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc against the Rams, knocking down four of them in the third quarter alone.
- Daemen finished with 25 assists on 26 field goals. This was the team's highest assist rate this season since a 25-assist effort in their 86-43 home win versus Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 7, 2021. This is also the 18th time this season where the Wildcats have recorded 15+ assists in a single contest.
- Daemen also finished 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the free-throw line against the Rams.
- Jefferson shot 22-of-69 (31.9%) from the floor and only shot 1-of-15 (6.7%) from three-point land. The Rams also finished 7-of-9 (77.8%) at the free-throw line.
- Daemen out-edged Jefferson in rebounding, 43-36. The Wildcats have now out-rebounded their opponent in 23 of 26 games this season.
- OTHER CATEGORIES Daemen out-edged the Rams in points in the paint (34-32.) However, they were out-gained in second-chance scoring (8-5), points off turnovers (13-11) and points off the bench (17-16.) Both teams also scored 16 points each off the fast-break.
- Daemen has held 58 of its last 70 opponents to 65 points or less and are 53-5 in those games.
- Titus has now totaled 1,485 points, 784 rebounds, 158 blocks and 192 three-pointers in 99 career games. As a result, Titus enters Monday just nine points shy from passing Larissa Smith '97 for seventh all-time in career scoring. Titus also passed Sarah Saba '18 for seventh all-time in career rebounding. Titus also ranks third in career three-point field goals made and is eight away from becoming only the third player in program history to convert 200 in a Daemen career. She is the first player in program history to reach 1,400 points, 750 rebounds, 150 blocks and 150 three-pointers.
- Filbert is now two points away from passing Bridgette Burke '11 for ninth all-time in career scoring. She increased her career totals to 1,402 points, 593 rebounds, 355 assists and 140 steals in 119 career games. Filbert is also currently ninth in career assists. She is just the fourth player in program history with at least 1,300 points, 550 rebounds and 300 assists.
- Daemen is now 73-14 in its last 86 games, a span that dates back to mid-January of 2019.
NEXT JUMP BALL
In the battle of the two lowest seeds, No. 8 Daemen will now face No. 7 Pace in the NCAA DII East Regional finals at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 14 at Stan Spirou Field House. A victory sends the winning team to the Elite Eight held in Birmingham, Alabama from March 22-25. The Wildcats look to represent the East Region in consecutive years after defeating Roberts Wesleyan, 58-40, on their home court of Lumsden Gymnasium last March.
Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department.
