Fairfield, Conn. – The second-seeded Le Moyne College women's basketball team (18-14, 14-2 NEC) fell to top-seeded Sacred Heart (24-9, 15-1 NEC) in the NEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday at SHU's William H. Pitt Center.

In their first season in Division I and the Northeast Conference, the Dolphins went 14-2 in league play, which is the best conference winning percentage by a Le Moyne team in program history. Le Moyne made its third-ever appearance in a conference tournament championship game on Sunday.

The win gave Sacred Heart its second consecutive NEC Tournament Championship, and improved the Pioneers' win streak to 15 games, while the loss snapped Le Moyne's nine-game win streak. The Pioneers will represent the NEC in the NCAA Tournament, and the Dolphins will compete in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

"I'm just really super proud of my team," said Le Moyne head coach Mary Grimes, the 2023-24 Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year. "They fought to the end, for 40 minutes. (Sacred Heart is) a tough team. We pride ourselves that we beat them once. It was a really great experience for our players to be picked where we were picked [in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll] and finish second [in the league standings] and have the opportunity to play for a championship. We're building a foundation here, and we've built a really, really strong foundation in our first year in Division I.

"It's no surprise to me [the success we've had this season], I don't think it's a surprise to our team. This is where we wanted to be, and we fought every day, every game for this, so I think our expectations were to be here, so I don't think they're surprised, but it's a great experience [to play in a championship game]… We've got some more basketball to play. There's only two teams in this conference going to the postseason and we're one of them," Grimes added.

Full postgame interview with Le Moyne head coach Mary Grimes [16:50 - 21:30] - NEC Front Row
 
Fifth-year guard Lytoya Baker (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) and sophomore guard Kaia Goode (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) both scored 11 points for the Dolphins, while sophomore guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) and freshman guard Leah Middleton (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) both recorded eight points.

Baker, who was Le Moyne's lone representative on the NEC 2024 All-Tournament Team, surpassed 800 career rebounds on Sunday, becoming just the fourth player in program history to do so.

Junior guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) pulled down a career-high and game-high nine rebounds during the loss.

Sacred Heart sophomore guard N'Ceara Pryor tallied 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals and was named the tournament's most valuable player, while sophomore guard Amelia Wood provided 15 points, seven rebounds, and joined Pryor on the all-tournament team. Graduate guard Sajada Bonner also scored in double figures for SHU with 10 points. Sacred Heart compiled 43 rebounds and scored 40 points in the paint.

The Pioneers forced Le Moyne into nine turnovers during the first 10 minutes, and established a 17-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter, then pushed the lead to 32-16 at halftime. Sacred Heart then outscored Le Moyne 18-8 in the third quarter with the help of eight points from Wood. Le Moyne shot just 9-39 from the field during the first three quarters, then scored 24 points on 8-19 shooting in the final frame.

2024 NEC All-Tournament Team:
Ny'Ceara Pryor (Sacred Heart) – MVP ; Amelia Wood (Sacred Heart) ; Lytoya Baker (Le Moyne) ; Teneisia Brown (FDU) ; Kaylee Thomas (Merrimack)

Up Next:
The 48-team WNIT field will be announced on Sunday night, then Postseason WNIT will have matchups, times and locations determined and its bracket ready for viewing later on Monday, March 18.

Here's the schedule for the single-elimination WNIT:
Round 1 - March 20-22, 2024
Round 2 - March 23-26, 2024
Round 3 - March 27-29, 2024
Quarterfinals - March 30-April 1, 2024
Semifinals - April 2-3, 2024

The 2024 Postseason WNIT will again have its championship game broadcast on CBS Sports Network, with tipoff set for Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. ET.