Princeton, N.J. – Sophomore guard Ashley Chea tallied 16 points and six assists to lead the Princeton University Tigers to a 75-43 win over the Le Moyne College women's basketball team on New Year's Eve at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium in the final non-conference game of the season for both sides.

The Tigers shots 50% from the field, 45.8% from three-point range and tallied 41 bench points to improve to 9-4 this season and claim their 25^th consecutive home victory dating back to the 2022-23 campaign.

Le Moyne junior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) scored a team-high nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range in nine minutes off the bench.

Sophomore forward Zhara Adeyemi (Brooklyn, N.Y./South Shore) scored a career-high eight points in a career-high 21 minutes played for the 'Phins. Graduate guard Megan Bodziony (Wakefield, R.I./St. Andrew's School/Fordham/Bryant) also added eight points to the Le Moyne cause, while graduate forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) pulled down a team-high six rebounds, and freshman guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township), who was named an NEC Prime Performer for the second time this season on Tuesday, dished out four assists and grabbed four boards.

The Dolphins recorded 12 assists, their second-largest tally of the season, on 16 made field goals.

Chea got Princeton started with two threes early on in the first, and the Tigers opened up a 26-9 lead at the end of the period after shooting 9-for-17, including 5-for-9 from three during the first 10 minutes.

Both sides scored nine points during the second quarter, giving the Tigers a 35-18 lead going into halftime.

The Dolphins did not concede an offensive rebound during the second quarter, and Adeyemi scored two field goals during the period to help keep the deficit at 17.
Princeton began the third frame on an 11-0 run to extend its leads to 46-18 with 6:02 left in the quarter, then Linnin ended the run with a step back three from the right wing during Le Moyne's next possession.

The Tigers responded with a left-corner three from Christina Parrella at the other end of the floor.

Bodziony scored back-to-back baskets for Le Moyne at the 4:56 and 3:56 marks to make it 49-25 in favor of Princeton.

Le Moyne sophomore guard Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili), who made her first career start during the contest, knocked down two free throws with just under a minute remaining in the third, then Princeton freshman guard Toby Nweke drained a three with 37 seconds on the clock to give the Tigers a 56-28 advantage heading into the fourth.

Princeton junior forward Tabitha Amanze, who finished the contest with 11 points to join Chea in double figures, scored a layup on Princeton's first possession of the fourth, then Postell knocked down a three from the left wing at the other end after receiving a kickout pass from Bodziony.

Bodziony converted a putback layup at the 8:20 mark in the fourth, then Amanze responded with a layup through contact at the other end.

Amanze's layup began a 12-0 run for the Tigers that extended their lead to 70-33 with 5:21 left in the contest.

Le Moyne then went on a 6-0 run with two free throws from senior guard Mia Yanogacio (Somerset, N.J./Rutgers Prep/Delaware), a jumper from Roberts and a layup from Adeyemi at the 1:49 mark.

Tuesday's contest at Princeton concludes Le Moyne's challenging non-conference schedule, which included six teams included in the NCAA Women's Basketball NET Rankings Top 100.

The Dolphins will begin Northeast Conference play on Thursday at LIU. Tip-off for the NEC opener between the Dolphins and the Sharks is set for 2:00 p.m. at LIU's Steinberg Wellness Center.

Quotes from Le Moyne head coach Nick DiPillo:

"I Loved our defensive effort in the second quarter. I think when we went away from the zone and went back to man, I thought we did a really good job of disrupting them. We were aggressive getting over ball screens, we were very communicative and our help was really good. Obviously, we couldn't find our offensive flow until probably early in the fourth quarter, but (Princeton is) a really, really, really good basketball team. They obviously have expectations to play deep into March every year. So, for us to compete in long stretches against them, I mean we let up six offensive rebounds in the first quarter, only allowed eight for the game. We had nine first-half turnovers, ended up with 15, so a lot of good things overall."

"There was a point in the schedule where we had the 12^th ranked most difficult schedule in the country, and I think what that taught us is perseverance that you need to have if you're going to compete and play good basketball, regardless of who you play. Obviously when you're playing the Stanfords and the Illinois and the Buffalos and the Princetons of the world, they have more to take away what you want to do, but I think, and you saw it in some stretches today, we found that if our effort and our mindset is where it needs to be, then we can put together good stretches of basketball. As we shift into conference play, we understand that this schedule difficulty changes a little bit and the resistance that you go up against daily changes a little bit. We can settle into our routine of playing Thursday's and Saturday's. I think we're starting to get healthier at the right time. My expectations is every game from here on out, our goal is to go 1-0. We'll worry about Thursday when Thursday gets here, and if we're fortunate enough, then we'll erase the slate and look to go 1-0 when we play Mercyhurst the following Thursday. With that mindset, and the lessons learned, and the mindset of the team where it is right now, which is in a pretty good place, I'm excited for the ball to drop."