Colchester, Vt. – In their final road contest of the 2022-23 regular season, the Le Moyne College women's basketball team (20-5, 15-4 NE10) defeated the Saint Michael's College Purple Knights (1-21, 0-18) on Wednesday by a score of 47-38 to collect their 10^th straight conference victory and their 20^th win of the campaign.

Saint Michael's 38 points is tied for the fewest points scored by a Le Moyne opponent this season (Le Moyne beat Bentley 53-38 on January 21). Wednesday was the first time that Le Moyne scored less than 50 points in a game this season.

Le Moyne's 10 straight conference victories is tied for the program's longest conference winning streak since the Dolphins joined the Northeast-10. The 2018-19 Le Moyne women's team won 10 straight NE10 battles between December 1 and February 2.

The Dolphins are ranked No. 21 in the most recent D2SIDA National Top 25 Poll, and are ranked No.2 in the East Region.

Freshman guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) knocked down three three-point field goals during the win and finished with a game-high 12 points. Linnin is currently second among all players in the NE10 with 2.3 made threes per game.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 35 minutes played against the Purple Knights. Roberts went 4-4 from the line on Wednesday and is currently third in the NE10 with an 88.2 free-throw percentage.

Redshirt-freshman guard Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) provided 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals during the conference victory, while senior guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) tallied four points, four rebounds and three steals.

Senior guard Lexi Gruss (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) and sophomore guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) combined for seven points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench.

Graduate forward Emma MacDonough was the only Saint Michael's player to score in double figures during the setback, tallying 11 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Makayla Blake grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Purple Knights.

The Dolphins got off to a slow start on Wednesday, scoring eight points in the first quarter, then nine in the second as they trailed Saint Michael's 19-17 at halftime.

Le Moyne shot 18-63 (28.6%) from the field against Saint Michael's, which is the lowest field goal percentage that they have recorded during a game so far this season. The Dolphins made five of their six total threes during the second half.

Le Moyne shot 7-16 from the field, including 4-8 from long range during the third quarter, which is when they created a lead over the Purple Knights. Le Moyne used an 11-0 start to the second half to establish a 35-26 advantage heading into the final quarter. Both teams scored 12 points during the final 10 minutes of action.

Quotes from Le Moyne Head Coach Mary Grimes:
"It definitely wasn't our best showing. That was really a crazy game against AIC [on Saturday] and I think we kinda had a little hangover from that game. We were getting the shots we wanted [against Saint Michael's], they just weren't falling. But that's the good thing about our team; all season we've been resilient, and they don't ever quit, so we just had enough fight to get over a tough Saint Michael's team. (Saint Michael's has) been playing everybody well. It wasn't a surprise to me [that today was a close game] regardless of their record."

On hitting the 20-win mark: "Holy smokes, 20 wins. I hadn't even thought about it. Even though we're starting three freshman, our leadership has been unbelievable. Toya [Baker], Lexi [Gruss], Haedyn [Roberts], even Syd [Lusher] and Emily [Florvil], they've been great. We had a talk as a team in the spring of last year, and we just talked about what our goals are. They've embraced those goals, and they understand where we're trying to take the team."

"Sierra [Linnin], I don't think she ever thinks about the last shot she makes or misses, she just shoots the next one, and that's a great mindset to have as a shooter. She also played very well defensively and she got on the boards, she got tips, so she had an all-around good game."

On the team's full-court pressure: "Emily [Florvil] and Lexi [Gruss] are unbelievable, when they go in I'm like, 'Are you guys ready to press?' and they're like 'Yes, coach.' So they bring that energy like no other, and it really helped us turn the tide today."
 
With 5:50 left in the opening quarter, Florvil drove towards the baseline on the right side of the floor, then cut back to the middle and picked the ball up. With the shot clock winding below 10, Florvil sent a pass to Gruss at the top of the key, and Gruss drilled the long two pointer to make it 5-4 in favor of the Purple Knights.

A high-low pass from Julie Lyden to Kelly Laggis for a layup with 2:35 left in the first quarter gave Saint Michael's a 9-6 lead.

At the other end, Florvil drove to straight to right block from the top of the key, missed her initial layup attempt against multiple Purple Knight defenders, then grabbed her own miss and quickly converted the putback to trim Le Moyne's deficit back to one.

Saint Michael's held a 9-8 lead after 10 minutes of action.

Anika Kapral scored the first points of the second quarter with a putback layup for the Purple Knights.

At the 8:40 mark, Goode caught the ball near the top of the key, used a screen from Roberts to her left, drove towards the lane, converted a floater, and got hit on the shot for an and-one opportunity.

Emma MacDonough scored on a fast break, then Laggis scored in the lane at the 7:00 mark to put Saint Michael's up 15-10.

Le Moyne recorded two offensive rebounds during their next possession, but missed all three shots and MacDonough scored a jumper at the other end to extend Saint Michael's lead to seven.

Roberts attacked the basket, drew a foul and made both free throws with 4:45 left in the second quarter to end Saint Michael's 6-0 run.

With 1:45 left in the half, Roberts deflected a pass on defense, Florvil grabbed the loose ball and sent a pass ahead for Gruss. Gruss missed the contested fast break layup, but Linnin was there to grab the rebound and convert the putback to make it a one-possession game.

Le Moyne forced a missed shot during the subsequent Saint Michael's possession, and Roberts grabbed the defensive rebound and threw an outlet pass to Lusher. Lusher pushed the ball up the left side of the floor, then pulled up for a transition three that swished through the net to tie the game at 17-17.

Emma MacDonough caught the ball at the free throw line with 36 seconds left in the second quarter and made a midrange jumper to put the Purple Knights up 19-17 at halftime.

Le Moyne shot just 7-33 from the field, including 1-10 from three-point range during the first half.

The Dolphins turned up their defensive intensity in the second half, and began the third quarter on an 11-0 run during the first five minutes of the period.

Following a Le Moyne miss with 8:44 left in the third quarter, Goode dove on the floor for a loose ball and forced a jump ball to retain possession for the 'Phins. Lusher grabbed an offensive rebound after the restart, then kicked the ball to Linnin for a three pointer from the right wing.

Gruss hit a three at the 7:21 mark, then the senior guard assisted Linnin on another triple during the next possession to put Le Moyne up 26-19.

Baker scored in the paint less than a minute later to cap Le Moyne's 11-0 run.

Goode caught a pass on the perimeter with just under four minutes left in the third period, and immediately put the ball behind her back to her left to evade an oncoming Saint Michael's defender. She pushed the ball slightly in front of her, picked up her dribble in the paint, contorted her body and made a contested floater over a Saint Michael's forward to make it 30-21 in favor of the Dolphins.

Following a MacDonough jumper from the left side, Roberts powered to the basket for Le Moyne and scored a layup to put the Dolphins up 35-26.

The Dolphins outscored the Purple Knights 18-7 during the third quarter to take a nine-point lead after 30 minutes of action.

Goode found Lusher on a back door cut to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, then Paige Slaven hit a three pointer for Saint Michael's during the next possession to make it 37-29 in favor of the Dolphins.

Baker finished a tough contested layup in the middle of the paint for Le Moyne to make it a 10-point game with 8:34 left in the fourth.

Le Moyne extended their lead to 11 points with 6:19 left in the game when Florvil grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Lusher for a top of the key three.

MacDonough responded with a three for Saint Michael's then Laggis scored a jumper at the 4:09 mark to trim the Purple Knights' deficit to 42-36.

Neither team scored again until the 1:31 mark of the final period, when Florvil came down with another offensive rebound which led to a layup in the paint for Roberts.

Blake scored to once again make it a six-point game with under a minute remaining, but the Dolphins iced the game at the free-throw line.

The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will play their final game of the regular season at home on Saturday against New Haven (15-8, 11-7 NE10) at 1:00 p.m.