Philadephia, PA. – In a matchup between two programs that earned a spot in the 2021-22 NCAA Championships East Regional, the Le Moyne College women's basketball team claimed a 58-54 non-conference victory over the Chestnut Hill College Griffins on Saturday afternoon in Philly.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) scored in double-figures for the eighth time this season, providing the 'Phins with a team-high 13 points – on 5-9 shooting from the field and 3-4 from the line – to go along with five rebounds and a steal.

Senior guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) tallied her ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds – including five offensive rebounds – in 34 minutes played against the Griffins.

Redshirt-freshman guard Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) and first-year guard Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) both played a game-high 37 minutes, and both contributed a game-high four assists.

Lusher also provided seven points on 50% shooting and a game-high three steals.

First-year guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) scored 11 first-half points for the 'Phins on 4-7 shooting from the field, including 3-6 from beyond the arc.

Graduate guard Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen/Davidson) scored 10 points for the Dolphins on 2-3 from three-point land and 4-6 from the line in 17 minutes off the bench.

Chestnut Hill sophomore forward Emily Chmiel scored a game-high 14 points to go along with eight rebounds, while junior guard Kaitlyn Carter tallied nine points, a team-best 10 rebounds, three assists and a block in a team-high 32 minutes played.

After establishing a 29-19 lead at halftime, Le Moyne shot 7-12 from the field – including 2-3 from three-point range – during the third period and created their largest lead of the game (51-31) following a fastbreak layup from Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y./Averill Park) with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter.

The Griffins responded with a 11-2 run led by Chmiel to trim their deficit to 53-42 at the 5:40 mark.

Goode drained a three pointer for the 'Phins with 5:21 left in the game to extend Le Moyne's lead to 56-42, then CHC went on a 7-0 run to make it a seven-point game.

Chmiel converted a jumper with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter to make it 57-54 in favor of the Dolphins.

After Chestnut Hill intentionally fouled, Le Moyne missed two free throws, but the Dolphins' defensive pressure forced a turnover to get them the ball back.

A made free throw from Baker made it a two-possession game with two seconds on the clock, and Le Moyne came away with their second consecutive non-conference road victory.

In the first minute of the game, with the score tied 0-0, Linnin came up to the left elbow, from the left block, to set a screen for Roberts. As Roberts cut to the block, Linnin's defender lingered for a moment to ensure that Roberts would not get an open layup, and Linnin popped out hard to the perimeter. Goode threw Linnin the pass, and with her body moving towards halfcourt, Linnin stuck the contested three pointer to give the 'Phins a 3-0 lead.

After an 8-0 run by the Griffins, Linnin caught a pass on the left wing and gave her defender a pump fake. Linnin drove to her right, but her defender defended the drive well, so Linnin made a retreat dribble back out to the perimeter. Roberts then came up and set a screen for Linnin to her right. Linnin's defender prematurely tried to fight through the screen, so Linnin made a quick crossover to her left, going away from the screen and driving towards the left block. The first-year guard got all the way to the rim and converted a contested running layup at the 4:48 mark to make it 8-5 in favor of the Griffins.

With about one minute left in the opening quarter, Goode hustled to grab a long rebound then dribbled to the other basket and missed a contested fastbreak layup, but Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) fought hard to grab the offensive rebound. Florvil threw a pass to Baker above the right block, and Baker sent a pass to Abdul-Aziz on the right wing. Abdul-Aziz stepped into the shot and rattled home a three-point field goal to give Le Moyne a 12-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Dolphins scored their first field goal of the second quarter with 6:23 on the clock. Baker caught the ball at the at the left elbow and drove towards the middle of the paint with a defender on her hip.From just outside the restricted area arc, Baker planted her feet, brought the ball over her head and pivoted to her right, then finished a high-difficulty layup over the extended arms of two CHC defenders to tie the game at 16-16.

Baker finished another tough contested layup, this time from the right block, with 2:37 on the second-quarter clock off a baseline out of bounds pass from Goode to put the 'Phins up eight points, then during the subsequent CHC possession Goode stole a pass on the perimeter, drove towards the other rim, put a euro step on a retreating CHC defender and finished the layup off glass to give Le Moyne a 26-16 advantage.

With 6:20 left in the third quarter, Lusher caught a pass on the right wing while Roberts sealed her defender above the right block, and Lusher led her towards the rim with an entry pass. Roberts caught the pass, took a hard dribble towards the rim, was forced under the basket by her defender, rose up through contact, finished the difficult layup and was fouled on the shot for an opportunity to complete a three-point play.

Following a pick-and-pop with Goode at the 3:40 mark of the third period, Roberts stepped out and drained a long two-point field goal to give the 'Phins a 12-point lead.

Roberts once again sealed her defender above the right block with 1:30 left in the period, and this time Lombardi led her to the basket with a pass from the right wing. Roberts caught the ball, and Chestnut Hill immediately sent a second defender from the weak side to double Roberts and force her to pass the ball. Roberts quickly made her move to the basket, powered through her primary defender, converted the layup and drew a foul before the double team could form. Roberts sank the additional free throw to extend Le Moyne's lead to 46-28.

Roberts and Lombardi both scored a layup during the first 1:05 of the final period to give Le Moyne their largest lead of the contest at 51-31.

Chmiel scored six straight points during the ensuing 11-2 Chestnut Hill run to close the gap to 53-42.

Following Lombardi's fastbreak layup at the 8:55 mark, the next Le Moyne field goal came with 5:21 left in the contest, when Goode received a pass from Lusher on the left wing and rattled home a contested three pointer to make it 56-42 Le Moyne.

Baskets by Chmiel and Carter sandwiched a three-point field goal from Boylan Siobhan during CHC's 7-0 run, which cut their deficit to 56-49 with 0:51 remaining.

An Abdul-Aziz free throw made it an eight-point game, then Morgan Sterner hit a big three for Chestnut Hill to make it 57-52 in favor of the Dolphins. CHC forced a Le Moyne turnover, then Chmiel hit a contested jumper from the free-throw line to make it a one-possession game at 57-54.

After a timeout, CHC fouled on the inbounds pass, and Le Moyne missed both free throws. After the second miss, Chestnut Hill grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the floor.

First-year guard Kaia Goode showed tremendous critical thinking on the court by picking up the ballhandler and applying pressure in the backcourt. Goode influenced a bad pass ahead, which sailed out of bounds, giving Le Moyne possession back.

Baker made a free throw with two seconds on the clock, and Le Moyne earned the hard-fought victory.

The Dolphins will return home for a non-conference matchup against D'Youville University on Monday, with tip off scheduled for 12:00 p.m.