Syracuse, N.Y. — Freshman guard Liz Millea (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown) and junior forward Nicole Riddick (Albany, N.Y./Colonie/UMass Lowell) scored nine points apiece but three Owls reached double-digits as Southern Connecticut State University downed the Le Moyne College women's basketball team 55-46 in Saturday's game at Ted Grant Court..
 
Le Moyne drops to 13-12 on the season, 9-10 against Northeat-10 opponents. The 'Phins will stay in third place no matter the outcome of the remaining game. Southern Connecticut bumps up its season record to 11-15, 7-12 in conference play and clinched a spot in the NE10 Championships.
 
Le Moyne was the first to put points on the board with a layup by Riddick, but Southern Connecticut would go on a 10-0 run following the basket. The Owls went up by eight at the 4:28 mark. But, there would be no greater margin between the two teams until nearly 35 minutes later.
 
The teams were tied up at 19 each at the start of the second half. The lead would teeter back and forth between the two teams until there were just under six minutes to go in the game. After junior forward Joanna Dobrovosky (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) put the Dolphins in front, 40-37, the Owls scored eight straight points to take the lead for good. Southern Connecticut took its greatest lead of the game, ten points, with 27 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Murphy Murad. Junior guard Ellie Leszyk (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) was able to squeeze in a basket during the remaining time, but the score was finalized 22 seconds later, 55-46.
 
The Owl defense kept freshman guard McKayla Roberts (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse), the team's leading scorer, to just two points. She did, however, tally up a team-leading four assists, the first of which broke the program's single-season record. Regan Burns '02 registered the previous high of 131 during the 2000-01 campaign. Both Riddick and Leszyk snatched ten rebounds. That total was Leszyk's career-high, eclipsing her previous best of nine set on Wednesday at Adelphi.
 
The Dolphins bested their opponent in shot percentage as Le Moyne ended the game with a 33.3 percentage, while the Owls shot 30.6 percent from the field. However, Southern Connecticut was 8-28 (28.6 percent) from three-point range and the Phin's were just 3-14 (21.4 percent) from that distance.
 
On her Senior Day, guard Ailayia Demand (Watervliet, N.Y./Watervliet) tallied up five points, three rebounds, and was 2-9 from the field. In her senior season, she is averaging a career-best 8.6 points per game with a career-high 37.3 shot percentage.
 
Southern Connecticut's Taylor McLaughlin recorded a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, with all of her points coming in the second half. Murad led the team with 13 points, while Maria Weselyj added 12 points.
 
Le Moyne will conclude its regular season Tuesday at Ted Grant Court, facing off against the University of New Haven at 5 p.m.