Box Score

QUARTER SCORES:
1: 14-9 (LEM)
2: 22-18 (LEM)
3: 35-32 (LEM)
FINAL: Le Moyne 47 | So. Conn. St. 38
 
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Despite a career-high 10 points from freshman Amanda Pfohl (Trumbull, Conn.), the Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team opened 2016 with a 47-38 Northeast-10 Conference loss to Le Moyne College on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court. Following the loss, the Owls fall to 9-5 on the season and 2-4 in the league play while the Dolphins improve to 5-7 and 2-4.
 
Pfohl also led the Owls in scoring as she went 4-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-6 from behind the arc. Senior Danielle Powell (Middletown, N.Y.) was the next high scoring Owl as she chipped in with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
 
Senior's Jackie Beathea (Annandale, Va.) and Nicole Grossbard (Pearl River, N.Y.) both fouled out for the Owls, but Beathea ended the game with a team-high 21 rebounds, just shy of tying her career-high and the school record with 22, while Grossbard finished with a team-high four assists.
 
After a scoreless two minutes of play, Le Moyne broke the silence with a good basket from Maggie Brown before a jumper from Powell tied the game at 2-2 with 7:33 left in the first. Le Moyne extended its lead to five, 7-2, after a 5-0 spurt, but a deep three from Taylor McLaughlin (Colchester, Conn.) cut the Dolphins' lead to two, 7-5. Shortly after, Le Moyne took its largest lead of the quarter, 14-5, following a 7-0 run until four straight point from Powell brought the Owls to within five, 14-9, to close out the quarter.
 
Powell scored six of the Owls' nine points in the first while McLaughlin picked up the remaining three off a deep jumper from behind the arc. Also, at the 5:32 mark Beathea recorded a major achievement as she registered her 1,000th total career rebound as an Owl.
 
Southern Connecticut held a 9-8 scoring edge over the Dolphins in the second quarter as a 9-3 run gave the Owls their first lead of the game, 18-17, with 2:26 remaining. However, Le Moyne closed out the half with a 5-0 run to take a 22-18 lead at the half.
 
At the half, Beathea totaled 15 first half rebounds and two blocks, but was shutdown by the Dolphins' defense with no points. Southern Connecticut shot 16.1 percent (5-of-31) from the field while Le Moyne shot 25 percent (7-of-28) for the floor.
 
Despite outscoring the hosts, 14-13, the Dolphins controlled the majority of the third quarter. Le Moyne grabbed its largest lead of the game so far with 10, 32-22, after a three-point play from Corinne Poitevien. However, instead of a 12-point lead by the hosts, the Owls battled back to within four, 32-28, after back-to-back three's from Pfohl with 3:06 left in the third. Southern Connecticut closed out the third quarter with a 4-3 run to trail 35-32 heading into the fourth.
 
Pfohl scored eight point of her 10 points in the third quarter to tie her career-high which was set back on Dec. 10 against Concordia.
 
Pfohl opened the scoring for the Owls with a deep jumper after a nice feed from Grossbard to start off the fourth as the basket brought the score to within one, 35-34. With less than six minutes to play, Murphy Murad (Storrs, Conn.) gave the Owls their second lead of the game after two made free throws, but Le Moyne was able to regain the lead, 37-36, with 5:44 remaining. With the clock winding down, the Owls battled back to within one, 39-38, off a layup from Grossbard, but the Dolphins would end the game with a 8-0 run to take the home court victory, 47-38.

The Owls are back in action on January 6 as the team welcomes Saint Michael's College to Moore Field House for a NE-10 showdown beginning at 5:30 p.m.