Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team hosted the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils at Ted Grant Court in their second meeting of the season on Thursday night. The Dolphins now possess a 9-18 season record with a 7-7 mark in NEC play this season.
Redshirt sophomore guard Amya McLeod (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy / Youngstown State), senior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus), and junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) all tied for the team lead in scoring with 11 points apiece while junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) also finished in the double-digits with 10 points of her own in the win.
McLeod shot just 1-2 from the field but went a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line in 21 minutes off the bench.
Linnin led the team with two buckets from three-point range and added another three from the line. Buragas shot 5-8 overall and led the team with eight rebounds, while Wangolo went 5-6 from the charity stripe in a team-high 29 minutes on the hardwood.
Junior forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) added eight rebounds to trail just behind Buragas while sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township) dished out a team-leading four assists.
Le Moyne shot 19-51 (37.3%) from the field and 23-28 (82.1%) from the line against the Blue Devils. The Dolphins recorded 22 points in the paint, 19 points off turnovers, 11 second chance points, and registered 26 of their points off the bench.
Lucia Noin led the way for CCSU, collecting 28 of the team's 46 points on 9-15 shooting overall and an 8-9 mark from the line in 37 minutes. She added seven rebounds, as well, sitting just one behind team leader Cierra Person (eight) in the loss. Pearson and Kiyah Lewis tied for a team-high three assists.
The Dolphins got off to a slow start offensively in the first quarter, falling behind 7-2 midway through the period. A three-point play from freshman guard Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Manasquan) with 4:53 remaining was all the team could put together the rest of the way as they went to the first break facing a 14-5 deficit.
An eight-point run from the 7:49 mark to the 3:53 point in the second gave Le Moyne their first lead of the game at 17-16 as field goals from Linnin, senior guard Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y. / Averill Park), and freshman forward Praise Matthews (Red Lion, Pa. / Dallastown) coupled with McLeod free-throws put them ahead.
The Blue Devils worked all the way back by the end of the quarter as Noin contributed nine points in the final 3:36 to put the visitors up 25-23 at the half.
A layup from McLeod tied the game at 27-27 before the Dolphins regained the lead once again on a jumper out of the hands of Buragas with 4:20 left in the third quarter. Threes from Postell and Linnin along with an off-balance underhand bucket from Wangolo sent the game to the final 10 minutes as the 'Phins held a three-point, 41-38, advantage.
Le Moyne closed the game out strong offensively, scoring 16 unanswered points in a run that lasted over seven minutes to take a 59-42 lead with just under two minutes left to play. Consecutive layups from Lombardi closed out the win for the Dolphins as they came away with a 65-46 victory, their second over CCSU this season.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will remain at home for a 3:00 p.m. matchup with Stonehill at Ted Grant Court on Saturday, Feb. 21.
