Rochester, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team set a program record with 18 made three-point field goals against the Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks on Wednesday night inside the Voller Athletic Center in Rochester during an 85-63 non-conference victory for the Dolphins.

The Dolphins shot 6-10 from three-point land during the first period and never cooled off. Le Moyne finished the game 18-32 from deep.

The Redhawks also recorded their best three-point shooting game of the season so far, converting on 12 of their 27 attempts from beyond the arc.

Five different Le Moyne players made at least two three-point field goals against Roberts Wesleyan: Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) went 2-4, Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) shot 3-6. Lexi Gruss (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) went 4-9, Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) shot a perfect 4-4 from deep, and Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen/Davidson) went 5-8 from three-point range on her way to a game-high 17 points.

Lusher drained three of her three-pointers during the first quarter and finished the contest with 16 points (on 6-6 shooting from the field), five assists, zero turnovers, and a steal in 28 minutes of action.

For the ninth consecutive game to begin the 2022-23 campaign senior guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) pulled down double-digit rebounds, tallying eight points, a team-high 11 rebounds (including five offensive boards), and a team-best six assists.

Gruss established career-highs in points and made three-point field goals with 14 points and four triples.

For the third time in the last four games Linnin scored in double figures with 11 points on 50% shooting from the field and 50% from three-point land against RWU.

Goode was the fifth Dolphin to score in double figures with 10 points to go along with four assists and two steals.

Roberts Wesleyan point guard Danielle DiCintio led the Redhawks in scoring with 15 points on 5-9 from three-point range to go along with a game-high eight assists. First-year forward Grace Galgano and junior guard Georgia Haverlock both also scored in double figures for Roberts with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Haverlock also pulled down seven boards and dished out four assists.

"I think we were really patient from the start," said Le Moyne head coach Mary Grimes following the win. "I want to get out and run, but for us we just need to be a little more patient at the start. Just feel out the game... We got scorers on our team. It was cool to see (our team set the program record for made threes) and I can't believe it is a program record because Liz Millea and McKayla Roberts [were tremendous shooters]," Grimes added.


The Dolphins connected on four of their first five three-point field goal attempts of the contest to establish a 12-2 lead with 6:45 left in the first quarter.

With 5:43 left in the opening frame, Goode caught the ball near the left corner, gave her defender a pump fake and drove the ball towards the baseline. Roberts Wesleyan junior forward Emily Palmer stepped in front of Goode to stop her drive, which left Abdul-Aziz open near the left elbow. Goode delivered an underhand pass between her defender and Palmer into the hands of Abdul-Aziz, who took a step back as she caught the pass and let go of a smooth midrange jumper that swished through the net to give the 'Phins a 14-4 advantage.

Back-to-back threes from Lusher and Abdul-Aziz at the 4:51 and 4:17 marks of the first quarter put the Dolphins up 20-4.
The Redhawks scored the final two baskets of the quarter to trim their deficit to 20-8 after 10 minutes of play.

The Redhawks swung back in the second quarter by converting on their first five three-point field goal attempts of the period to make it 25-23 in favor of the Dolphins with 6:50 left in the first half.

Abdul-Aziz, who knocked down three of her five three-point field goals during the second quarter, hit a timely triple at the 6:13 mark of the second quarter, and then another with 4:56 left in the period to extend Le Moyne's lead to 31-23.

A Baker layup at the 3:45 mark and a Gruss jumper at the 3:22 mark made it 35-23 in favor of the Dolphins.

The Redhawks scored two consecutive baskets to cut their deficit to 35-27 with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, giving the Dolphins the final possession of the first half. Goode dribbled at the top of the key then drove to her left. DiCintio cut off her drive just above the left block, but Goode quickly spun towards the paint and drew a help defender just outside the restricted area arc. As three defenders watched Goode, she threw an underhand pass into the arms of Haedyn Roberts, who took a step towards the right block and finished a contested layup at the buzzer to give the 'Phins a 10-point lead at halftime.

During the first possession of the second half, Le Moyne used 25 seconds of the shot clock and got Linnin the ball on the left wing. Her defender closed out hard, so Linnin drove to her right, spun back to her left when she reached the left elbow, and drove towards the left block where she was met by a help defender.

With two RWU defenders energetically contesting her running left-handed layup, Linnin somehow got the shot off and banked it in off the glass to put the 'Phins up 39-27.

While the Redhawks shot an excellent 4-5 from three-point range during the third quarter, the 'Phins had their best shooting quarter of the game, going 12-18 from the field – including 6-7 from behind the three-point line – to open up a 21-point lead going into the final quarter.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter with the Dolphins leading 39-30, Lusher stood in triple-threat position on the right wing, awaiting a screen from Haedyn Roberts to her left.

Lusher used the screen, dribbled towards the middle of the floor and saw that Roberts' defender was not coming out to hedge. Lusher took a little step back and drained the 18-foot jumper from straight on to make it an 11-point game.

During the subsequent RWU possession, Lusher deflected a pass on the perimeter and tracked down the ball in front of the Le Moyne bench.

Lusher turned and threw an ambitious pass to Baker, who was sprinting down the center of the court, between four RWU defenders. Like a great quarterback trusting her sure-handed receiver, Lusher just let the pass fly and Baker made the catch in traffic, then took a dribble under the basket and finished a difficult layup with 8:15 left in the third quarter to give Le Moyne a 43-30 advantage.

A three from Haverlock with 6:52 left in the penultimate frame made it an eight-point game, then Linnin answered at the other end for the 'Phins. Lusher threw Linnin a pass on the left wing, then Haedyn Roberts came up from the left block to set an inside screen for Linnin. Linnin dribbled to her right, and Roberts' screen created a sliver of space for the first-year sharpshooter. Linnin picked up her dribble and with a quick left-handed release sent the ball flying on a beautifully-arced trajectory towards the goal. The ball left the camera frame on Roberts Wesleyan's live stream before ripping through the net to extend Le Moyne's lead back out to 11 points.

During the next Le Moyne possession, Abdul-Aziz caught the ball in the short corner on the left side of the court and attacked her defender towards the baseline. Abdul-Aziz  spun back towards the left block and used her pivot foot to step away from her defender and send a pass to Linnin on the right wing.
Abdul-Aziz's drive drew the attention of Linnin's defender, and Linnin made the RWU defense pay by knocking down the open three-pointer to make it 51-39 with 5:41 left in the penultimate frame.

Back-to-back-to-back threes from Lusher, Abdul-Aziz and Goode between the 4:15 and 2:45 marks of the third period extended Le Moyne's lead to 18 points.

Some good ball movement with just under two minutes remaining in the third led to an open three for Gruss.

Junior forward Erin Lofaro (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro/UMass Lowell) caught the ball just inside the left wing when two defenders converged on her. Lofaro quickly sent a pass to Lusher in the left corner, who threw a great cross-court pass to Gruss on the right wing. Gruss stepped into the deep three and hit nothing but net on her shot to give the 'Phins a 65-44 advantage.

Gruss then connected on her first two three-point field goal attempts of the fourth quarter to extend Le Moyne's lead to 73-46.

Galgano caught the ball at the high post then drove to the basket and finished a tough contested layup at the 5:15 mark of the fourth quarter for the Redhawks to make it a 20-point game.

With 4:16 left in the non-conference contest, Baker posted up her defender above the right block, and Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y./Averill Park) threw her an entry pass.

Baker backed into her defender with a dribble, did a quick shake towards her right, then made a drop step towards her left shoulder and finished a contested layup on the right block to make it 77-55 in favor of the Dolphins.

During the subsequent RWU possession, Lombardi, who was positioned on the top right of Le Moyne's 3-2 zone, read the RWU ballhandler's eyes, jumped into the passing lane and deflected a pass sent from the top of the key to the high post, then Lombardi sprinted up the court as Baker recovered the loose ball.

Baker, who recorded a team-high six assists on Wednesday, pushed the ball up the middle of the court and sent a chest pass ahead to Lombardi, who caught the ball on the left block.

With a defender closing down on her, Lombardi quickly shifted back towards her right, took a dribble into the paint and finished a scoop layup through contact for an old-fashioned three-point play.

The Le Moyne College women's basketball team improved their overall record to 6-4 following the win, and they will play another non-conference road contest on December 17 at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.