SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Freshman guard McKayla Roberts (North Syracuse, N.Y.) totaled 25 points to lead Le Moyne College to a 77-68 non-league victory over Daemen College here today in women's basketball action.
Daemen dropped to 2-3 on the year, while the Dolphins improved to 5-1 following their fifth-straight win.
Junior Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) totaled 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and four steals for the Wildcats. Freshman guard Sydney Jones (Clifton Springs, N.Y./Midlakes) added three three-pointers and 12 points off the bench (11 in the second half), while senior Rachel Pawlak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield) also drilled three triples and scored 11 points off the bench. Senior Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) failed to score in double figures for the first time this season, but still finished with seven points, a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Roberts, the reigning U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division II National Player of the Week, connected on 9-of-15 shots overall and was 4-for-6 from three-point land. Roberts has now scored 20 or more points in three of LC's first six games and is averaging 20.0 points and 5.5 assists per game. Fellow rookie Liz Millea (Cooperstown, N.Y.) added 11 points for the hosts.
Both teams struggled to score throughout the first quarter and the hosts took a 12-5 lead into the second quarter. Daemen scored five of the first seven points of the second quarter and cut the lead to four points, 14-10, following a three-pointer Pawlak two minutes in the frame. Le Moyne answered with a three-pointer at the other end by Millea and the hosts later opened up an 11-point lead, 23-12, following a triple by Roberts with 5:26 left before halftime. Another triple by Roberts with 1:10 left in the half gave the Dolphins their largest lead of the half, 32-18, but Daemen closed the half with back-to-back jumpers by Saba and the hosts took a 32-22 lead into the break.
The third quarter was back-and-forth affair. The Wildcats had several chances to cut into the lead during the quarter, but Daemen was unable to come up with big shots and Le Moyne hit some timely shots to keep the Wildcats at bay. Le Moyne took a 47-36 lead following a three-pointer by Millea midway through the frame, but Daemen answered with a 5-1 spurt and cut the lead to seven, 48-41, following a three-pointer by freshman Jordan Heinold (Hamburg, N.Y./Immaculata) with 3:55 left in the quarter. Le Moyne scored the next six points to regain a 13-point lead, but the Wildcats closed out the half with a 7-2 run and cut the lead back down to eight, 56-48, after Jones drained a three-pointer off a nice pass from Saba just before the end of the quarter.
Le Moyne scored the first two points of the final quarter, before a conventional three-point play by freshman Carina Pringle (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) pulled the Wildcats back to within seven points. Roberts answered with her fourth three-pointer of the game at the other end and the hosts later took a 14-point advantage, 67-53, after a layup by junior Nicole Riddick (Albany, N.Y.) with 6:28 left. Once again, the Wildcats rallied and made it a two-possession game, 71-66, following a 13-4 run that featured three-pointers from Jones and senior Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier). A fast-break layup by McDonell with 2:16 left capped the rally. Le Moyne answered with a layup by junior forward Joanna Dobrovosky (Skaneateles, N.Y.) just before the shot clock expired at the other end, and after a Daemen turnover the Dolphins secured the win by hitting 4-of-6 free throws over the final 1:27.
Daemen connected on just 8-of-28 shots in the first half and finished 20-for-58 (34.5%) from the field overall. The Wildcats equaled their season-high for three-pointers made (9-for-25) and went 19-for-24 from the charity stripe. Le Moyne shot 39-percent (26-66) overall and went 7-for-22 from downtown. The Dolphins canned 18-of-25 free throws.
Le Moyne forced 17 Daemen turnovers and the hosts converted the miscues into 20 points. The Dolphins collected 19 offensive rebounds—which they turned into 19 second-chance points—and finished with a 47-36 edge in total rebounds.
Daemen returns to action Wednesday (Nov. 30) when it opens up East Coast Conference play at Long Island University—Post.
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