Le Moyne (5-15, 3-4 NEC) vs FDU (16-4, 7-0 NEC)
Info: Saturday, Jan. 24 | 1:00 P.M. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court at the Donald J. Savage '51 Basketball Arena
Watch: NEC Front Row
Listen: FOX Sports 92.5 FM / 1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
FDU's Links: Schedule | Roster | News

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will host FDU as they continue conference action at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24. The game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row and  FOX Sports 92.5 FM / 1490 AM from Ted Grant Court at the Donald J. Savage '51 Basketball Arena.

Season Summary:
The Dolphins will look to rebound against FDU as the 'Phins have dropped their last three contests and sit 5-15 overall and have gone 3-4 in NEC play this season.  

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.

Through December, 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. 

The squad then dropped a pair of games in the Hawk Classic from Dec. 21-21 against host St. Joe's, 100-40, and Akron, 94-68 before closing out their non-conference schedule with a home win over SUNY Geneseo, 67-55, on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

The Dolphins earned a win in their NEC opener against Saint Francis, 73-69, also at home on Friday, Jan. 2 before falling short in their meeting with Mercyhurst, 89-72, at Ted Grant Court two days later. 

The team traveled to New Haven for their first road conference game of the season on Thursday, Jan. 8 and came away with a 48-40 win over the Chargers before coming out on top at CCSU, 65-61, on Saturday, Jan. 10. 

Last week, the Dolphins traveled to Brooklyn and fell to LIU, 78-68, on Thursday, Jan. 15 before dropping a home matchup with Chicago State, 61-55, two days later. This past Thursday, Le Moyne traveled to Wagner and suffered a 59-45 loss to the Seahawks

Stat Leaders:
Junior forward Ashley Buragas leads the team as their sole double-digit scorer with 11.3 points per game through 20 starts, just ahead of sophomore guard Eli Clark and senior guard Sierra Linnin who are each averaging 9.2 points per matchup.

Buragas is shooting a team-high 94-181 (.519) from the field and leads the squad with 6.1 rebounds per game while sitting first in blocks with seven, second in steals with 17 (behind junior guard Jessica Wangolo), third in assists with 34, and third in minutes played per game with 25.1 this season.

Linnin leads the Dolphins with 42 made three-pointers while starting in all 20 games along with Buragas, is shooting 21-23 (.913) from the line, and is second on the team with 28.0 minutes on the hardwood per game.

E. Clark leads the squad in minutes played (30.2), is second in assists (50), and is third in field goals made with 55 through 18 games started this season. 

NEC Stat Rankings:
Through six conference games, Buragas sits fourth in the NEC in scoring with 15.9 points per game while Linnin ranks tied for 19th with 11.0 in the same category.

Buragas sits atop the league in field-goal percentage (.536), seventh in rebounds per game (6.6), and seventh in free-throw rate on 29 attempts (.724).

Linnin also sits tied for fifth in threes made per game (2.1).

Wangolo ranks tied for fourth in assists (3.7), seventh in assist to turnover ratio (1.2), and tied for ninth in steals (1.6).

E. Clark ranks tied for sixth in assists (3.4), and tied for 18th in minutes played (31.0) through five conference appearances.

Last Time Out:
Le Moyne traveled to Wagner and took on the Seahawks in an NEC matchup on Thursday night, dropping the road contest, 59-45.

Buragas put up a team-high 13 points in her 11th double-digit scoring effort of the season. She shot 6-17 from the field with seven rebounds, one assist, and one block in 32 minutes on the hardwood.

Postell added another 11 points in her third straight start for the 'Phins, shooting 50% overall while going 5-6 from the line. 

Wangolo led the team with a career-high 10 rebounds while tallying a pair of assists and two steals in 33 minutes of play– also the most of her career. E. Clark dished out a team-best three assists in the loss. 

Le Moyne shot 16-55 (29.1%) from the field with a 11-12 (91.7%) mark from the free-throw line. They recorded 20 of their 45 points in the paint.

Series History:
Le Moyne holds a 3-2 record over FDU since the Dolphins began their transition to NCAA Division I and joined the NEC prior to the 2023-24 season. 

The Dolphins took the first three meetings of the series with two wins coming during the 2023-24 regular season and another during the semifinal round of the NEC Tournament.

Le Moyne then dropped both meetings with the Knights during the 2024-25 season.

In their most recent matchup in Syracuse in last season's regular season finale, FDU came away with a 64-48 victory over the Dolphins. Linnin and E. Clark led all current players with six points each while senior guard Michelina Lombardi added four points and Postell tacked on two for the home team.

Common Opponents:
Aside from their NEC rivals, the Dolphins and Seahawks both met Lafayette during their non-conference schedules.

The Dolphins earned their first win of the season, 82-79, in overtime at Lafayette on Nov. 9, a month before FDU hosted the Leopards and came away with a 69-61 win on Dec. 4. 

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 two NEC Weekly Awards and seven NEC Prime Performer honors so far this season.

Rookies of the Week:
Kayden Clark (Nov. 10)
Peyton Dincher (Jan. 20)

Prime Performers:
Ashley Buragas (Nov. 10, Dec. 31, Jan. 6, Jan. 20)
Kayden Clark (Nov. 10)
Eli Clark (Nov. 24)
Sierra Linnin (Jan. 6)

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. 

Scouting the Knights:
FDU has earned a 16-4 overall record and lead the NEC with a perfect 7-0 record since the beginning of January. Head coach Stephanie Gaitley is currently in her third season as the leader of the Knights' program.

The Knights have taken down Mercyhurst (68-46), Saint Francis (73-28), Chicago State (91-64), New Haven (65-57), Wagner (56-46), LIU (59-58), and CCSU (76-45) over the past three weeks, with two wins coming in Hackensack, N.J. and the rest on the road. 

In their most recent game, sophomore guard Kailee McDonald led all players with 18 points on six three-pointers while graduate guard/forward Madlena Gerke (10), freshman forward Leah Crosby (10), and junior forward Rebecca Osei-Owusu (10) all finished with double-digit points as well. McDonald, Crosby, sophomore guard Ava Renninger, and freshman forward Akeelah Lafleur all led the team with six rebounds as Renninger also put up a team-high four assists in the team's win over CCSU. 

Through 20 games started, Renninger leads all Knights with 13.9 points per game, just ahead of McDonald who sits with 12.3. Osei-Owusu has registered a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game while Renninger has an NEC-best 102 assists, nearly double that of second-place Brooke Paquette of Stonehill.

FDU returns 10 players from their 2024-25 team that went 29-4 overall and claimed the NEC title en route to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They are joined by one transfer, Gerke, and four freshman newcomers this season.

The Knights were voted to finish first in the NEC's Preseason Coaches Poll for the second consecutive season after going undefeated, 16-0. in conference play a year ago.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will remain at home to take on LIU next​​ Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6:00 p.m.