Le Moyne (1-11, 0-0 NEC) vs. SUNY Geneseo (7-2, 1-0 Empire 8)
Info: Tuesday, Dec. 30 | 3:00 P.M. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Watch: NEC Front Row
Listen: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Geneseo's Links: Schedule | Roster | News

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will finish out 2025 with their final non-conference game of the season against SUNY Geneseo at home on Tuesday, Dec. 30. The matchup, which is set for a 3:00 p.m. tip off, will be broadcast on NEC Front Row and FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM from Ted Grant Court. 

Season Summary:
The Dolphins are 1-11 through their first twelve non-conference games of the 2025-26 season, with ten coming on the road and just two taking place at home at Ted Grant Court. 

They opened the season against St. John's on Nov. 3 and dropped the matchup, 68-53, before downing Lafayette, 82-79, in overtime in their lone win of the season thus far on Nov. 9. Le Moyne then fell to seventh-ranked Baylor, 99-43, in Waco, T.X. on Nov. 16 before traveling to Pitt and coming away with a 87-65 defeat on Nov. 18. 

To finish out November, the Dolphins dropped their home-opener to Cornell, 52-51, in overtime at Ted Grant Court on Nov. 22 and a road matchup at Bucknell, 65-41, on Nov. 25 before dropping another road meeting against Illinois, 100-28, on Nov. 30.

Since the beginning of the month, Le Moyne dropped a home set against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 6 with the Bonnies coming out on top, 66-57, before hitting the road for two games at Marquette (89-42) and Bowling Green (74-46) on Dec. 14 and 16. Most recently. The squad dropped a pair of games in the Hawk Classic from Dec. 21-21 against host St. Joe's, 100-40, and Akron, 94-68.

Stat Leaders:
Sophomore guard Eli Clark leads all Dolphins in scoring with 9.3 points per game while shooting .356 from the field with a 34.5% rate from three-point range. She also sits atop the stat sheet with both 30.3 minutes per game and 33 assists while ranking third with 2.9 rebounds. Clark is currently 18-21 (.857) from the free-throw line, as well, ranking first among all players with more than seven attempts this season. 

Clark currently ranks fifth in the NEC in assists, eighth in three-pointers made per game (1.7), eleventh in minutes played, and 17th in scoring.

Junior forward Ashley Buragas (8.3) and senior guard Sierra Linnin (8.3) sit behind E. Clark in scoring for Le Moyne while fellow freshman guards Peyton Dincher (6.4) and Kayden Clark (6.0) round out the 'Phins with more than five points scored per contest this season. 

Buragas and K. Clark also sit first and second on the team in field goal percentage as Buragas is shooting at a .494 clip and K. Clark at .439. 

Buragas leads all 'Phins with 5.8 rebounds per game on average while Dincher, Linnin, and E. Clark sit atop the stat sheet with north of 20 made threes apiece, respectively.

The junior currently ranks 11th in the NEC in rebounding while Linnin and Dincher rank fourth and seventh in three-pointers made per game. 

Last Time Out:
Le Moyne closed out the 30th annual Hawk Classic in the consolation game against Akron on Sunday, Dec. 21. The Zips shot 30-51 (58.8%) from the field to hold off the Dolphins, 94-68, and send them to 1-11 on the season.

Sierra Linnin totaled 24 points, a new season-high and the third most in her four years at Le Moyne, on 9-13 (69.2%) shooting including five three-pointers to mark the game-high for scoring. She added one free throw, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal in a team-best 30 minutes on the hardwood.

Eli Clark followed closely behind with 12 points for the 'Phins after connecting on three shots from deep. E. Clark also tied Ashley Buragas with a team-leading three rebounds against Akron.

11 different Dolphins registered atleast two points, seven added atleast two rebounds, and five contributed a pair of assists. 

Le Moyne shot 35-53 (47.2%) from the field, 10-25 (40.0%) from three-point range, and 8-10 (80.0%) from the line while tallying 26 points in the paint with 24 bench points in the loss.

Series History:
Le Moyne and SUNY Geneseo will meet in the regular season for the first time in their programs' histories on Tuesday. 

The two squads did, however, match up in an exhibition game to open the 2024-25 season at Ted Grant Court a year ago. The Dolphins came away with a 55-48 victory over the Knights in that contest. 

Common Opponents:
The Dolphins and Knights both took on the University of Rochester earlier this year, with the 'Phins game against the Yellowjackets acting as their season-opening exhibition game. 

Le Moyne earned a 76-60 win over UofR on Halloween while Geneseo nabbed a 66-58 win in Rochester two weeks later on Nov. 14. 

Year #3:
Le Moyne is in its third year transitioning to the Division I level and is the only institution in the nation in its transition "class." The Dolphins went 18-15 in their first season at the Division I level in 2023-24, including 14-2 in NEC action to earn the second seed in the postseason tournament before advancing to the conference title game. The team then posted a 7-24 overall record last season, including going 6-10 in conference play, en route to their second straight NEC tournament, this time as the fifth seed. 

Returners:
The 2025-26 Dolphins will feature six returners; senior guards Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus) and Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y. / Averill Park), juniors guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) and forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili), sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township), and redshirt sophomore guard Amya McLeod (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy / Youngstown State).

Newcomers:
The Dolphins welcomed eight new players to the program this year, including six freshman, one sophomore, and one junior. Guards Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore), Ava Lucarotti (Erie, Pa. / Cathedral Prep), and Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Manasquan) join forwards Ava Johnson (Richmond, Va. / The Steward School), Rachel Lynch (Cork, Ireland / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)), and Praise Matthews (Red Lion, Pa. / Dallastown) as 'Phins freshmen this season. Junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) joins Le Moyne's program after a two-year stint at NJCAA Mineral Area College in Park Hills, M.O. while sophomore guard Sophia Bonnell (Horseheads, N.Y. / Horseheads / SUNY New Paltz) played one season in NCAA Division-III for the New Paltz Hawks.

NEC Outlook:
Le Moyne's squad was selected to finish fourth in the regular season standings in the NEC preseason coaches' poll, just behind unanimous favorite FDU, Stonehill, and Chicago State. CCSU, Mercyhurst, Wagner, LIU, New Haven, and Saint Francis rounded out the poll behind the Dolphins. 

Eli Clark was named to the preseason All-NEC team, as well, after recording averages of 8.2 points (third on the team), 3.3 rebounds (fifth on the team) and a team-best 2.9 assists over a team-high 31.5 minutes per game as a starter in 27 of 30 games played. During NEC action, she increased her averages to 8.5 points and 3.5 assists to go with 3.1 rebounds as a starter in 12 of 15 games.

2025-26 NEC Weekly Award Winners & Prime Performers:
Dolphins players have earned one NEC Weekly Award and three NEC Prime Performer honors so far this season.

Weekly Award Winners: 
Rookie of the Week - Kayden Clark (Nov. 10)

Prime Performers:
Kayden Clark (Nov. 10)
Ashley Buragas (Nov. 10)
Eli Clark (Nov. 24)

Coach DiPillo:
Nick DiPillo was named the seventh head coach in Le Moyne women's basketball program history on May 23, 2024 after stints as an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University, University of Pittsburgh, Seton Hall University and with the New York Liberty, in addition to a successful head coaching stint at the University of Scranton. 

The Dolphins earned the fifth seed in the 2024-25 NEC tournament in coach Dipillo's first season, eventually taking down #4 Saint Francis, 62-51, in the opening round before falling to #2 Stonehill, 60-41, in the semifinals. 

Knights News:
Geneseo has played to a 7-2 overall record and 1-0 mark in Empire 8 play through their first nine games of the season, head coach Alyssa Polosky's seventh leading the program.

In their most recent game, the Knights came out to a quick 7-0 lead and held it the rest of the way to take down Keuka, 79-55, on Saturday, Dec. 6. Kristin Suydam led the team in scoring with 13 points while adding a season-high nine rebounds for Geneseo. Senior forward Grace Galgano, sophomore guard Aliza Whitehead, and junior forward Audrey Hintz each recorded 12 points while senior guard Maggie McGrane led the way with 13 assists.

The team is currently on a four-game winning streak dating back to an 82-53 victory over William Smith College on Nov. 18.

Through 10 games, Galgano leads the Knights in scoring with 13.4 points per game just ahead of McGrane who also sits in the double-digits with 10.0 and Suydam who is just outside with 9.8. 

Galgano also leads Geneseo with 7.4 rebounds and a .578 field-goal percentage while McGrane sits atop the rankings with a .458 mark from three and 42 assists this season. 

Geneseo returns 10 players from their 2024-25 season that saw the Knights go 24-7 overall, win the Empire 8 Tournament, and reach the NCAA D-III Sweet 16 for the fifth time in program history. They are joined by three freshmen newcomers this season.

The Knights were ranked #22 in the country in the D3hoops Preseason Poll to begin the season.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will host Saint Francis as they begin NEC action on Ted Grant Court at 6:00 p.m. this coming Friday, Jan. 2.