Syracuse, N.Y. – Graduate student guard Kayla Stroman (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/Niagara) hit go-ahead bank shot with 1:10 left as the Le Moyne College women's basketball team rallied past Saint Anselm College, 58-53, on Friday evening in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships at Ted Grant Court.

The Dolphins (15-12) will now visit the nation's top team and the Northeast Division's top seed, Bentley University (26-0), on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. In the teams' lone meeting this season, the Falcons used a 14-2 run to close out the first half en route to topping the Dolphins, 79-56, on January 8. In the only other Northeast-10 Championships match-up between the programs, the sixth-seeded Dolphins upset the third-seeded Falcons, 65-59, in Waltham on February 26, 2002. Le Moyne's 15 wins this season tie the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons for the most since that 2001-02 team won 20 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Tonight's victory was the ninth of the season for the Dolphins at Grant Court, which is the most since the 2001-02 team won 11 home contests. Tonight also marked the first Northeast-10 Conference Championships victory since a 53-39 home win over Southern New Hampshire on March 2, 2008.

Junior guard Alex Marple (Covington, Pa./Wellsboro), who on Thursday became just the second Le Moyne guard to earn All-Northeast-10 Conference honors, led the Dolphins offensively with 21 points, 14 of which she scored in the second half, while adding three assists and three offensive rebounds. Marple's 21 points increase her season total to 399, the 11th-most in the program's history and the most by a Dolphin since the 2005-06 season. Her seven second-half free throws push her season total to 124, the fourth-most by a Dolphin and the most since the 1993-94 season. Junior forward Emily Greer (Corry, Pa./Corry) registered 19 points, 10 in the first half, and pulled down seven rebounds. With her three three-pointers, Greer upped her season total to 38, the 15th-most in the program's history.. Stroman finished with 10 points and five assists, while junior forward Bath-Sheba McMahon (Queens, N.Y./Grambling Laboratory (La.)/Weatherford College) tied Greer for the most rebounds on the team with seven, five of which she pulled down in the second half.

Kierra Moore led the Hawks with 12 points, all from behind the three-point line. Candace Andrews, who was named the Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year yesterday, came off the bench to score 11 points in her first action since February 15, while Allie Jones tallied 10 points and seven rebounds. Tori Lehr, selected to the NE-10 Second Team after averaging 15.1 points and 10.2 rebounds, was limited to nine points and nine rebounds.

After Moore nailed a three-pointer from the left wing with 7:23 left to give the Hawks a 46-36 lead and force a Le Moyne timeout, the Dolphins mounted their comeback. Out of the timeout, Greer converted a lay-up and then drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc after a steal by senior guard Maddy McKnight (Springfield, Pa./Springfield). Following a jumper by Lehr, Marple hit a pull-up 10-foot jumper from the right side to get the Dolphins within 48-43 with 4:45 left. Marple cut the margin to two on Le Moyne's next possession by burying a three-pointer from the left wing with 3:58 left to force a Saint Anselm timeout.

Allie Jones was able to make a lay-up out of the timeout to push her team's lead back to four, but the Dolphins answered with the game's next 10 points to take the lead. Marple cut the deficit to two by converting a pair of free throws with 2:55 remaining. After a missed three-pointer by the Hawks, Marple drew another foul with 2:06 left and knocked both attempts to knot the score at 50-apiece.

Following another missed three-pointer by Saint Anselm, McMahon grabbed her second of three straight defensive rebounds. After the Dolphins called timeout with 1:29 left, Stroman beat the shot clock by banking in a foul-line jumper to give the Dolphins their first lead of the game. Following a Saint Anselm turnover and timeout with 57 seconds left, Marple flipped a lay-up in to put Le Moyne up 54-50 with 31 seconds left.

After McMahon converted a pair of free throws with 20.6 seconds left after grabbing her third straight rebounds, Andrews kept the Hawks alive by drilling a three-pointer from the right wing with 9.1 seconds left. However, the Dolphins got the ball in bounds to Stroman, who drew a foul with 7.4 seconds to go and made both foul shots to deliver the final score.

As it did back on January 22, Saint Anselm opened the game with the first six points on a pair of jumpers by Allie Jones and a jumper by Lehr.

After being held scoreless for the first 3:35, the Dolphins got on the scoreboard with a top-of-the-arc three-pointer by Greer that started a six and one-half minute stretch of back-and-forth action, which resulted in an 18-16 Saint Anselm lead after a Stroman three-pointer from the right side. Stroman had six points and Marple added five in the span, while Andrews had four and Briana Jones and Moore each hit three-pointers for the Hawks.

The Hawks answered Stroman's second three-pointer with 10 straight points to take their largest lead of the game. Moore nailed a three-pointer, Meg Morrissey made a lay-up, Allie Jones converted a lay-up and then Briana Jones buried a three-pointer with 5:57 left.

Le Moyne used an 11-1 run to close out the first half and pull within 29-27 at the intermission. Greer ignited the run with a lay-up and a three-pointer. After a free throw by Briana Jones, sophomore forward Maggie Brown">Maggie Brown (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) made a jumper, Marple converted a lay-up from the right side and then Brown made a fast-break lay-up with 35 seconds left for the half's final points.

Marple opened the scoring in the second half with two free throws to knot the score at 29, but Saint Anselm rattled off nine straight points (from four players) to regain control of the game with 15:07 remaining.

The teams then traded points over the ensuing 6:37, which resulted in a 43-36 Saint Anselm lead. Greer had four of Le Moyne's seven points in the span, while Lehr had three of Saint Anselm's five points. Two free throws by Greer were the predecessor to Moore's three-pointer that gave the Hawks their 46-36 lead.