Syracuse, N.Y. – Five players scored in double figures as Southern Connecticut State University held off the Le Moyne College women's basketball team for a 73-67 win in Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.

Junior guard Vandell Andrade (Cranston, R.I./St. Mary's-Bay View/Rhode Island College) led the Dolphins in the setback with a career-best 26 points (19 in the second half) and 10 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, for her fifth double-double of the season. Senior guard Alex Marple (Covington, Pa./Wellsboro) was the team's next highest scorer with nine points, which pushed her over 400 for the season. With 407 after 408 last year, Marple becomes just the fourth player in the program's 39-year history, and the first in 13 years, to record back-to-back seasons with over 400 points.

Sydni Lester led the five Owls in double digits with 14 points, while adding four steals and four rebounds. Mariah Hankton and Maria Weselyj each tallied 13 points, while Hankton posted five assists and five rebounds. Danielle Powell and Jackie Beathea each scored 10 points, while Powell pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds (five offensive) and Beathea registered seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

The teams went back and forth over the opening six minutes of the game, which resulted in a tie at 10, the fourth and final tie of the game. Following a Powell basket to even the game at 10, Lester hit a jumper with 13:08 left to give the Owls the lead, which they would not relinquish over the final 33 minutes of the contest.

After the Dolphins cut their deficit to 16-14 with 10:06 left in the first half, Southern Connecticut State scored 10 straight points and 18 of the next 20 to open up an 18-point lead with 5:35 remaining in the stanza. Weselyj scored the first six points, Hankton added five, Powell and Lester each made shots in the paint and then Taylor McLaughlin buried a three-pointer from the wing.

Following a Southern Connecticut State timeout after McLaughlin's three-pointer, the Dolphins scored five straight points to get back within 13, but the Owls answered back with seven straight of their own to take their biggest lead of the game. In Le Moyne's spurt, senior forward Emily Greer (Corry, Pa./Corry) nailed a three-pointer and then Marple made a jump shot. McLaughlin answered with a three-pointer, Beathea followed with a lay-up and then Lester knocked down a jumper for a 41-21 lead with 2:47 left in the half.

The Dolphins got two free throws from Andrade and a jumper from Marple to get within 41-25 at the intermission.

Southern Connecticut scored the first four points of the second half on baskets by Beathea and Powell to push its lead back to 20 points for the first of three times in the opening 4:21 of the stanza.

Following a Lester jumper with 15:39 left, the Dolphins rattled off 11 of the next 13 points to trim their deficit to 54-43 with 9:47 remaining. Andrade scored the first four points, freshman guard Austin Stevens (Adams Center, N.Y./South Jefferson) scored three and senior forward Tessa Pucello (Syracuse, N.Y./Solvay) added four.

The Owls countered with seven of the next eight points to push their lead back to 17 for the final time. McLaughlin drilled a three-pointer from the left wing, Lester made a lay-up and then Hankton hit a jumper from the foul line.

Le Moyne then mounted a comeback with a 15-2 run, including 10 straight points on the backend to get within four points for the first time since midway through the first half. Marple, who failed to reach double digits for the first time in 12 Saturday contests this season (19.5 average on previous 11 Saturdays), ignited the run with a three-pointer, Andrade followed with a pair of 4-0 runs around a lay-up by junior forward Maggie Brown (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) and then Brown made a jumper from the right side to bring the Dolphins within 63-59 with 1:48 left.

Weselyj ended the run by nailing a three-pointer from the left wing with 1:17 to go.

Nicole Grossbard (3) and Weselyj (4) combined to make seven free throws over the final 40 seconds to hold off the Dolphins, who got baskets from Greer, Marple, Brown and Andrade in the span.

Le Moyne (14-9, 8-8 NE-10), which has dropped four straight games (allowing 78.75 points per game) after winning its previous six contests (allowing 64.17 points per game), hits the road to face the University of New Haven on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.