Game #15 vs. Mercyhurst University (NEC)
Info: Thursday, January 9 | Erie, Pa. | 6:00 p.m. | Mercyhurst Athletic Center
Watch: NEC Front Row .... Live Stats: hurstathletics.com
Le Moyne Radio: Fox Sports 1490 AM & 92.5 FM (foxsports1490.com)
Mercyhurst Links: Schedule | Roster | News | Stats             

Game #16 vs. Saint Francis University (NEC)
Info: Saturday, January 11 | Loretto, Pa. | 4:00 p.m. | DeGol Arena
Watch: NEC Front Row .... Live Stats: sfuathletics.com
Le Moyne Radio: Fox Sports 1490 AM & 92.5 FM (foxsports1490.com)
Saint Francis Links: Schedule | Roster | News | Stats

Erie, Pa. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team is on the road for a two-game Northeast Conference swing in Pennsylvania to close out a four-game road stand.

Le Moyne will take on new NEC member Mercyhurst University Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center, then the Dolphins will travel to Loretto to take on Saint Francis University Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast on NEC Front Row.

Le Moyne vs. Mercyhurst Preview:
The Dolphins and the Lakers have a long history as Division II opponents, with Le Moyne holding an 11-6 all-time record against Mercyhurst between 1985 and 2008. The two sides last met during the 2008-09 season, with Mercyhurst earning a 54-53 win over Le Moyne at Ted Grant Court. Prior to that, the Dolphins had claimed five consecutive wins against the Lakers.

Le Moyne made the jump to Division I and the NEC prior to the 2023-24 academic year, while Mercyhurst joined the NEC from the Division II PSAC Conference on July 1.

Le Moyne (0-14, 0-1 NEC) concluded non-conference play with a loss at Princeton on New Year's Eve, then dropped its NEC opener at LIU on January 2 by a score of 59-48.

Junior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) scored a team-high 13 points against the Sharks and knocked down three three-point field goals, the third of which marked no. 147 for her career, tying her for third all-time in program history in career made threes.

Since making her season debut on November 29 against UNC Greensboro after working back from a preseason injury, Linnin has led the Dolphins in scoring during four of her eight games played so far this season, including three of the team's last four games.

The Dolphins shot just 5-for-26 from three-point range at LIU, despite shooting 4-for-10 from long range during the first quarter, but they got to the line frequently against the Sharks, shooting 17-for-20 from the stripe. Le Moyne has shot at least 20 free throws in three games this season, and in each of those contests they have converted at least 84% of their attempts.

As a team, the Dolphins are shooting 74.7% from the line through 14 games, which is the fourth best percentage in the NEC.

Graduate forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent), who played her 100^th career game as a Dolphin against LIU, currently leads Le Moyne in points (9.3 per game), rebounds (6.2 per game), free-throws made (21), free-throws attempted (27), and three-pointers made (23).

Roberts is also third in program history in career free-throw percentage, converting 195 of 236 attempts (82.6%) so far in her career.

Roberts, graduate guard Megan Bodziony (Wakefield, R.I./St. Andrew's School/Fordham/Bryant) and freshman guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) have each started all 14 games this year for the Dolphins, while senior guard Mia Yanogacio (Somerset, N.J./Rutgers Prep) has started 12 contests, and senior guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) and senior forward Brianna Williams (Brampton, Ontario/Southwest Academy) have made seven starts each.

Sophomore forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) made her first career start at Princeton, while Linnin, who started a combined 51 games during her first two seasons on the Heights, made her first start of the 2024-25 campaign last Thursday at LIU.

Clark is currently seventh in the NEC in assists per game with 2.6, and Florvil is seventh in the NEC in steals per game with 1.3.

Mercyhurst is led by head coach Brooklyn Kohlheim, who is in her sixth season at the helm of the program. During Mercyhurst's final season at the Division II level in 2023-24, Kohlheim led the Lakers to an 18-11 record, including 11-2 at home and 14-8 in PSAC play. The Lakers fell to Edinboro in the first round of the 2024 PSAC Tournament.

So far this season Mercyhurst is 3-10, including 3-1 at home with wins over Davis & Elkins College, Bryant & Stratton College and Allegheny College.

Mercyhurst played its first two NEC games on the road, suffering a 72-54 loss at Stonehill on January 2 followed by a 78-52 setback at Central Connecticut State on January 4.

Mercyhurst junior forward Bailey Kuhns leads all Northeast Conference players in scoring average so far this season with 19.8 points per game on 49% shooting from the field through 13 contests.

She scored 20 points during her Division I debut at Notre Dame, tallied a season-high 32 points on 15-for-25 from the field with 10 rebounds during an overtime loss at Cornell, registered a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double during an overtime loss against Mount St. Mary's, then contributed 27 points during Mercyhurst's NEC debut at Stonehill.

Junior guard Jenna Van Schaik is also averaging double figures for the Lakers with 11.9 points per game. The Cincinnati, Ohio native is also third in the NEC in assists per game (3.1), minutes played per game (34.4) and free-throw percentage (.819) and fourth in steals per game (1.5) and assist to turnover ratio (0.9).

Along with Kuhns and Van Schaik, senior guard Allyson Ross has started all 13 games for the Lakers with averages of 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and a team-high 1.8 steals. Ross and freshman guard Cici Hernandez are both knocking down 1.8 threes per game for Mercyhurst.

As a team, the Lakers are second among all NEC teams in points per game (64.4), scoring margin (-4.7), field goal percentage (40.5%), free-throw percentage (75.8%), three-point field goals made per game (7.1), steals per game (7.31) and first in turnover margin (-0.62).
 
Le Moyne vs. Saint Francis Preview:
The Dolphins and the Red Flash met for the first time during the 2023-24 campaign and split the regular season series, with both sides winning on their home court.

After winning its first four NEC games last season, Le Moyne suffered a 55-52 loss at SFU on January 21. The Dolphins then won 10 of their final 11 regular season games, including a 56-24 win over the Red Flash at Ted Grant Court in the regular season finale. The 24 points was the fewest allowed by a Le Moyne team since the 1993-94 season. Haedyn Roberts recorded 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, seven rebounds and two steals during the win.

SFU is led by head coach Keila Whittington, who is in her sixth season at the helm of the program. The Red Flash went 4-12 in the NEC last season then fell to top-seeded Sacred Heart in the first round of the NEC Tournament.

So far this season, SFU holds a 3-12 record, with all three wins coming on the road. The Red Flash earned non-conference wins at Robert Morris and Delaware State, then began NEC play with a 79-63 win at CCSU last Thursday. Most recently, SFU recorded a 73-59 loss at Stonehill on Saturday.

Sophomore guard Yanessa Boyd and junior guard Natalie Johnson lead the Red Flash in scoring with 8.7 and 8.5 points per game, respectively. Boyd scored a season-best 20 points during a loss to Duquesne, and provided 10 points, six rebounds and three assists during the win at CCSU. Johnson scored a game-high 20 points against the Blue Devils on 8-for-9 shooting from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Junior forward Jade Campbell is pulling down a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game for SFU in addition to 7.8 points, while freshman guard Ineivi Plata is tied for fourth among all NEC players in assists with 2.9 per game to go along with a team-high 1.1 steals.

The Red Flash have the third-best rebounding margin in the NEC at -3.4. Prior to Saturday's contest, Saint Francis will host FDU Thursday at DeGol Arena.

Up Next:
Following Saturday's game at SFU, Le Moyne will play its first home conference game against Chicago State on January 18 at 12:00 p.m.