GAMEDAY: WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FACES DAEMEN IN ECC CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS

3/4/2023 8:00:00 AM

Amherst, NY - The College of Staten Island Women's Basketball Team will play for the opportunity to advance to the ECC Championship today when they take on #1 seed Daemen University at 12:00 PM. The #5 seed Dolphins lost both games they played against the Wildcats during the regular season, but they come in off what was arguably their best performance of the season against UDC on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats have been idle for since last Saturday when they defeated D'Youville University in their regular season finale.

The Dolphins have never beaten the Wildcats in four meetings and lost the two matchups in the regular season by a combined 44 points. In the first meeting, the Dolphins struggled from the field shooting below 30% from the floor. On the other side, Daemen shot over 47% from the field and picked up the win 64-45. The Wildcats were even more efficient in the second meeting shooting 53% from the floor and 44% from beyond the arc. Three Dolphins scored in double-figures in that game, but once again the team failed to shoot efficiently in a 79-54 loss.

Despite their offensive struggles against Daemen this season, the Dolphins appear to have put the scoring issues behind them in their last three games. Since the second half of their game against Chestnut Hill last Tuesday, CSI has been playing some of their best basketball of the season culminating with their win over the Firebirds three nights ago. Jenalyse Alarcon led the way in that game with 34 points and 10 rebounds, but four other Dolphins scored in double-figures. Gia Esposito continued her success against UDC, Kaia Johnson registered another CSI double-double, and both Elizabeth Lofaro and Ashley Lambert hit big threes for he Dolphins in the second half of Wednesday's victory. Paige Emborsky comes in Daemen's leading scorer and is shooting an incredible 62% on 95 attempts from three-point range this season. Against CSI this season, she averaged 12.5 points and 3 made threes per game for a Wildcats team that connects on nearly seven threes per game. As much as the CSI offense was responsible for propelling them past the Firebirds, the defense has been equally strong in the team's last three games. The Dolphins will be looking for a similar defensive effort to earn the first ECC Championship berth in program history.

Gametime - 12:00 PM
Location - Amherst, NY
All-Time Series - Daemen leads, 4-0
Last Meeting - 2/3/23: Daemen won, 79-54

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