On this coming Monday, the Le Moyne College women’s basketball team will be hosting its opening round matchup in the Northeast Conference Tournament. The team is no stranger to hosting the opening round of the conference tournament, which is something the players have done each of the past six seasons. But this year will be a little different, as Le Moyne women’s basketball will be hosting its first-ever conference playoff game as a Division I program.
The team was not projected to find very much success in their first season of Division I play. In the 2023-2024 NEC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll, Le Moyne was picked to finish second to last in the conference, just behind CCSU.
It is fair to say Le Moyne shattered all expectations. Despite a shaky start to the season which saw the Dolphins go 2-11 through their non-conference schedule, they turned the corner and absolutely dominated in conference play. They closed out the regular season on a seven-game win streak and finished with a record of 14-2 overall in conference play, earning them the second seed just behind the Sacred Heart Pioneers.
“I think it is a credit to our leadership and captains on this team along with our ‘Le Moyne Way’ values,” head coach Mary Grimes said when asked what allowed her team to find such success amidst the transition to Division I.
“We fought through the adversity making sure that in times of desolation we avoided isolation, and with the leadership and values we started having success in conference,” Grimes added. “Furthermore, the captains have been here my whole time as a head coach and understand the expectations of our program and what it takes to have success on the court.”
The team has a long break before the quarterfinal match. “We are taking this time to rest, recover and catch up academically,” Grimes said. “As far as approaching the game differently, we are not. We treat each game as the biggest game of the season.”
Le Moyne will face whichever team finishes as the seventh seed in the conference. The game will be played at Ted Grant Court on Monday, March 11, time yet to be determined.
