Freshman Maty Diabate scored a season-high 22 points in her first collegiate start tonight. (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Third quarter run sparks Dolphins to third straight win
EASTON, Mass. (January 6, 2016) – Le Moyne College built a ten point third quarter lead and made it stand down the stretch to claim a 65-55 victory over Stonehill College, ranked sixth in this week's D2SIDA East Regional poll, in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Senior Vandell Andrade (Cranston, Rhode Island/Saint Mary's-Bay View) led Le Moyne with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-for-5 at the free-throw line with four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Junior Ailayia Demand (Watervliet, New York/Watervliet) added 12 points, aided by 7-for-12 shooting at the free-throw line, and three rebounds, while senior Maggie Brown (Cortland, New York/Cortland) chipped in eight points, seven rebounds (four offensive), four assists and a steal.
Freshman Maty Diabate (Holden, Massachusetts/Wachusett Regional) led Stonehill with a season-high 22 points in her first collegiate start as she made 9-of-14 shots from the floor and converted 4-of-5 free-throws to go with five rebounds and two assists. Junior Kelly Martin (Scituate, Massachusetts/Scituate) was the only other Skyhawk in double-figures with 12 points, seven assists and three rebounds, while sophomore Samantha Hyslip (Westford, Massachusetts/Westford Academy) pulled down a game-high eight rebounds with three points and four assists.
Le Moyne finished shooting 39.6-percent from the field after connecting on just 3-of-17 (17.6-percent) in the second quarter, converting at 54.2-percent (13-24) in the second half. The Dolphins made 20-of-27 (74.1%) free-throws, including 11-of-16 in the fourth quarter, outscoring Stonehill 28-13 in points off turnovers with the Skyhawks committing 20 compared to 14 for the visitors. Le Moyne also held a 36-34 rebounding edge, collecting 16 offensive boards. Stonehill shot 41.5-percent (22-for-53) overall, including 4-for-14 (28.6%) from beyond the arc, converting 7-of-10 (70%) free-throws.
Junior Kelly Martin added 12 points and seven assists for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Stonehill held a one point halftime lead (24-23), extending it to three with a Diabate layup to open the second half. Le Moyne followed with a 17-4 run to take the lead and open a ten point advantage (40-30) after an Andrade layup with a minute remaining in the third quarter. The layup capped a run of nine straight Dolphin points, seven of which came off Stonehill turnovers. Andrade had seven of Le Moyne's points during that stretch, starting with a three-point play to spark the run.
Le Moyne carried a nine point lead (44-35) into the break and Stonehill crept back within seven (44-37) after a jumper by sophomore Kate Ross (Fall River, Massachusetts/The Lincoln School) to open the fourth quarter. The Dolphins scored six straight to extend their lead to a game-high 13 (52-39) on a layup from freshman Madison Purcell (Clifton Park, New York/Catholic Central) with 7:22 remaining.
Stonehill made a run with nine straight points to cut the gap to four (52-48) after a Diabate jumper with four minutes still to play. However, that was as close as the Skyhawks would get, making just one basket over the next three minutes to allow Le Moyne to regain a nine point cushion (59-50) when Demand made one of two at the line with 48-seconds left. Martin scored a jumper to cut the lead to seven, but the Dolphins drained five straight free-throws for a 12 point lead (64-56) that sealed the win.
| Coach Brown Postgame Interview |
Stonehill jumped out to a quick seven point lead (9-2) after a layup from sophomore Elizabeth Grip (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts/Shrewsbury) four minutes into the game. Le Moyne responded by scoring the final 11 points of the quarter to take the lead and carry a four point cushion (13-9) into the break. The Dolphins lead was still four (21-17) after a Demand three-pointer with 3:39 left in the second quarter, when the Skyhawks scored seven straight to regain the lead (24-21) 46-seconds before the half, following five straight points by Diabate, settling for a one point halftime edge.
Stonehill (8-6, 3-5 NE-10) looks to bounce back on Saturday when it visits Southern Connecticut State University for an NE-10 matchup at 1:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Tuesday, January 12, to host the University of New Haven at 5:30 p.m. Le Moyne (6-7, 3-4 NE-10) visits Assumption College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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