Syracuse, N.Y. – Le Moyne College women's basketball team (21-5, 16-4 NE10) defeated the visiting University of New Haven Chargers (16-9, 11-8 NE10) on Saturday afternoon by a score of 77-45 in their regular season finale on Ted Grant Court.

The team and its supporters celebrated "Senior Day" inside the Le Moyne Events Center prior to tip-off, honoring senior guard Lexi Gruss (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) for her dedication, commitment and contributions to the Le Moyne women's basketball program.

Saturday's win caps a dominant closing stretch to the regular season for Le Moyne. The Dolphins have won 11 straight conference battles, which ties a program record. Le Moyne won 16 of their final 17 regular season games. They have held their opponent to under 50 points in seven of their last 11 games, including each of their last three contests. For the first time in program history, the Dolphins won 10 games on the road this season. The 'Phins are on an eight-game road winning streak, which is also a program record.

With the win over New Haven, the Dolphins have earned at least a share of the Northeast-10 regular season title (Assumption must beat Southern Connecticut State on Tuesday to also earn a share of the championship) as well as the No. 1 seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships, which is set to begin on February 24. Le Moyne, as well as the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the NE10 Championships will receive a first-round bye.

Quotes from Le Moyne head coach Mary Grimes:
"It was a huge day for Lexi. Senior Day, lot of emotions so I'm happy for the team that they were able to close out the season and get the win for Lexi… (Lexi) definitely has some resiliency to her. Her and my daughter have a great relationship, so that says something about a person when kids gravitate towards you. My dad likes to call it the 'Pied Piper' and I would say Lexi is that for our team. She just leads and she leads because she cares. So, even though she has faced adversity multiple times in her career, her persistence and resilience is why she's here today and why she has been able to have success during her four years."

"…When we played New Haven the first time [on December 31] I think we were like 47^th in the country in points allowed per game and we just kept plugging along, plugging along, plugging along and I think right now we're 14^th in the country in points allowed per game. So, you know, there's a reason that we are here, and it started with our defense. That's what we talked about [before the game], I said our offense will come, but being able to hold them to 50 points or less is huge for us."

"We're going to take some time off, regroup, take care of our bodies and continue to build as a team to make another push here in the NE10 tournament. I'm proud of them for this moment. We're going to embrace it, enjoy it, and then we're going to get focused again this week… As always, Phins up."

Quotes from Lexi Gruss:
"(Senior Day) was amazing. During the week I thought about how fun it was going to be and nothing compares to the actual day. The team was awesome, they had the locker room decorated. My family is a great support system, Coach Grimes always puts her trust in me, so it was just amazing."
 
"I feel like with our team it's easy to want to do the little things, because everyone is so awesome. Just a lot of love on this team, really good group."

"(My time at Le Moyne) has been an amazing experience. I started here with coach Castelli and as a freshman her biggest thing was to buy into the program and to the culture and that's what I had to do as a freshman, and then coach Grimes took over, and she was actually the one that recruited me… (When coach Grimes was recruiting me) we had a thing where we would talk on 'Taco Tuesdays'. Every Tuesday we would have a conversation and she would be making tacos, and so would I. It just built a really good relationship from the start, I think, and nothing felt forced... (My relationship with coach Grimes) was really just genuine and authentic."
 
Six Le Moyne players scored at least nine points during the win over New Haven.

Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) tallied her NE10-leading 14^th double-double of the season on Saturday, finishing the conference battle with 12 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and one block in 34 minutes of action. Baker is currently 10^th in the country in rebounding with 10.6 boards per game, and tied for 11^th in double-doubles.

Redshirt-freshman guard Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) scored in double figures for the 17^th time in her rookie campaign, tallying 12 points, six assists, zero turnovers, five rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes played against the Chargers.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) contributed 10 points and tied her season-high with three blocks in just 16 minutes of action, while freshman guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) knocked down four three-point field goals and finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Roberts has now scored in double figures during 19 Le Moyne games this season

Freshman guard Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) recorded nine points, five assists, zero turnovers and two steals, while Lexi Gruss added nine points and a season-high five rebounds following her "Senior Day" ceremony.

5'6" sophomore guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) pulled down a career-high seven rebounds, and they were all offensive boards. Florvil scored seven points and created seven extra possessions for the 'Phins in 16 minutes off the bench.

Le Moyne shot 11-30 from three-point land during the win, marking the fifth game this season that the Dolphins have made at least 10 three pointers (All five games resulted in Le Moyne victories).

The Dolphins shot 10-16 from the free-throw line, compared to 5-9 for New Haven, marking the 23^rd time in 26 games this season that Le Moyne has shot at least 10 free throws, as well as the 17^th time this season that the Dolphins have held their opponent to under 10 free throws attempted.

Through 26 games, the Dolphins are holding their opponents to 56.2 points per game on average, which is the 14^th best opponent points per game average in all of Division II.

Le Moyne Head Coach Mary Grimes has now led the Dolphins to two regular season conference championships in her first two years as the program's leader (the 2021-22 Dolphins shared the NE10 Southwest Division regular season title with Pace).

The team's 21 regular season wins is tied for the second most in program history.

The Dolphins will now wait for the NE10 Championships bracket to be revealed.