Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team hosted and fell to St. Bonaventure at Ted Grant Court in their second home game of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Bonnies came away with a 66-57 victory to improve to an 8-3 record on the season while sending the Dolphins to 1-7 through eight games played.
Le Moyne freshman guard Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) led the Dolphins in scoring with 13 points while shooting 4-6 from three-point range and 57% from the field in 23 minutes of action. Dincher also added one bucket from the line, one rebound, and a pair of assists in the loss.
Redshirt sophomore guard Amya McLeod (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy / Youngstown State) followed just behind Dincher with a season-best 10 points on 4-7 shooting from the field off the bench. Her 20 minutes on the court were also her most this season as she added two points from the charity stripe along with three rebounds and one assist for the 'Phins.
Senior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus) added nine points on a trio of buckets from deep and four rebounds while junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) tallied another eight points, five rebounds, and a team-high four assists.
Sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township) led the way with six rebounds, just one ahead of junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College). Freshman forward Ava Johnson (Richmond, Va. / The Steward School) registered the team's only block of the afternoon.
The Dolphins shot 41.2% from the field, 27.6% from three, and 70.0% from the charity stripe and added 29 bench points, 14 points off turnovers, and 10 second chance points.
Graduate guards Laycee Drake (21) and Aaliyah Parker (20) contributed 41 of St. Bonaventure's 66 total points in the win as they went a combined 17-28 from the field with four three-pointers for the Bonnies. They also led in rebounding as well, as Parker brought in eight boards while Drake recorded seven along with a team-best four assists.
The Bonnies came out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first quarter before a free-throw from Wangolo and three from Dincher brought the 'Phins back within two points halfway through. Three straight layups from St. Bonaventure's redshirt freshman forward Brianna Barr-Buday gave the team a 16-7 advantage with 2:41 remaining before a jumper from freshman forward Rachel Lynch (Cork, Ireland / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)) and layups out of the hands of McLeod and E. Clark closed out the quarter and pulled Le Moyne back within three points.
Out of the first break, five straight points from Parker gave the Bonnies a 21-13 lead that was lessened with a layup from E. Clark and three from junior forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili). Three-pointers drained by Dincher and Linnin midway through the frame lessened the deficit for the home squad and after a layup by McLeod, another deep bucket from Dincher brought the score back within four points, 33-29, in favor of St. Bonaventure with 2:38 left in the half. A Jumper from Lynch and another layup by McLeod acted as the final points scored in the second quarter as the Dolphins went to halftime down 35-33.
Back-to-back good jumpers from Parker opened the third quarter before Linnin found the bottom of the net with another three and Buragas drove in and added a layup for Le Moyne. Down just one point, 39-38, the 'Phins surrendered seven of the next nine points before a rally highlighted by a fastbreak and completed and-one opportunity from Wangolo along with another Dincher three finally tied the game at 46-46 with 2:21 left.
Le Moyne went into the final quarter of play down by three, 51-48, but after a pair of made free throws from Amya McLeod and two more Bonnies' fouls in the opening 13 seconds, were back within one. The teams traded three-point buckets over the next three minutes before Drake capitalized and added back-to-back layups for St. Bonaventure. Following a shot from Wangolo, the Bonnies scored five unanswered points to extend their lead to eight, 63-55, with just under one minute to play.
Despite a late layup from McLeod, the Dolphins were unable to complete the comeback and fell, 66-57.
What's Next:
Le Moyne will travel to Marquette on Sunday, Dec. 14 for a 3:00 p.m. ET tip-off before closing out the road trip at Bowling Green at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
