It’s coming close to tournament time, which means every game from here until the end of the year is as equally important for our Le Moyne Dolphins women’s basketball team. In the middle of a tournament push, each game for the Lady Dolphins is crucial. This past week, the team went into contests at home versus the leaders of the Northeast-10 Southwest Division in Adelphi Panthers this past Wednesday, as well as traveling to face the Southern Connecticut State Owls this past Saturday.
As a result, the Dolphins could not help their chances as they dropped their game at home with Adelphi 80-57. The game was tightly contested going into halftime as the Dolphins only trailed Adelphi by eight, 42-34.. However the Panthers outscored the Dolphins by 15 in the second half which helped sealed their victory. Leading the way for the Dolphins was junior forward Emily Greer, who finished the game with 15 points while also grabbing four rebounds.
Junior guard Alex Marple finished with a team high 16 points, dishing out four assists and grabbing three rebounds. Sophomore forward Maggie Brown added 12 points for the Dolphins on 6 of 7 shooting from the field. Unfortunately, their efforts could not match the Panthers as they dominated on the glass, grabbing 41 rebounds to the Dolphins 20, as well as shooting 56% from the field throughout the game. Forward Calli Balfour had a game high 22 points to lead the way for the Panthers.
The second game that was held this week turned out to be a better result for the Dolphins as they were able to hold off the Owls in overtime, 63-60. With 1:09 remaining in the ballgame, Southern Conn. St. player Jackie Beathea made one of her 13 free throws on the day to tie the game at 58. Each team had a couple of chances to win in regulation but could not connect, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Dolphins outscored the Owls 5-2, to hold on to the victory. Marple had a big game for the Dolphins as she lead the way in scoring with 23 points, including having four of the five Dolphin points in the overtime period. She also collected five rebounds while also shooting 50% from the field for the game. Greer also contributed with 11 points while needing one more rebound to have a double-double, but did pull down nine rebounds for the Dolphins in the game. Another key contributor was Grad Student Kayla Stroman, who had eight points and and grabbed six rebounds for the game.
The Owls had three players in double figures but could not find their touch in the overtime period to secure the victory over the Dolphins. The game was tight throughout, as the Owls had a two point lead going into halftime, but could not pull away as the Dolphins outscored the Owls by two in the second half sending the game into the overtime period.
With these games behind them, the Dolphins sit at 12-10 record overall, with a 8-8 record overall in NE-10 Conference play. Le Moyne will now sit in a tie for 4th place within the Southwest division of the NE-10 as they prepare for the remainder of their games. Look for the Dolphins to be in action again on Tuesday, Feb. 11 as they take on New Haven at home at 5 p.m., as well as a game Saturday, Feb. 15 as it will be their last game of the season in front of their home crowd against Saint Rose at 3:30 p.m.
