#5 Le Moyne (12-20, 9-9 NEC) at #1 FDU (28-4, 18-0 NEC)
Info: Thursday, Mar. 12 | 7:00 P.M. | Hackensack, N.J. | Bogota Savings Bank Center
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://fduknights.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
FDU's Links: Schedule | Roster | News

Hackensack, N.J. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team will travel to FDU to compete in the semifinal round of the 2026 NEC Tournament with tip set for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM from the  Bogota Savings Bank Center.

Season Summary:
The Dolphins finished the 2025-26 regular season with an 11-20 record overall and a 9-9 mark in conference action, placing them fifth in the NEC standings due to a tiebreaker with Wagner. 

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.

Through the regular-season NEC schedule that began in early January, the Dolphins went .500 in 18 games with wins coming at home against Saint Francis (73-69), Wagner (62-49), CCSU (65-46), Stonehill (53-49), and New Haven (53-48) and also on the road against New Haven (48-40), CCSU (65-61), Saint Francis (62-50), and Chicago State (80-76).

Le Moyne opened the NEC Tournament with a 54-47 road victory over #4 Wagner on Monday night.

Stat Leaders:
Junior forward Ashley Buragas leads the team as their sole double-digit scorer with 12.6 points per game while starting in all 32 team games. That mark ranks her ahead of senior guard Sierra Linnin and sophomore guard Eli Clark who are averaging 9.6 and 7.9 points per game, respectively.

Buragas is shooting a team-high 160-315 (.508) from the field and also leads the 'Phins with 7.2 rebounds per game and total blocks with 12. She is second in assists with 68, third in minutes played per game with 26.8, and tied for third in steals with 24 (Linnin) this season.

Linnin leads the Dolphins with 68 made three-pointers while being the only other Dolphin to get the starting nod in all 32 games along with Buragas. She is shooting 50-56 (.893) from the line and is second on the team with 28.5 minutes on the hardwood per game.

E. Clark leads the squad in minutes played per game (29.9) and total assists (72) while sitting third in field goals made with 71 through 28 games played this season. 

NEC Stat Rankings:
Through the conclusion of the regular season conference slate, Buragas sits fourth in the NEC in scoring with 15.9 points per game while Linnin ranks 18th with 10.7 in the same category.

Buragas sits second in the league in field-goal percentage (.521), third in rebounds per game (8.1), fifth in free-throw rate on 80 attempts (.800), and tied for 16th in assists (2.2).

Buragas is also tied with junior forward Sydney Postell and freshman forward Praise Matthews for 18th in blocks per conference game with 0.4.

Linnin sits tied for fifth in threes made per game with 2.2.

Junior guard Jessica Wangolo ranks tied for 13th in assists (2.5), tied for 22nd in steals (1.1), and 23rd in rebounds per game (4.5).

E. Clark sits tied for ninth in assists with 2.8 per game and 24th in minutes with 29.5 played per contest.

Freshman guard Peyton Dincher ranks tied for 16th in three-pointers made with 1.2 per game this season.

Last Time Out:
Le Moyne traveled to #4 Wagner and opened the NEC Tournament on the road on Monday night, coming away with a 54-47 victory to reach the semifinal round of their conference tournament for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.

E. Clark led all players with 15 points in the win, shooting 5-9 from the field including a 2-3 mark from three-point range to go along with three points from the free-throw line in 34 minutes on the hardwood.

Junior forward Sydney Postell added nine points including the game-winning three-point shot in the final minute of the game, matching the scoring total of freshman guard Kayden Clark.

Wangolo added eight points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds, a mark she shared with Buragas. Buragas led the team with three assists against the Seahawks.

Le Moyne shot 17-53 (32.1%) from the field, 5-15 (33.3%) from three-point range, and 15-18 (83.3%) from the line. The Dolphins recorded 18 points in the paint, 15 second-chance points, 13 points off the bench, and 12 points off turnovers on Monday.

Series History:
FDU sits with a 4-3 series advantage since the Dolphins began their transition to NCAA Division I and joined the NEC prior to the 2023-24 season. 

The Dolphins took the first three meetings of the series with two wins coming during the 2023-24 regular season and another during the semifinal round of the NEC Tournament.

Le Moyne then dropped both meetings with the Knights during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 regular seasons, with the teams' most recent matchup coming on Feb. 26.

In the game on Feb. 26, Dincher and Buragas tied for the team lead in points with eight apiece in the loss. Dincher shot 2-4 overall with a pair of threes and a 2-2 rate from the free-throw line while Buragas shot 3-9 from the field and the same mark from the charity stripe.

E. Clark and Linnin followed with six and five points each, respectively. 

Buragas and Postell tied to lead the 'Phins with four rebounds each while Buragas dishes out a team-best three assists.

Le Moyne shot 14-48 (29.2%) from the field, 5-25 (20.0%) from three-point range, and 5-5 from the line against the Knights. The Dolphins recorded 14 points in the paint and 14 points off the bench on Thursday.

Common Opponents:
Aside from their NEC rivals, the Dolphins and Knights both met Lafayette during their non-conference schedules.

The Dolphins earned their first win of the season, 82-79, in overtime at Lafayette on Nov. 9, a month before FDU hosted the Leopards and came away with a 69-61 win on Dec. 4. 

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 14 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. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23, Mar. 6)
Sierra Linnin (Jan. 6, Feb. 2, Feb. 16)
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 Knights:
FDU has played to a 28-4 overall record and led the NEC with a perfect 16-0 record through the conclusion of the regular season. Head coach Stephanie Gaitley is currently in her third season as the leader of the Knights' program.

The #1 Knights took down #8 Saint Francis, 81-56, in the opening round of the NEC Tournament on Monday night to advance to their seventh straight NEC semifinals appearance.

The Dolphins and Knights are the only two members of the NEC to reach the semifinal round of the conference tournament in each of the past three seasons.

In their win over Wagner on Monday, sophomore guard Ava Renninger led all players with 19 points while sophomore guard Kailee McDonald (15) and freshman guard Reese Downey (13) also finished in the double-digits. 

Freshman forward Akeelah Lafleur added a team-best nine rebounds while Renninger dished out five assists to lead the Knights.

Through 32 games started, Renninger leads all Knights with 12.4 points per game, just ahead of McDonald who sits with 12.3 and graduate guard/forward Madlena Gerke who has 11.4. Junior forward Rebecca Osei-Owusu has registered a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game while Renninger has an NEC-best 167 assists on the year.

FDU returns 10 players from their 2024-25 team that went 29-4 overall and claimed the NEC title en route to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They are joined by one transfer, Gerke, and four freshman newcomers this season.

The Knights were voted to finish first in the NEC's Preseason Coaches Poll for the second consecutive season going undefeated, 16-0, in conference play a season ago.