Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team hosted NEC-leading FDU on Saturday afternoon and fell, 56-41, at Ted Grant Court. The Dolphins are now 5-16 overall and are 3-5 in conference play this season.
Junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) recorded her fifth double-double of the season and fifth consecutive double-digit scoring outing to lead Le Moyne, putting up 13 points and bringing in 15 rebounds along with a team-high four assists against FDU. Her point total marks her 12th time finishing in double digits this year.
Junior forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) added another eight points while dishing out one assist and taking away one steal in the loss.
Sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township) recorded four rebounds and tallied a pair of assists, both second-most on the team.
Le Moyne shot 15-55 (27.3%) from the field with 16 points coming from the paint and 10 off turnovers. They held FDU to a similar shooting rate overall, only allowing 18-56 (32.1%) of shots to find the bottom of the net.
Madlena Gerke led all players with 21 points for FDU while Kailee McDonald and Ava Renninger finished with 11 and 10, respectively. Renninger brought in a team-best eight rebounds while dishing out a team-leading five assists while playing all 40 minutes of game time.
The Dolphins worked to a 5-2 lead on jumpers from senior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus) and junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) and a free throw from Buragas halfway through the opening quarter. The Knights then went on a scoring run of 15 unanswered points to close out the frame with a 17-5 lead.
A steal and fastbreak layup out of the hands of Postell marked the first point-scoring effort of the second quarter as the 'Phins cut their deficit to 10 at the 7:11 mark on a jumper by Buragas. A three from Postell with 3:10 left in the half brought them back within seven points, 23-16, and they went to the break down by 10 after a layup from E. Clark.
Back-to-back threes from E. Clark and Postell in the opening minutes of the third quarter put Le Moyne back in striking distance down 28-24, but FDU stormed back with a 10-0 run to go back ahead by 14 in the next three minutes of play. They went to the final quarter of play up by 19 after a three from McDonald extended the Knights' lead.
Buragas took over to begin the fourth, tallying six points in the first three-plus minutes on a pair of layups and a jumper, but it wasn't enough to close the gap as the Dolphins recorded just six points over the remainder of the game and fell, 56-41, at home against FDU.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will remain at home to host LIU in their second meeting of the season next Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6:00 p.m.
