Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team won its first Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a 67-45 victory over 12th-ranked Bentley University on Sunday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.

The Dolphins (24-5) win the conference championship for the first time in their 23 years in the conference. With the championship, the Dolphins receive the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. The 64-team field (eight 8-team regionals) will be announced by the NCAA on Sunday at 10:00 p.m. on NCAA.com. In the latest NCAA East Region rankings, released by the NCAA on Wednesday, March 6, the Dolphins were ranked fourth, while the Falcons were second.

Redshirt sophomore Liz Millea (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown), who was named to the NE10 All-Championship Team, led four Dolphins in double figures with 19 points, including 10 in the first half. Senior guard Madison Purcell (Clifton Park, N.Y./Catholic Central), who also earned a spot on the all-championship team, tied her season high with 11 points, eight of which came in the first half, while adding five assists. Junior guard McKayla Roberts (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse), who was named the NE10 Championships Most Outstanding Player, filled the stat sheet with 10 points, a team-best six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while also drawing a game-high seven fouls. With her second three-pointer of the game, she tied Gold Wave Hall of Fame member Kim Black '93 for the most career three-pointers with her 201st. The trifecta also moved her past Shalyn Polinski '03 for eighth on the career scoring chart with her 1222nd point. With her ninth point of the game, Roberts became the fourth player in the program's history to score 500 points in a season. Graduate student forward Corinne Poitevien (Bardonia, N.Y./Paramus Catholic (N.J.)), who appeared in her 112th career game, which ties Maggie Brown '16 for the second-most in the program's history, also scored 10 points, while grabbing five rebounds. With her fourth rebound of the game, she became just the sixth player in the program's history to grab 250 rebounds in a season and her 251 are the most since Stacy Schrader had 304 in 2001-02.

Bentley, which scored 85 total points in its two losses to the Dolphins, while averaging 73.34 points in its 29 other games, had two players score in double digits. Monica Viapiano, an all-championship team selection, led the Falcons with 15 points, including 13 in the first half, and eight rebounds off the bench. Amy McConnell tallied nine of her 11 points in the second half. As a team, the Falcons went 1-of-20 from three-point range. The Falcons entered the game leading the East Region in three-point percentage at .381.

After the teams traded points over the opening five minutes of the game, the Dolphins scored seven straight points to take a 16-8 lead and force a Bentley timeout. Millea hit a jumper and a three-pointer and then junior forward Colleen Corcoran (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) finished off a pass from Roberts with 2:00 left.

Bentley, which won 20 of the first 38 conference championships and six of the last eight, scored six of the last nine points of the quarter to get within 19-14. Viapiano scored all six points around a three-pointer by Roberts.

After Viapiano started the scoring in the second quarter, the Dolphins scored 10 straight points for their first double-digit lead of the game. Freshman forward Jenna Zimmerman (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) and Roberts drilled three-pointers and then Purcell and Poitevien converted shots for a 29-16 lead to force another Bentley timeout with 7:11 remaining.

Following alternating baskets over the next five minutes, the Dolphins scored the last five points of the half to take a 38-23 lead into the intermission. Purcell made a lay-up and then Millea drained a deep three-pointer from the left wing.

After Millea hit two more three-pointers around three lay-ups by Bentley to start the third quarter, the Dolphins recorded eight of the last nine points of the quarter over the final 2:42 to take their first 20-point lead. Three Dolphins combined for five points before Purcell completed the quarter's scoring with a three-pointer for a 52-30 lead.

Following a baseline jumper by freshman forward Emma Brinker (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) to start the scoring in the fourth quarter and give the Dolphins their largest lead of the game at 54-30, the Falcons responded with nine of the next 11 points to get within 17 points. Marissa Fontaine and Viapiano made shots before McConnell scored five straight points, including her team's only three-pointer after 16 straight misses to start the contest.

The Dolphins responded with an 8-2 run to regain a 23-point lead. Zimmerman and Poitevien scored in the paint, Roberts made two free throws, including her 500th point of the season, and then Millea knocked down a jumper with 1:23 left.

The teams traded points the remainder of the quarter to close out the game.