Le Moyne (5-16, 3-5 NEC) vs FDU (11-8, 6-2 NEC)
Info: Thursday, Jan. 29 | 6:00 P.M. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court at the Donald J. Savage '51 Basketball Arena
Watch: NEC Front Row
Listen: WSIV 106.3 FM / 1540 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
LIU's Links: Schedule | Roster | News

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will host LIU at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29 in their second NEC matchup of the season. The game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row and WSIV 106.3 FM / 1540 AM from Ted Grant Court at the Donald J. Savage '51 Basketball Arena.

Season Summary:
The Dolphins have dropped their four most recent contests and have a 5-16 record overall and have gone 3-5 in conference 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. 

The Dolphins then hit the road 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 week, Le Moyne traveled to Wagner and suffered a 59-45 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday before hosting FDU and falling, 56-41, at home this past Saturday.

Stat Leaders:
Junior forward Ashley Buragas leads the team as their sole double-digit scorer with 11.4 points per game through 21 starts, just ahead of sophomore guard Eli Clark and senior guard Sierra Linnin who are each averaging 9.0 points per game.

Buragas is shooting a team-high 100-195 (.513) from the field and leads the squad with 6.5 rebounds per game while sitting tied for first in blocks with seven (along with freshman guard Kayden Cark), second in steals with 17 (behind junior guard Jessica Wangolo), third in assists with 38, and third in minutes played per game with 25.4 this season.

Linnin leads the Dolphins with 43 made three-pointers while being the only other Dolphin to get the starting nod in all 21 games along with Buragas. She is shooting 21-23 (.913) from the line, and is second on the team with 28.1 minutes on the hardwood per game.

E. Clark leads the squad in minutes played per game (30.5), is tied for first in assists (52; Wangolo), and is third in field goals made with 57 through 19 games started this season. 

NEC Stat Rankings:
Through eight conference games, Buragas sits tied for fifth in the NEC in scoring with 15.5 points per game while Linnin ranks tied for 22nd with 10.3 in the same category.

Buragas sits atop the league in field-goal percentage (.520), third in rebounds per game (7.6), ninth in free-throw rate on 31 attempts (.710), and tied for 15th in blocks (0.4).

Linnin also sits tied for sixth in threes made per game with 2.0 and 25th in minutes played with 28.6 per conference game played.

Wangolo ranks tied for fifth in assists (3.4), seventh in assist to turnover ratio (1.0), and tied for 15th in steals (1.4).

E. Clark ranks 10th in assists (3.2), and 16th in minutes played (31.7) through six conference appearances.

Freshman forward Praise Matthews has registered 0.5 blocks per NEC game, tied for 10th-best in the conference.

Last Time Out:
Le Moyne hosted NEC-leading FDU on Saturday afternoon and fell, 56-41, at Ted Grant Court.

Buragas 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 marked her 12th time finishing in double digits this year.

Junior forward Sydney Postell added another eight points while dishing out one assist and taking away one steal in the loss.

E. Clark 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.

Series History:
Le Moyne holds a 3-2 record all-time against LIU after taking on the Sharks twice per year since joining the NEC prior to the 2023-24 season and once already this month. 

The Dolphins swept the season series in 2023-24 before falling in their road matchup last January, 59-48, and coming out on top at home, 83-53, one month later. Two weeks ago, Le Moyne traveled to Brooklyn and dropped their first meeting against the Sharks this season, 79-68.

Freshman guard Peyton Dincher led the Dolphins' offense and  recorded a new career-high in points for the second straight game with 23 in 31 minutes off the bench. Dincher shot 7-10 from the field with three shots from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-6 rate from the line. 

Buragas and Postell also tallied career-highs in points with 21 and 17 for the Dolphins. Buragas shot 9-12 (75.0%) from the field while Postell went 5-6 (83.3%) overall and 3-3 from three-point range to go along with a 4-4 mark from the charity stripe. 

Sophomore guard Sophia Bonnell led the team with a career-best five rebounds while Wangolo put up a team-high five assists in the loss.

Le Moyne shot a season-best 53.5% (23-43) from the field, their best mark since transitioning to NCAA Division I, and went 53.8% (7-13) from three with an 83.3% (15-18) mark from the line. They added 26 points off the bench and 16 points off turnovers, as well.

Common Opponents:
Aside from their NEC rivals, the Dolphins and Sharks have no common opponents this season. 

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 eight 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, Jan. 26)
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 Sharks:
LIU has played to an 11-8 record to begin the 2025-26 season and enter Thursday's contest with a 6-2 mark in NEC action, placing them second in the standings behind only FDU. 

Head coach Neil Harrow is in his first season as the leader of the program.

The Sharks have earned conference wins on the road against CCSU (72-56), Mercyhurst (86-81), and Saint Francis (77-61) while coming out on top at home over Chicago State (60-51), Le Moyne (79-68), and Stonehill (72-59) since NEC play began earlier this month. 

In their latest game, a loss at home against Wagner (59-54) on Saturday, senior forward Kadidia Toure led the Sharks with 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in 28 minutes of action while graduate guard/forward Kionna Gaines (11), and junior guard Janessa Williams (10) also finished with double-digit points. 

Through eight conference games, Toure leads all NEC players in scoring with 18.3 points per game and sits ahead of Williams (11.3) and junior guard Solangelei Akridge (10.1), who are also averaging double-digit scoring averages this season.

Toure also sits second in the conference, bringing in 9.6 rebounds per game this season while Akridge has added a team-high 51 assists.

LIU returns just one player, Williams, from their 2024-25 team that went 6-24 overall and fell in the quarterfinal round of the NEC Tournament against #1 FDU. They are joined by seven transfers and five freshman newcomers this season.

The Sharks were voted to finish eighth in the NEC's Preseason Coaches Poll after going 3-13 in conference play a season ago.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will travel to Stonehill to take on the Skyhawks in North Easton, Mass. on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2:00 p.m.