The Le Moyne College women’s basketball team continued its Connecticut road trip, heading to Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon for an NEC game against the Blue Devils.
The Dolphins won their second straight, 65-61, and are now 5-12 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Le Moyne freshman guard Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) led the way with a career-high 15 points in 25 minutes off the bench. Dincher shot a career-best 5-of-8 (62.5%) from the field with one 3-pointer and a perfect 4-4 mark from the line. She also added five rebounds.
Junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, NY / John Jay / Mineral Area College) recorded her fourth double-double of the season after contributing 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting (46.2%) from the field and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, NJ / Ocean Township), junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, ON / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) and junior forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, NY / Churchville-Chili) combined for 24 points in the win. Wangolo was also impressive on the boards, tying her career high in rebounds with seven.
Le Moyne shot 38.1% (24-63) from the field and 81.3% (13-16) from the line, with 40 of their points coming in the paint and 27 coming off the bench.
Lucia Noin had a game-high 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting (55%) while she was second on the team with seven rebounds. Kiyah Lewis also finished in double figures with 14 points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
For the second straight game, Le Moyne and its competitors struggled to get going on offense early in the opening quarter, with CCSU adding the game’s first points on a layup by Noin nearly four minutes into the game.
Dincher scored the Dolphins’ first points of the day on a layup with 4:32 remaining, while a three by fellow freshman guard Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, NJ / Manasquan) came as the second and final field goal in the game’s first 10 minutes.
CCSU went into the first intermission with a 12-5 lead and immediately extended that lead on the opening possession on a 3-pointer by Lewis. Le Moyne held the Blue Devils scoreless for the next 4:57, trying to cut the deficit to three, 15-12, thanks to two buckets in the paint and a shot from beyond the arc by Dincher.
After trading layups and free throws over the next four minutes, the Dolphins finally caught up and took a 23-22 lead on a quick 3-pointer by Postell with 1:21 left.
CCSU quickly took the lead on a late jumper by Jessica Farrell and free throws by Lewis, taking a 26-25 advantage into halftime.
The Blue Devils went on an 11-4 run over the opening 4:38 of the third quarter to extend their lead to eight, 37-29, before scoring their game-high nine points on Mia Toure at the 3:40 mark.
However, Le Moyne came back in the final three minutes of the frame, outscoring CCSU 14-4 on six points by Dincher. That included four at the line, four in the paint by Buragas and a pair of layups by Wangola and redshirt sophomore guard Amya McLeod (Rome, NY / Rome Free Academy / Youngstown State).
The Dolphins regained the lead 46-45 for the first time out of the break on the final shot of the third quarter.
The Dolphins added eight points in the first five minutes of the final quarter to hold off the Blue Devils before sinking seven free throw opportunities to extend their lead in the game’s final three minutes. Despite a late and one from Noin, Le Moyne was able to hold on.
Le Moyne will continue its road stretch with a Thursday night meeting with LIU-Brooklyn at 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply