No. 1 Daemen Headed To Sixth Straight ECC Title Game With 62-44 Semifinal Win Over No. 5 Molloy

Recap courtesy of Mary Margaret Johnson, Daemen University Sports Information AMHERST, NY – For the sixth straight season, the top-seeded Daemen University women's basketball team will play in the East Coast Conference Championship final after defeating No. 5 seed Molloy University 62-44 in the ECC Semifinal game on Saturday afternoon. Winners of the past three ECC Tournament titles, the Wildcats will face the second semifinal winner of #2 seed Staten Island and #3 seed Mercy in the championship game on Sunday at noon at Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium. In a game in which the Wildcat defense held the Lions to shooting just 24.2% from the field – a season low shooting percentage for Daemen's opponents – junior forward Cecilia Lapertosa (Whitesboro, N.Y.) broke Katie Titus' 2020 record for single-game rebounds in an ECC Tournament game as she finished with 16 boards. Lapertosa was also one of three Wildcats to tally double-digit points in the win, leading all players with 14 points on the day. IMPACT PLAYERS Tallying her fifth double-double of the season, Lapertosa on both ends of the court, posting 14 points and a season-tying high 16 rebounds. The junior forward shot 40% from the field, going 6-of-15, finished with seven offensive rebounds and nine defensive boards, accounted for five of Daemen's seven blocks and added one assist and one steal to her stellar stat line today. Freshman forward Ne'vaeh Buntley (Rochester, N.Y.) posted her second double-double of the year, totaling 13 points, 14 rebounds – two O boards – two steals and three assists. Buntley earned Third Team All-ECC in her rookie season this year. Sophomore guard Sophie Auer (Lewiston, N.Y.) played 38 of 40 minutes today and scored in the double figures for the 12th game this season, totaling 11 points after going 5-of-11 from the field. She added two rebounds, five assists and one block on the day. Freshman guard Morgan White (New Carlisle, Ind.) came off the bench and totaled all nine of Daemen's bench points, going 4-of-5 from the field while adding two rebounds. Graduate student guard and Second Team All-ECC player Danielle DiCintio (Somers, N.Y.) finished with eight points, a team0high six assists, four steals, five rebounds and one block. First Team All-ECC junior guard Claire Pikett (Holland, N.Y.) totaled seven points after going 3-of-4 from the field, and added four steals, one rebound and one assist. INSIDE THE BOX SCORE The Wildcats opened the game on a tear, scoring eight unanswered points with triples from DiCintio and Pikett and a layup from Auer and remained in control for the rest of the quarter, taking as much as a 12-point lead over the Lions and went into the first break of the game up 19-7. Daemen shot 47% (8-of-17) from the field and 50% (2-of-4) beyond the arc in the first. Off the bench, White led the Cats offensively in the first 10 minutes of play with six points. Through the first five minutes of the second quarter, Daemen went on an 11-2 run to take a 31-9 lead, holding Molloy to single-digit points until 5:16 left in the first half. The Wildcats closed out the second quarter outscoring Molloy 17-10 and took a 36-17 lead into the half. In the first half of play, the Wildcats shot 43% (15-of-35) from the field, 42% (5-of-12) beyond the arc and out-rebounded the Lions 24 to 17 in the first two quarters. Lapertosa accounted for 10 of Daemen's 24 first half rebounds. White led all players with nine points while Lapertosa added eight first half points. With the first bucket of the third quarter, Lapertosa tallied a double-double for the fifth time this season (10 points, 11 rebounds). Continuing the domination in the third quarter, Daemen extended their lead to as much as 23 in the third (42-19) and headed into the final quarter of play with a 48-27 advantage over the Lions. Opening the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run with layups from Auer, Pikett and Buntley, the Wildcats took as much as a 28 point lead up 55-27. Despite a late run by Molloy to finish outscoring the Cats 17-14 in the fourth, Daemen handled the Lions 62-44 to advance to their sixth straight ECC Championship game. GAME NOTES The Wildcats are ranked second in the East Region in the third and final NCAA Regional Rankings, released on Wednesday by the regional advisory committee. The full 64 team bracket for the 2025 NCAA Division II Tournament will be released in the selection show on Sunday at 10:30 PM on NCAA.com. Daemen won their sixth straight ECC regular season title this season after going 15-1 in ECC play. The Wildcats are 11-1 at home this season. Perfect at home this season with the exception of the 74-77 loss to RV Indiana (Pa.) on Jan. 3, the Wildcats are even more impressive on home court in the postseason and have not dropped a postseason game at Lumsden since falling to Roberts Wesleyan 59-53 in the 2021 ECC Championship. Daemen owns a 10-1 record in postseason play at home since the 2020-21 season. The Wildcats are 22-4 all-time against the Lions and have won the last 12 meetings, sweeping the Lions in both regular season match ups this year and winning today's match up.  Daemen is also 14-0 all-time against the Lions at Lumsden Gymnasium. Three Wildcats earned All-Conference honors ahead of this weekend's tournament. Claire Pikett was named to the ECC First Team, Danielle DiCintio earned Second Team All-ECC, and Ne'vaeh Buntley was named to the ECC Third Team. Head coach Jenepher Banker also was named the ECC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career at the helm. 
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