Manchester, N.H. – The #6 seed Le Moyne College women's basketball team lost to the #3 seed University of the Sciences on Friday afternoon in the First Round of the NCAA Championships. The Dolphins finish their season with a 17-8 record and a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division Regular Season Championship. The Devils advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament where they will meet the #7 seed Pace University.

"…They played their hearts out. As a coach, that's all you can ask. And I'm just super proud of them, for everything that they did this year. Everything I asked, they stepped up to the plate. Today, the ball just didn't go our way. We had opportunities like we've been having the past few games to score, we just didn't put the ball in the hoop… We couldn't make anything in the midrange. We got offensive rebounds, at the half we had so many offensive rebounds, we only had four second-chance points, so we were executing the game plan, doing what we do, getting on the O-boards, but we just couldn't finish…We're going to grow from this. I'm super proud of our seniors Emma [Brinker], Jenna [Zimmerman], Gabby [Badway], AZ [Wade], and Erin [Fouracre]… I loved every minute (of this season). I just love basketball and I love the relationships that we build with the players. I wouldn't trade it for the world," said Le Moyne Head Coach Mary Grimes after the game. "I just want to say thank you to my staff, thank you to our seniors, and our parents are unbelievable, they support us all the time, so, 'Phins Up," Grimes added.

Senior point guard Erin Fouracre (Loudonville, N.Y./Colonie Central) led Le Moyne in scoring with a game-high 17 points to go along with two rebounds, two assists and three steals in 34 minutes of action.

Senior guard Kendall Keyes, junior guard Isla Brennan and graduate guard Jess Huber each scored in double figures for USciences.

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively during the NCAA Tournament First Round battle. Le Moyne shot 1-17 from the field during the first period, and the Devils made just three of their 14 attempted field goals during the first ten minutes.

Keyes drained a three-point field goal at the 7:13 mark of the opening quarter to give the Devils a 5-0 lead.

Le Moyne scored their first points of the afternoon with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter when junior guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) caught the ball on the left wing, drove to the foul line and knocked down a jump shot.

While the 'Phins struggled shooting early, their defense kept them within arm's reach.  At the 1:42 mark of the quarter Le Moyne's full court zone defense forced a USciences turnover near mid court. Fouracre came away with the steal and dribbled all the way to the left block where she was fouled while attempting a layup. Fouracre sank both free throws to make it 5-4.

Brennan sank a three-pointer with under a minute left in the opening frame to give the Devils a 7-4 lead going into the second quarter.

Both teams settled in offensively during the second quarter. Brennan and first year guard Dayna Balasa each made two three-point field goals for the Devils during the period. Usciences shot 8-13 from the field, including 5-7 from three-point land during the second quarter.

Le Moyne made two of their three total three-pointers on the day during the second frame. The Dolphins shot 2-3 from beyond the arc during the period.

At the 8:47 mark, senior forward Jenna Zimmerman (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) set a back screen for Fouracre at the top of the key. Both defenders were weary of Fouracre's back cut, and left Zimmerman wide open for a three-pointer near the top of the key. Zimmerman popped out after setting the screen, accepted a pass from senior forward Emma Brinker (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) and promptly sank the long-distance jumper to make it 9-7 in favor of the Devils.

With 6:44 left in the first half, Le Moyne redshirt-junior guard Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen/Davidson) caught the ball on the right wing and sent a pass to Fouracre at the top of the key. Fouracre sank the three-pointer from straight on to make it 13-12 USciences.

Brinker scored two baskets in the paint, both assisted by Baker, within the final two minutes and thirty seconds of the first half.

However, after Fouracre's three-point field goal with 6:44 left in the second quarter to cut Le Moyne's deficit to one point, the Devils went on a 17-10 run to close the period and gave themselves a 30-22 lead at halftime.

Both sides struggled offensively again during the third period. Le Moyne shot 2-11 from the field during the quarter, and USciences went 3-16. Both teams scored just seven points during the penultimate frame.

A give-and-go between Baker and Brinker led to a Baker and-1 opportunity after the junior guard converted a tough shot in the lane through contact over the defense.

A Keyes three-pointer at the 6:07 mark gave the Devils a 10-point lead. Keyes went 4-10 from beyond the arc during the game and finished with 14 points.

With 5:15 remaining in the third quarter, Zimmerman reached high in the air for a defensive rebound in the middle of the paint. During the ensuing Le Moyne possession, Zimmerman passed the ball to Fouracre on the right wing and set a ball screen for her point guard. Fouracre dribbled to the left elbow, was stalled by multiple defenders clogging the paint, then dribbled right and spun back left towards the left block where she was fouled during her layup attempt. She sank both free throws to cut her team's deficit to 35-27.

Each team scored just one field goal during the final five minutes of the third period, and the Devils held a 37-29 lead going into the fourth quarter.

USciences senior forward Taylor Hamm scored a two-point field goal, then Huber, Keyes and Brennan each knocked down a three-point field goal during an 11-0 USciences run to start the fourth period that gave the Devils a 48-29 lead.

University of the Sciences went 10-15 from the field, including 4-5 from beyond the arc during the final period to cruise to a 64-38 win.