New Britain, Conn. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team continued their Connecticut road trip and headed to CCSU for an NEC matchup against the Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins earned their second consecutive victory, 65-61, and now have a 5-12 record overall and 3-1 mark in conference play.
Freshman guard Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) led the way for the Dolphins with a career-high 15 points in 25 minutes off the bench. Dincher shot a career-best 5-8 (62.5%) from the field with one three-pointer and a perfect 4-4 mark from the line. She added five rebounds and one assist, as well.
Junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) tallied her fourth double-double of the season after contributing 14 points on 6-13 (46.2%) shooting from the field and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township), junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo), and junior forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) added nine, eight, and seven points, respectively in the win. Wangolo was impactful on the boards, as well, tying her career-high in rebounds with seven.
Le Moyne shot 38.1% (24-63) from the field and 81.3% (13-16) from the line with 40 of their points coming in the paint and 27 coming off the bench.
Lucia Noin set the game-high with 24 points on 11-20 (55.0%) shooting while sitting second on the team with seven rebounds. Kiyah Lewis also finished in double-digits with 14 points and led the squad in both rebounds with nine and assists with three.
For the second straight game, Le Moyne and their competitors struggled to get going offensively early in the opening quarter, with CCSU adding the first points of the game on a layup from Noin nearly four minutes into the game.
Dincher registered the 'Phins first points of the day on a layup with 4:32 remaining while a three from fellow freshman guard Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Manasquan) acted as the team's second and final field goals of the first 10 minutes of play.
CCSU went to the first break with a 12-5 lead and immediately expanded on that on an opening-possession three from Lewis. Le Moyne held the Blue Devils scoreless for the next 4:57 while working to lessen their deficit to three, 15-12, thanks to a pair of buckets in the paint and a shot from behind the arc out of the hands of Dincher.
After trading layups and free-throws over the next four minutes, the Dolphins finally caught up and took the lead, 23-22, on a fastbreak three-pointer from Postell at the 1:21 mark. CCSU quickly regained the lead on a late jumper by Jessica Farrell and free-throws from Lewis, and took a 26-25 advantage into halftime.
The Blue Devils put together an 11-4 run over the opening 4:38 of the third quarter and extended their lead to eight, 37-29, in the process before reaching their game-high nine-point lead on a layup from Mia Toure at the 3:40 mark.
Le Moyne stormed back in the final three-plus minutes of the frame, however, and outscored CCSU, 14-4 on six points from Dincher, including four at the line, four in the paint from Buragas, and a pair of layups by Wangolo and redshirt sophomore guard Amya McLeod (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy / Youngstown State). The Dolphins reclaimed the lead, 46-45, for the first time out of the break on the final shot of the third quarter.
The Dolphins added eight points in the first five minutes of the final quarter to hold off the Blue Devils before cashing in seven free-throw opportunities and extending their lead in the final three minutes of play. Despite a late and-one from Noin, Le Moyne was able to hold on for their third NEC victory of the season, 65-61, on the road.
What's Next:
Le Moyne will continue their road stretch in a Thursday night meeting with LIU in Brooklyn at 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 15.
