Box Score | Daemen Press Conference 

AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University women’s basketball team captured its fifth straight East Coast Conference (ECC) title on Sunday afternoon, fending off a talented Mercy University squad by a score of 73-68 in the ECC title game.

The Wildcats will advance to the NCAA tournament via the conference automatic bid, while Mercy will await Sunday night’s selection show to see if the Mavericks receive an at-large bid.

Claire Pikett led all scorers with 25 points, paced by 6-for-8 shooting from the three-point line. The Wildcats as a team were 11-for-20 from behind the arc (55 percent) in the contest.

Ne’vaeh Buntley was named as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, as she had 20 points and six steals in the win on Sunday. Sophie Auer had 13 points for the Wildcats. Pikett and Auer were named to the All-Tournament Team.

For Mercy (22-7), Grace Lesko had 24 points while Amani Abuhatab had 16. Angelina Barrera added ten points. Lesko and Abuhatab were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts.

In a game of runs, the Wildcats (25-3) closed the game on a 5-0 run to break open a 68-all stalemate with 1:44 to go. Auer had a three-pointer with 1:19 left, which turned out to be the game-winner, while Buntley and Shyla Montgomery made foul shots to seal the win.

Daemen took an early 7-2 lead in the first quarter with 7:48 left as Buntley made a layup. Mercy came back quickly, with Lesko hitting a three-pointer 19 seconds later to cut the deficit to two at 7-5.

The Wildcats responded with a 5-0 run to take their largest lead to date at 12-5 with 6:14 left on a three-pointer by Pikett. The lead grew to double digits at 19-9 with 2:53 left in the quarter on a layup by Julia Fontanillo.

Leading 19-14 at the end of the first, Daemen went up ten at 33-23 before Mercy started to make a charge. The Mavericks closed the half on a 14-3 run over the final four minutes of the second stanza. A layup by Barrera tied the score at 35-all, with a jumper by Abuhatab at 44 seconds giving the Mavericks their first lead at 37-36.

In the third, Mercy took its biggest lead to date at 46-41 as Morgan Miller sank a three-pointer with 6:28 left before the Wildcats were able to rally and tie the score at 50-all on a layup by Fontanillo with 3:11 left in the third.

Trailing by one at the end of the third, Daemen got a three-pointer from Pikett at the 8:03 mark of the fourth to retake the lead at 58-56.

Joining Lesko, Abuhatab, Auer, and Pikett on the All-Tournament team were Rosa Rizzitelli from Molloy and Kyra Rose from Staten Island.