Game #31 vs. Stonehill (NEC)

Info: Thursday, March 13 | North Easton, Mass. | 7:00 p.m. | Merkert Gymnasium

Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals

Watch: ESPN+ / NESN+ / NEC Front Row .... Live Stats: stonehillskyhawks.com

Le Moyne Radio: Fox Sports 92.5FM & 1490 AM (foxsports1490.com)

Stonehill Links: Schedule | Roster | News | Stats

North Easton, Mass – The fifth-seeded Le Moyne College women's basketball team will meet second-seeded Stonehill College in the semifinal round of the Northeast Conference Tournament Thursday evening at Stonehill's Merkert Gymnasium. The playoff battle is set to tipoff at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, NESN+, and NEC Front Row. The game will also air on YES on delay at 1:00 a.m.

Le Moyne fans can also tune into the radio broadcast for pregame, in-game and postgame coverage with the voice of Le Moyne women's basketball Tim McCaffrey on Fox Sports Syracuse 92.5FM & 1490AM and at foxsports1490.com.

THE MATCHUP:

Le Moyne holds a 14-28 all-time record against Stonehill. The two sides split their regular season matchups in 2024-25, with each team claiming a win on their home floor. Le Moyne recorded a thrilling 69-67 win over the Skyhawks in Syracuse on January 20, as graduate guard Megan Bodziony (Wakefield, R.I./St. Andrew's School/Fordham/Bryant) tallied a career-high 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with two seconds remaining. During the rematch in North Easton on March 1, Le Moyne graduate forward Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent) poured in a career-high 27 points, but it was Stonehill that came away with the 65-61 win as Brooke Paquette and Sharn Hayward combined for 40 points, while Kylie Swider added 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Stonehill's win earlier this month snapped the Skyhawks' five-game losing streak against the Dolphins, dating back to their final meeting as Northeast-10 Conference opponents during the 2021-22 season.

During their first year as Northeast Conference foes in 2023-24, Le Moyne won both regular season matchups, then bested Stonehill in the NEC Tournament Quarterfinals at Ted Grant Court by a score of 79-59 in the NEC Tournament debut for both sides. Hayward led Stonehill during the playoff loss with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range, while Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) and Roberts both scored in double figures for Le Moyne with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Le Moyne compiled a 6-10 conference record during the regular season to earn the No. 5 seed in the NEC Tournament, while Stonehill finished second in the standings with an 11-5 resume against NEC competition. The Dolphins will be looking to advance to their second NEC Tournament Championship game in their second season as a member of the league, while Stonehill is coming off its first-ever NEC Tournament victory.

DOLPHIN RUNDOWN

Le Moyne bested fourth-seeded Saint Francis on Monday in the NEC Tournament Quarterfinals by a score of 62-51 to claim the program's first postseason road victory since the 2018-19 season.

After trailing 45-39 at the end of the third quarter, the Dolphins put on a clinic in the final 10 minutes, outscoring the Red Flash 23-6 in the fourth, including an 11-2 run in the final 4:47 of game action.

Freshman guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) scored a game-high 14 points, marking her 10th double-digit scoring outing of the season, on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the line to go along with five rebounds, three assists and one steal. Clark scored eight of her points in the fourth quarter.

Roberts registered her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and she reached 1,000 career points with a layup in the final minute of the second quarter.

Linnin also scored in double figures for Le Moyne with 11 points, while senior guard Emily Florvil (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) provided nine points, six rebounds, including three offensive boards, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes played off the bench. Senior guard Brianna Williams (Brampton, Ontario/Southwest Academy/Hartford) also contributed crucial bench production, recording seven points, five rebounds, four assists and one block.

The 'Phins showed poise during the road playoff battle, committing just nine turnovers and limiting the Red Flash to five free throw attempts.

After three made threes in a three-minute span from SFU's Airah Lavy gave the Red Flash its largest lead of the game at 45-38 with under a minute remaining in the third period, the Dolphins shot 7-of-11 from the field, 4-of-6 from three and 5-of-7 from the line in the fourth quarter to pull in front and secure a spot in the semifinals.

The win was Le Moyne's first road victory of the season. The Dolphins dropped both regular season meetings against Saint Francis this season, with a 73-41 setback in Loretto on January 11, followed by a 66-60 overtime loss at Ted Grant Court on February 6.

"I couldn't be more proud of our group," said Le Moyne Linda M. LeMura Endowed Head Women's Basketball Coach Nick DiPillo, currently in his first season at the helm of the program, following the playoff win over SFU. "I believe strongly in the character of this team... Couldn't be more excited for them. I think we showed a lot of heart and going into that fourth quarter, had every opportunity to fold it up, but they're not done yet, and I'm excited to lead them."

Roberts and Linnin lead Le Moyne in scoring on the year with 11.9 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Roberts is also averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds, while Clark is providing 8.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists through 29 games played in her rookie campaign.

Linnin currently leads all Northeast Conference players in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 39.4% on 165 attempts. She is also second in made threes per game behind Stonehill's Hayward.

During the 16 regular season NEC contests, Williams (2.1) and Florvil (2.0) were two of just six players in the league to average over 2.0 offensive rebounds. On the year, Williams has grabbed a team-high 56 offensive boards, while Florvil is close behind with 48.

Standing at 5'6", Florvil ranks 19th in program history in career offensive rebounds with 153. She has nearly grabbed as many offensive rebounds in her career as she has defensive rebounds (154).

Williams' 1.98 offensive rebounding average through 62 games played as a Dolphin ranks 17th in program history.

With her third field goal of Le Moyne's playoff game at SFU, Roberts became just the 17th player in Le Moyne women's basketball program history to reach 1,000 career points. She also ranks eighth in career rebounds (666) and defensive rebounds (476), 16th in offensive rebounds (190) and third in free throw percentage (.832).

During Monday's game at Saint Francis, Roberts tied the program record for games played with 116.

ALL-NEC HONOREES:

Thursday's semifinal contest in North Easton will feature six players who received All-NEC recognition. For Le Moyne, Roberts was named to the All-NEC Second Team, while Clark earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team, becoming the first Le Moyne player to garner NEC All-Rookie Team honors.

Stonehill's Hayward and Swider were both voted to the All-NEC First Team, while Paquette claimed a spot on the All-NEC Second Team, and freshman forward Megan Sias was named to the All-Rookie Team.

Paquette and Swider both earned an NEC major award as well, with Paquette being named Most Improved Player, and Swider, a graduate transfer from Villanova, taking home the NEC Newcomer of the Year Award.

SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS:

Stonehill defeated seventh-seeded Wagner College by a score of 72-50 Monday at home to claim the program's first NEC Tournament win. Senior guard Sharn Hayward led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-17 from the field and 7-of-13 from beyond the arc while sophomore guard Brooke Paquette provided 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from three with five assists. Graduate center Kylie Swider added nine points and eight rebounds, while senior forward Maureen Stapleton chipped in six rebounds, six assists and a field goal. 

In year three of their transition to Division I, the Skyhawks improved their winning percentage by .400 from a season ago, and tallied seven more conference victories to finish second in the NEC Standings.

Hayward (16.4), Paquette (13.3) and Swider (12.8) are each averaging double figures for the Skyhawks in 30 starts.

During conference play, Paquette is first in the NEC in assists per game (4.7) and third in steals (1.9), Swider is tied for first in rebounds (9.9) and third in blocks (1.0) and field goal percentage (.522), Hayward is third in scoring (16.6), first in three-point field goal percentage (.407) and made threes per game (3.8), and Stapleton is fourth in assists (3.6) and second in assist to turnover ratio (1.9).

Hayward has knocked down an impressive 106 three-point field goals on 39.1% shooting from beyond the arc this season.

Stapleton is second on the team in rebounds (7.1) and assists (3.6) through 30 starts this season.

As a team during conference play, Stonehill is second in the league in scoring margin (3.3), field goal percentage (.427), three-point field goal percentage (.351), threes made per game (7.9), rebounding margin (3.6), assist to turnover ratio (1.07), and first in assists (17.06) and free throw percentage (.776).

Stonehill is led by head coach Trisha Brown, who is in her 24th year at the helm of the program.

UP NEXT:
The winner of Thursday's semifinal matchup at Merkert Gymnasium will advance to the NEC Championship game on Sunday, where they will meet the winner of the other semifinal matchup between top-seeded FDU and sixth-seeded Chicago State.