Brooklyn, N.Y. – The Le Moyne women's basketball team scored a season-best 80 points on 51.7% shooting from the field with a season-high 24 assists on Saturday at LIU to claim an 18-point victory over the Sharks and improve to 6-1 in Northeast Conference play.

The Dolphins had 10 players enter the scoring column during the win, led by fifth-year guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) who tallied her NEC-leading seventh double-double with a season-best 25 points (on 9-17 shooting from the field, 1-2 from three and 6-7 from the line) and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists, three steals and zero turnovers.

With just three turnovers in Le Moyne's last five games, Baker boasts the best assist to turnover ratio among NEC players during conference play at 3 to 1. She also leads the league in rebounding average with 8.1 per game.

Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) and Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y./Oneida) also scored in double figures on Saturday. Linnin registered a season-high 17 points with three made threes and 4-4 shooting from the line, while Lusher provided 11 points, a season-high-tying six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Linnin's final three-pointer with 2:26 left in the fourth gave her 100 made threes as a Dolphin.

Junior forward Brianna Williams (Brampton, Ontario/Southwest Academy/Hartford) contributed seven points, eight rebounds and tied her career high with three blocks, and sophomore guard Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) dished out a game-high six assists with five rebounds and five points.

Sophomore guard Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y./Averill Park) added a career-high three assists with two field goals and a rebound.

The Dolphins shot at least 50% from the field in all four quarter against the Sharks and tied their season high of 34 points in the paint.

Quotes from Le Moyne head coach Mary Grimes:
"[That was a] Tough LIU team, I know they had some players out, but they battled us really, really tough for 40 minutes and give my team credit for just battling with them and handling their runs. I think we changed up what we did from last week (at Saint Francis) and we understood the travel after having a home game [on Thursday] and we were able to come out with a win."

On the play of Lytoya Baker: "Toya, she shows up. She shows up in ways that sometimes aren't in the box score. She scored a lot of points today and she rebounded the ball, so I'm super proud of her. We were very focused yesterday and today, we got the rest that we needed and she was able to have a good night."

On Sierra's Linnin performance, including her effort on the defensive end: "Sierra, I've been telling you guys, she's really good on the defensive end and I think we were able to see that. I talked to her about it when I recruited her that she had to get into the midrange and not just be a three-point shooter and to do that mid-year of her sophomore year, it's great to see and I think she's just continuing (her all-around play)."

On the team's rebounding effort: "Dennis Rodman said it best, (rebounding) is just about heart. We just gotta keep getting after it. Dennis Rodman would get in the gym and figure out how the ball is bouncing off. Normally Sierra Linnin, when she misses the ball falls right in the paint, today she was missing and it was bouncing really long and I don't know if it was the ball, the rim, but we have to adjust. Knowing our teammates (is important) and then defensively just boxing out, we can't be baby birds down there just waiting for the mom to bring home the worm and waiting for the ball to just drop from the hoop."

On maintaining first place in the conference standings: "(NEC play) continues to be very, very physical and I think we just have to continue to hold our ground, I don't think (the level of physicality) is going to change. We played a very tough, physical Merrimack team [on Thursday] and for the first time playing LIU they were very physical as well so we just have to keep holding our ground and keep fighting. But kudos to my team, they're figuring it out one game at a time."

Quotes from Le Moyne guard Lytoya Baker:
On her comfort level on the floor today: "I felt loose today, it was a long trip (to Brooklyn) so coach told us to stretch more, so that's what we did and I felt good out there."

On taking advantage of single coverage: "A couple of times they did double team me and I found my teammates, but one-on-one I knew I had an advantage and I just went up for a layup or a shot."

On recording zero turnovers during her 34 minutes played: "Going into the game we knew they were scrappy on D and good defenders so we knew we had to take care of the ball so I told my teammates we just need to take care of the ball and be strong with the ball and I think everyone did that."

On seeing younger players excel towards the end of the game: "It's exciting, they're fearless. I mean, Zhara, she caught the ball once and she scored, so they're fearless, they'll do anything. I think Coach Grimes does a really great job recruiting new players. I mean, look at (the sophomore class), she does a great job recruiting and I think that showed today."
 
LIU (5-14, 3-4 NEC) had four players score in double figures during the setback, led by senior guard Ashley Austin who tallied 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Junior forward Nigeria Harkless shot 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from the line in 20 minutes off the bench for the Sharks to finish the game with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Closing out the win:
Baker scored 12 of her points in the second quarter to help the 'Phins establish a 39-30 lead at halftime.

Le Moyne began the third quarter on a 14-2 run, as a pull up jumper from Linnin with 5:34 left in the frame gave the 'Phins a 53-32 lead.

A left-wing three pointer from Baker with 1:13 left in the third gave Le Moyne it's fourth different 20-point lead of the quarter, but LIU scored the final five points of the period with a layup from Amaya Dowdy followed by a step-back three pointer from Mariah Elohim with 12 seconds remaining to cut their deficit to 15 points going into the fourth.

Another triple from Elohim with 6:19 left in the game made it 66-56 in favor of the Dolphins, but Lusher swished a three-point field goal from the left side during the next Le Moyne possession.

With just under three minutes on the fourth-quarter clock, Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and sent a pass to a slashing Baker who drew a shooting foul and made two free throws to give the Dolphins a 13-point lead, then during the next Le Moyne possession, Goode drove baseline and sent a pass to the opposite wing for Linnin who drained her third three pointer of the contest to put the game on ice.

With 1:41 left in the game, freshman forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) sent a pass up the right wing for fellow first-year player Zhara Adeyemi (Brooklyn, N.Y./South Shore) who took two dribbles towards the hoop and banked in a contested jumper.

With 30 seconds left in the contest, Postell received a pass from sophomore forward Tamiya Turner (Howell, N.J./Howell), drove into the paint and converted a contested runner to once again make it a 20-point game.

Saturday's game marked the second time during Northeast Conference play that the Dolphins shot over 50% from the field during a road win. Le Moyne previously shot a season-best 51.8% from the field, including a season-high 56.3% from three-point range during its 74-59 win at Merrimack on January 13.

Through seven conference games so far this season the Dolphins are shooting a combined 41% from the field. They lead all NEC times with a .368 team three-point field goal percentage against conference opponents.

Up Next:
The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will begin a three-game home stand on February 1 with a 7:00 p.m. game against Wagner. The Dolphins will then host Sacred Heart for a rematch on February 3, followed by their first game against Stonehill on the ninth.