Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will travel across town on Thursday evening for an exhibition contest against the Syracuse University Orange inside the JMA Wireless Dome. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The Orange are now under the leadership of former 'Cuse All-American player Felisha Legette-Jack, who is coming off a conference championship winning season as head coach of University at Buffalo's women's basketball team.

Le Moyne is led by second year head coach and former Syracuse University assistant coach Mary Grimes, who coached the Dolphins to a regular season NE10 Championship as well as a trip to the NCAA Championships during her first season in 2021-22.

The Dolphins return six players from last year's team: Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida), Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth), Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent), Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen/Davidson) and Lexi Gruss (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton).

Lusher redshirted her first collegiate year and will be a great addition to the Le Moyne rotation as a redshirt freshman guard in 2022-23.

Baker and Abdul-Aziz both started all 25 games in 2021-22, and were major contributors on a Le Moyne team that accumulated 14 NE10 regular season victories.

Baker held per-game averages of 34.1 minutes, 9.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals.

Abdul-Aziz, Le Moyne's best three-point threat last season, averaged 11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.2 assists per game during the 2021-22 campaign, her first as a Dolphin.

Gruss and Roberts were both key contributors off the bench a season ago, and will both see an increased role this year.

Florvil appeared in eight games during her first collegiate campaign, including a 27-minutes played outing against Ashland University, who finished the 2021-22 season ranked #9 in all of Division II.

The Dolphins added four first-year players and a transfer to their roster in the offseason.

Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus), Michelina Lombardi (Wyanantskill, N.Y./Averill Park) and Tamiya Turner (Howell, N.J./Howell) each arrived on The Heights as freshman this fall, while junior forward Erin Lofaro (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro/UMass Lowell) joins the team from UMass Lowell.

Syracuse's roster will also look much different from a season ago. Four of Legette-Jack's players at Buffalo made the move to Syracuse with her, including 2021-22 All-American Honorable Mention selection Dyaisha Fair.

Fair has averaged over 22.0 points per game in each of her three seasons at UB. As a junior in 2021-22, Fair averaged 23.4 points, 4.4 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Syracuse sophomore guard Georgia Woolley also joined the Orange after an outstanding season at UB.

During her first collegiate campaign in 2021-22, Woolley averaged 14.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Bulls on her way to being named to the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year.

Returning to the Syracuse team is 2021-22 All-ACC Honorable Mention selection Teisha Hyman, who led the Orange in points, rebounds, assists, and steals last season. Hyman averaged 16.2 points per game as a redshirt sophomore in 2021-22.

The Orange also added three graduate transfers to their roster, including former Kentucky forward Olivia Owens.

The Le Moyne College Athletic Department is hosting a sendoff for the team in the Athletic Center lobby before they leave for the Dome. There will be a performance from the Le Moyne College Dance Team, and then a Le Moyne women's basketbal team member will say a few words. The sendoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. All members of the Le Moyne College community are welcome to attend.