West Haven, Conn. – Following an 11-day break in their regular season schedule, the Le Moyne College women's basketball team delivered a great defensive performance on the road Saturday afternoon to claim their fourth straight win as well as their fourth Northeast-10 Conference victory of the campaign, a 57-44 triumph over the University of New Haven Chargers.

The Dolphins forced the Chargers into 25 turnovers, which ties Le Moyne's season-high that they set during a 77-57 NE10 win at Franklin Pierce on November 30.

The 44 points scored by New Haven on Saturday is the lowest total that the Dolphins have held an opponent to so far this season. Both teams entered Saturday's contest with a 3-3 record against NE10 competition.

"I'm really proud of our team's defensive effort today," said Le Moyne Head Coach Mary Grimes following the win. "We did a good job of finding their key players, DeBose and King. Our press was really good today, creating turnovers and slowing them down. Sydney Lusher really stepped up today offensively and Lytoya continues to dominate on the glass. But overall we played as a team and we played together which is important this time of year," Grimes added.

Redshirt-freshman guard Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) recorded a season-high five three-point field goals on her way to a season-best 21 points to lead all scorers during the conference battle. Lusher, who was named NE10 Rookie of the Week earlier this month, made all five of her three pointers during the first half, the last one being a deep stepback triple from straight on that left her hands just before the halftime buzzer.

The 5'11" point guard also contributed five rebounds, two steals and a block during a game-high 37 minutes played.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) also scored in double figures for the 'Phins with 15 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals.

Both Roberts and Lusher shot 50% from the field and 100% from the free-throw line during the conference win.

Le Moyne senior guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, a game-high 13 rebounds, a game-high five assists, and a game-high four steals. The four steals were also a season-high for Baker.

Still the NE10 leader in rebounds per game by a comfortable margin, Baker has now recorded at least 10 rebounds in 12 of Le Moyne's first 13 games this season.

Going into Saturday's contest, Baker's 11.6 rebounds per game was the seventh highest average in all of Division II, and the second highest rebounding average in the nation among guards. Baker's eight double-doubles so far this season leads the NE10 and is tied for the third highest total in the country.

First-year guard Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y./Averill Park) recorded two steals for Le Moyne, while fellow first-year guard Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), graduate guard Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen/Davidson), and sophomore guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) each had one.

The Dolphins, who turned the ball over 14 times during the 40 minutes of action, forced the Chargers into 15 first-half turnovers, which helped Le Moyne create a 30-17 advantage after two quarters. Le Moyne held New Haven to under 10 points during each of the first three quarters.

New Haven held an advantage on the glass, recording 12 offensive rebounds during the contest compared to seven for Le Moyne.

New Haven senior forward Aurora Deshaies pulled down six offensive rebounds and led the Chargers in scoring, rebounding, and steals, finishing the contest with a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards along with three steals.

Kameryn King, Briana VanCleaf, Camryn DeBose and Aliyah Wright each contributed three assists for the Chargers, who recorded 15 assists on their 18 total field goals during the matchup.

Following the victory, the Le Moyne College women's basketball team improved to 9-4 overall and 4-3 against Northeast-10 Conference opponents. The Chargers dropped to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the NE10.

Game Details:
The Dolphins made three of their seven total three-point field goals during the first quarter – two from Lusher and one from Goode – and Roberts tallied seven points during the first 10 minutes to help Le Moyne take a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Going against a New Haven 3-2 zone, Baker and Roberts both stood at the elbows with 4:35 left on the first quarter clock. From the top of the key, Lusher threw a quick no-look pass to Baker at the left elbow. Roberts then dashed from the right elbow to the middle of the paint, Baker threw her a pass and Roberts finished the contested layup in front of the rim to make it 9-5 in favor of the Chargers.

At the 1:45 mark of the first period, Florvil caught a pass on the left wing and glanced towards Abdul-Aziz near the left corner. The defense moved to cut off the pass to Abdul-Aziz, so Florvil threw the ball to Baker just above the left block. Roberts was gravitating towards the right block on the play, and Baker quickly turned towards the hoop and threw a pass across the paint to Roberts for an easy two to force a New Haven timeout and put the 'Phins up 13-9.
 
With just over a minute left in the opening quarter, Baker pushed the ball up the court and found Abdul-Aziz for a transition three. The shot hit the front rim and fell towards the right side of the backboard. Florvil established inside position on her defender and fought for the offensive board. Florvil fell to the ground but managed to gather the ball. From the floor she quickly threw a pass to Roberts right in front of the rim. Roberts caught the pass, immediately shot the ball, converted her layup attempt through contact, drew a foul on the play and converted the additional free throw to extend Le Moyne's lead to 16-9.

With 2:17 left in the second quarter, Baker intercepted a pass in the paint off an inbounds play from the baseline, then dribbled coast to coast and finished a running layup over a New Haven defender to give the 'Phins a 27-17 lead.

Le Moyne's active zone came up with another steal during the final thirty seconds of the first half, and the 'Phins held for the final shot.

Lusher caught the ball on the right wing with five seconds on the clock, then used a screen towards her left. The screen, set by Roberts, freed Lusher from her primary defender, then she stepped back and let go of a deep three pointer that dropped through the net at the buzzer to put Le Moyne up 30-17 at halftime.

The Dolphins zone continued to cause problems for the Chargers during the third quarter and following two made field goals from Abdul-Aziz – a two and a three – the 'Phins held a 14-point lead.

Le Moyne set up a baseline out of bounds play with 23 seconds remaining in the penultimate quarter.

Lusher threw the ball to Abdul-Aziz in the short corner on the left side of the floor, then ran to her to accept a handoff. Lusher seemed as if she would accept the handoff and use Abdul-Aziz as a screener, but as Lusher's defender went behind Abdul-Aziz's defender, Lusher shifted her momentum back towards the baseline, crossed over to her left, and smoothly converted a floater from just outside the paint to give Le Moyne a 40-24 advantage.

During Le Moyne's first possession of the fourth quarter, Roberts caught a pass just inside the three-point line on the left wing and knocked down the jumper in rhythm to put Le Moyne up by 16.

Alyssa Stevenson converted a difficult contested layup in the lane for New Haven with 8:48 left in the final quarter, then she came up with a block at the other end.

Camryn DeBose made a three at the 6:40 mark to trim New Haven's deficit to 44-31.

Lombardi's defensive effort on the perimeter, along with help defense from Lusher, produced another steal for the 'Phins with just over six minutes left in the game.
Lombardi pushed the ball up the center of the court then sent a pass ahead for Goode. Goode finished the fastbreak layup to put Le Moyne up by 15 points.

DeBose hit another three for New Haven, but Lusher answered at the other end for Le Moyne.

With less than 10 seconds on the shot clock, Lusher drove towards the baseline from the left wing. Lusher ran her defender into the body of Roberts, who was standing just above the left block, then she stepped back towards the short corner and drilled a contested jumper to make it 48-34 in favor of the Dolphins.

At the 3:30 mark in the fourth quarter, Goode dribbled towards the left wing with a defender on her hip. Roberts, Baker, and Lusher each stood at different spots along the baseline while Abdul-Aziz ran up to set a pick for Goode towards her right.
Goode used the screen and avoided the hedge defender. As the rookie dribbled towards the free-throw line she gathered the ball as if she might pullup, prompting Roberts' defender to jump out and contest. Roberts established good position in the right side of the paint and extended her left hand as a target for Goode. Two New Haven defenders converged on Goode as she suddenly threw a right-handed bounce pass to Roberts that led Le Moyne's forward to the rim for an easy layup.

The Dolphins will return home for an NE10 matchup on Ted Grant Court against the Saint Michael's College Purple Knights, which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 4 at 4:00 p.m.