Le Moyne (5-17, 3-6 NEC) at Stonehill (7-13, 3-6 NEC)
Info: Saturday, Jan. 31 | 2:00 P.M. | North Easton, Mass. | Merkert Gymnasium
Watch: NEC Front Row
Listen: WSIV 106.3 FM / 1540 AM
Live Stats: https://stonehillskyhawks.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Stonehill's Links: Schedule | Roster | News

North Easton, Mass. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will travel to Stonehill for a Saturday contest against the Skyhawks at 2:00 p.m. on January 31. The game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row and WSIV 106.3 FM / 1540 AM from Merkert Gymnasium.

Season Summary:
The Dolphins have dropped their five straight matchups and sit with a 5-17 record overall and a 3-6 mark in conference action 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. 

Last week, Le Moyne traveled to Wagner and suffered a 59-45 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday, Jan. 22 before hosting FDU and falling, 56-41, at home on Saturday.

Most recently, the 'Phins hosted LIU and dropped their meeting with the Sharks, 84-65, at Ted Grant Court on Thursday night.

Stat Leaders:
Junior forward Ashley Buragas leads the team as their sole double-digit scorer with 11.3 points per game through 23 starts, just ahead of senior guard Sierra Linnin and sophomore guard Eli Clark who are averaging 9.6 and 9.0 points per game, respectively.

Buragas is shooting a team-high 103-204 (.505) from the field and leads the squad with 6.6 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 44, and third in minutes played per game with 25.7 this season.

Linnin leads the Dolphins with 49 made three-pointers while being the only other Dolphin to get the starting nod in all 22 games along with Buragas. She is shooting 25-27 (.926) from the line, and is second on the team with 28.4 minutes on the hardwood per game.

Heading into Saturday's matchup, Linnin sits just 17 points away from becoming the 18th player in program history to reach the 1,000-points scored milestone.

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 sixth in the NEC in scoring with 14.8 points per game while Linnin ranks 14th with 11.8 in the same category.

Buragas sits third in the league in rebounds per game (7.7), fourth in field-goal percentage (.505), ninth in free-throw rate on 35 attempts (.714), and tied for 21st in blocks (0.3).

Linnin sits tied for fourth in threes made per game with 2.4 and 25th in minutes played with 29.2 per conference game played.

Wangolo ranks sixth in both assists (3.4) and assist to turnover ratio (1.0), and tied for 14th in steals (1.4).

E. Clark ranks tied for seventh in assists (3.2), and 17th in minutes played (31.7) through six conference appearances.

Freshman forward Praise Matthews has registered 0.4 blocks per NEC game, tied for 14th-best in the conference.

Last Time Out:
Le Moyne hosted LIU at Ted Grant Court on Thursday night and the Sharks came away with an 84-65 victory over the Dolphins. 

Linnin led all players with 24 points including six three-pointers and a perfect 4-4 rate from the free-throw line. She shot 7-12 overall (.583) with three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in the loss.

Freshman guard Peyton Dincher and junior forward Sydney Postell also finished with double-digit points for the home squad, recording 14 and 11, respectively. Dincher shot 4-6 (.667) from the field with a 4-4 mark from behind the line. Postell added seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 33 minutes on the hardwood.

Buragas led the Dolphins with eight rebounds, just ahead of Postell, and six assists on Thursday night to go along with nine points. 

Le Moyne shot 21-52 (40.4%) from the field and 113-28 (46.4%) from three with 16 points coming from the paint and 11 off turnovers.

Series History:
Stonehill holds a 29-14 advantage all-time against Le Moyne, as the two programs were conference foes in the NE10 from 1996-2022 and again in the NEC from 2023 to the present.

Since beginning their transition to NCAA Division I and joining the NEC prior to the 2023-24 season, the Dolphins have gone 4-2 against the Skyhawks with the two teams also meeting in the NEC Tournament in both of the past two seasons.

Le Moyne came out on top in the NEC quarterfinals during the 2023-24 postseason while Stonehill defeated the 'Phins in last year's semifinals round.

In that most recent meeting in March of last year, current Dolphins Linnin and Postell led the team in scoring with eight points each, while E. Clark added seven.

Common Opponents:
Aside from their NEC rivals, the Dolphins and Skyhawks 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 Skyhawks:
Stonehill has earned a 7-13 record to begin the 2025-26 season and will host the Dolphins with a 3-6 mark in NEC action.They sit tied with Le Moyne for seventh in the conference standings. 

Head coach Trisha Brown is in her 24th season at the helm of the Skyhawks' program.

The Skyhawks have earned their three conference wins in a pair of home matchups against CCSU (71-53) and Saint Francis (59-57), and most recently on the road in their second meeting with CCSU (74-65) last Saturday.

In their latest game, a 78-54 road loss at FDU on Thursday night, junior guard Brooke Paquette led the Skyhawks with 18 points on 6-14 shooting overall and a 4-4 mark from the charity stripe. Sophomore forward Julia Webster brought in a team-high six rebounds and dished out a Skyhawk-leading two assists in the loss. 

Through 20 games played, Paquette sits second in the NEC in scoring with 14.7 points per game and sits ahead of Webster (9.9) and freshman center Reese Roggenburk (9.3) on the year. 

Of qualified players, freshman guard Ella Pelletier (5.4) and Webster (5.3) lead Stonehill in rebounding this season.

Stonehill returns 12 players from their 2024-25 team that went 17-16 overall and fell in the NEC championship game against #1 FDU. They are joined by one transfer, graduate center Amaya Dowdy and three freshman newcomers this season.

The Skyhawks were voted to finish second in the NEC's Preseason Coaches Poll after going 11-5 in conference play a season ago. Paquette was named to the Preseason All-NEC Team, as well. 

What's Next:
Le Moyne will host Wagner at Ted Grant Court on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 6:00 p.m.