Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team hosted Stonehill at Ted Grant Court in their second meeting of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins won their fifth straight game, 53-49, and now hold a 10-18 season record with an 8-7 mark in NEC action this season, keeping them in a tie with Wagner for fourth place in the conference standings.
Junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) led all players with 22 points on 9-14 (64.3%) shooting from the field with a 4-4 mark from the free-throw line. Buragas also brought in a team-high eight rebounds while adding on two assists and one steal in 27 minutes on the hardwood.
Five different Dolphins followed with between five and six points while sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township), junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo), and senior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus) each registered four rebounds in the win.
E. Clark dished out a team-best four assists and led the squad with a pair of steals, as well.
Le Moyne shot 19-43 (44.2%) from the field, 7-15 (46.7%) from range, and 8-10 (80.0%) from the line against the Skyhawks. The Dolphins recorded 22 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers, eight second chance points, and 16 points off the bench.
Brooke Paquette led the Skyhawks with 14 points on 4-15 (26.7%) shooting from the field while adding five free throws.
Stonehill was held to a 19-59 (32.2%) mark overall and a 4-24 (16.7%) rate from three-point range in the setback. Ella Polletier finished with nine points, brought in a game-best 11 rebounds, and added the team-high with three assists.
The visitors got on the board first in the opening quarter on a layup from Breana Delaney on their opening possession before back-to-back layups from Buragas under one minute later gave Le Moyne a lead they would hold on to until the 3:53 mark left in the fourth.
Two successful free-throws from Linnin followed by another bucket out of the hands of Buragas provided the Dolphins with a five-point, 11-6, lead midway through the quarter before a three from freshman guard Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) sent them to the first break with a three-point advantage.
Le Moyne opened the second frame with back-to-back three pointers from Wangolo and Dincher before both teams went scoreless over the next two-plus minutes. The Skyhawks closed out the half on an 11-2 run which lasted the final five minutes of action to lessen their deficit to one point, 26-25.
Another three, this time from E. Clark, opened the third quarter as six points from Buragas kept the Dolphins ahead by four points through the first four minutes.
A layup from E. Clark and three-pointer by freshman guard Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Manasquan) were all the home team could record offensively to close out the frame, but they held their own defensively allowing just four points on free-throws during the run, as well.
Stonehill cut their deficit to one point again on a layup from Paquette at the 8:26 mark in the fourth quarter before Buragas answered with back-to-back layups to give the 'Phins some cushion. The Skyhawks finally reclaimed the lead, 47-46, with just under four minutes left in regulation on a combination of free-throws and a fastbreak layup all from Paquette, as well.
A pair of buckets at the line from Buragas with 1:44 remaining to put Le Moyne back ahead was quickly answered by a layup from Pelletier before K. Clark put the Dolphins ahead for the final time on a three-pointer right at the top of the arc with 56 seconds remaining. A pair of late free-throws from Wangolo sealed the victory for Le Moyne as they closed out the win at home, 53-49.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will travel to Teaneck, N.J. for a Thursday night meeting with FDU at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 26.
