Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team hosted Cornell in their 2025-26 home-opener at Ted Grant Court on Saturday afternoon. The Big Red came away with a one-point overtime victory, 52-51, as the Dolphins now sit 1-4 overall on the season.
Sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township) led all players with 17 points on 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc and a perfect 3-3 rate from the free-throw line. E. Clark added a pair of rebounds and one assist in 39 minutes of action for Le Moyne.
Senior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus) added 11 points while going 3-9 from three, passing Kim Black (1989-93) on the program's three-point field goals made list, and she now sits second-all time. Linnin tallied seven rebounds and two steals on the defensive side of the ball.
Junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) tied Linnin with 11 points and registered her second double-double of the season by bringing in a team-high 10 boards, as well. Buragas also led the team in assists with three and tied Linnin with a pair of steals.
Junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) ranked second on the team in both rebounds (seven) and assists (two) while adding one steal and one point to the stat-sheet for the 'Phins.
As a team, Le Moyne shot 36.0% from the field, 38.1% from deep, and 77.8% from the line. They added 10 points off turnovers with eight bench points.
For Cornell, junior guard/forward Rachel Kaus and sophomore guard Audrey Chen tied for the team-high in scoring with 14 points apiece. Kaus went 6-13 from the field with a 2-4 mark from three while Chen shot 50% total with four three-pointers in the win.
Junior guard Clarke Jackson and sophomore guard Kelsey Langston tied with five boards to lead the Big Red as sophomore guard Paige Engels put up a game-high five assists. Freshman guard/forward Ally Pape tallied the only block of the game.
Buragas kicked the game off with a layup before threes from Linnin and E. Clark extended Le Moyne's early lead to six, 8-2. Cornell tallied the next nine points over the following five minutes to take their first lead of the game, 11-8, before E. Clark added her second three of the first quarter to tie it back up. A layup from senior guard Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y. / Averill Park) put the Dolphins ahead until Kaus closed out the first quarter with a three-pointer for Cornell.
The second quarter opened with the Big Red leading by one, 14-13, and neither team was able to add to their total until the 7:10 mark as Linnin found the basket from three-point range. Following another three from E. Clark, Cornell went on a 6-0 run to give them a 24-19 advantage with 2:!8 left in the first half. A layup from Lombardi and three out of the hand of freshman guard Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Manasquan) sent both teams to the locker room with 24 points.
Le Moyne was able to outscore Cornell, 7-2 over the first six-plus minutes out of the break, taking a 31-26 lead behind layups from Linnin, Buragas, and freshman guard Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) along with a bucket from the charity stripe from Wangolo.
Two quick shots from the Big Red quickly tied the game up before redshirt sophomore guard Amya McLeod (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy / Youngstown State) added two free throws to put the 'Phins ahead, once again, with 1:28 left in the third. A three from Chen just 16 seconds later put Cornell up by one, 34-33, heading into the final quarter of regulation.
A layup from Kaus and free throw from Jackson extended Cornell's lead to four with 7:27 left to play in the fourth before a three-pointer from Linnin and layup by E. Clark put the Dolphins ahead by one. The Big Red were able to tie the game up at 43-43 with just :10 left via a three from Chen before Buragas found the ball in the paint and laid it up to give Le Moyne a 45-43 advantage with just :02 left to play. Kaus received the ball from out of bounds and found the same success in the paint, tying the game at 45-45 and sending it to overtime.
The 'Phins second overtime game of the season opened with a jumper from Jackson that put the Big Red ahead by two just before Buragas added another layup in crunch time to tie the game once again. Chen's fourth three of the night put Cornell up with 3:22 left until a free throw from Buragas and three out of the hand of E. Clark gave Le Moyne their final lead of the game.
18 seconds later, with 1:36 remaining, Chen drove into the paint and added a layup for Cornell which proved to be the game-winner as the Dolphins were unable to recover and fell, 51-52, in their first overtime loss of the season.
What's Next:
Le Moyne will head for Lewisburg, Pa. for a matchup with the Bucknell Bison slated for 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
