Le Moyne (3-11, 1-0 NEC) vs. Mercyhurst (0-12, 0-1 NEC)
Info: Sunday, Jan. 4 | 1:00 P.M. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Watch: NEC Front Row
Listen: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Mercyhurst's Links: Schedule | Roster | News

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will continue their conference-opening weekend of play as they host Mercyhurst at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 4. The matchup will be broadcast on NEC Front Row and FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM from Ted Grant Court. 

Season Summary:
The Dolphins are 3-11 overall and 1-0 in conference action following the entirety of their 2025-26 non-conference slate and opening NEC contest.  

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.

Le Moyne closed out their non-conference schedule with a home win over SUNY Geneseo, 67-55, this past Tuesday, Dec. 30 before taking their NEC opener against Saint Francis, 73-69, also at home on Friday night. 

Stat Leaders:
Sophomore guard Eli Clark leads all Dolphins in scoring with 9.9 points per game while shooting .373 from the field with a 34.8% rate from three-point range on 69 attempts. She also sits atop the stat sheet with both 29.9 minutes per game and 39 assists while ranking third with 3.1 rebounds per game. Clark is currently 21-25 (.840) from the free-throw line, as well, ranking first among all players with double-digit attempts this season. 

Junior forward Ashley Buragas (9.4) and senior guard Sierra Linnin (8.4) sit behind E. Clark in scoring for Le Moyne while fellow freshman guards Kayden Clark (6.4) and Peyton Dincher (6.1) round out the 'Phins with more than five points scored per contest this season. 

Buragas and K. Clark also sit first and second on the team in field goal percentage as Buragas is shooting at a .509 clip and K. Clark at .443. 

Buragas leads all 'Phins with 5.8 rebounds per game on average while Linnin, E. Clark, and Dincher sit atop the stat sheet with north of 20 made threes apiece, respectively.

NEC Stat Rankings:
Through one conference game played, Ashley Buragas sits sixth in the NEC in scoring with 16.0 points per game, seventh in field goal percentage (.556), tied for ninth in free-throw rate (.750), and tied for 14th in rebounding (5.0). 

Eli Clark ranks first in assist to turnover ratio (6-0), tied for first in assists (6.0), tied for second in steals (2.0), tied for ninth in free-throw percentage (.750), tied for 11th in rebounding (6.0), tied for 15th in scoring (12.0), and tied for 16th in minutes played (30.0).

Kayden Clark is first in three-point rate (.750), tied for second in the conference in shot percentage (.714), steals (2.0), and threes made per game (3.0), tied for fourth in blocked shots (1.0), tied for ninth in scoring (13.0), and tied for 21st in minutes on the court (29.0).

Last Time Out:
Le Moyne opened 2025-26 NEC action at home against Saint Francis and earned a hard-fought 73-69 victory over the Red Flash at Ted Grant Court on Friday night. 

Four different Dolphins recorded double-digit points, including junior forward Ashley Buragas who led Le Moyne with 16 points on 5-9 (55.5%) shooting from the field and a 6-8 (75.0%) rate from the line. She also added five rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes.

Freshman guard Kayden Clark followed behind Buragas with 13 points while going 3-4 (75.0%) from three-point range, just ahead of sophomore guard Eli Clark who added 12 points while leading the team in both rebounds (six) and assists (six). Both Clarks contributed a pair of steals in the victory, as well. 

Senior guard Sierra Linnin rounded out the double-digit scorers for Le Moyne, adding 11 points on four buckets including a trio of threes, with a pair of rebounds and one steal.

Junior guard Jessica Wangolo was a force all around the court, adding seven points along with five rebounds, four assists, and one steal in the win.  

Le Moyne connected on 45.5% (25-55) of their shots from the field while adding 30 points in the paint, 24 bench points, and a season-high 18 points off turnovers.

Series History:
Le Moyne sits with a 12-7 overall series record against Mercyhurst with their first meeting coming during the 1985-86 season.

The two programs met 13 times in the '80s and '90s and on another four occasions in the mid-2000s before becoming NEC rivals as the Lakers began their transition to NCAA Division I prior to the 2024-25 campaign.  

The two teams split their matchups last season, each earning a win at home.

In their most recent matchup in Syracuse on Feb. 8 of last year, the Dolphins came away with a 60-58 victory over the visiting Lakers.

Current starters Eli Clark (16) and Sierra Linnin (10) both scored in double-digits in that game with the former adding five assists and three rebounds in a team-high 34 minutes played and the latter also registering a season-high tying three assists and a career-high tying seven rebounds.

Common Opponents:
Aside from their NEC rivals, the Dolphins and Red Flash both took on Cornell and St. Bonaventure in non-conference action earlier this season.

Mercyhurst met Cornell at home and suffered a 53-49 loss on Nov. 14 before Le Moyne hosted the Big Red on Nov. 22 and came away with a gut-wrenching 52-51 loss in overtime.

The Dolphins then hosted the Bonnies on Dec. 6 and came away with a 66-57 defeat just days before the Lakers met a similar fate, 60-57, againt St. Bonaventure less than a week later on Dec. 12.  

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 one NEC Weekly Award and four NEC Prime Performer honors so far this season.

Weekly Award Winners: 
Rookie of the Week - Kayden Clark (Nov. 10)

Prime Performers:
Ashley Buragas (Nov. 10, Dec. 31)
Kayden Clark (Nov. 10)
Eli Clark (Nov. 24)

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 Lakers:
Mercyhurst rounded out non-conference play with an 0-11 record before opening their NEC slate at home with a loss to FDU on Friday night. Head coach Erin Mills-Reid is in her first season at the helm of the Lakers' program.

In their NEC-opener, Mercyhurst hosted FDU and fell, 68-46, against the Knights on Friday. Freshman guard Sofia Wilson (17) and sophomore guard Cici Hernandez (10) finished the game with double-digit points for the home Lakers.

Through 12 team games, sophomore guard Lena Walz leads with 12.0 points per game in seven appearances, ahead of senior guard Jenna Van Schaik (9.5) and Hernandez (9.3) who have both appeared in 11 or more games for the squad. 

Sophomore forward Erica Hall leads Mercyhurst with 3.8 rebounds per game, just ahead of Walz who sits at 3.3 boards. Hall also leads the squad with a .516 field-goal rate while shooting 40.9% from deep this season. 

Mercyhurst returns eight players from their 2024-25 season that saw the Lakers go 9-18 overall and miss out on the NEC Tournament due to first-year ineligibility. They are joined by three transfers and four freshman newcomers this season.

The Lakers were voted to finish sixth in the NEC's Preseason Coaches Poll after going 6-10 in conference play a season ago, while Van Schaik was named to the All-NEC Preseason Team.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will travel to New Haven for their first road NEC game of the season at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8.