SYRACUSE – The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team opened up a season 3-0 for the third time in the past five years with a 65-56 victory at Le Moyne College tonight. The game marked the 2008-09 Northeast-10 Conference opener for both clubs.

The Golden Knights (3-0/1-0 NE-10) forced the host Dolphins into 27 turnovers that they turned into a like number of points. Saint Rose took control with a 17-2 run throughout a 10 minute span late in first half that transformed a 17-14 deficit into a 31-19 lead with 1:14 remaining. Le Moyne then scored just its second field goal within that time frame to cut its deficit to 10, 31-21, at the break.

The Dolphins made a game of it in the second period by rallying to within five following a layup by senior forward Vanessa Holden that made it a 53-48 affair with 6:24 to go. Senior center Lauren Revesz then finished inside and after both clubs failed to score during the next four minutes, senior forward Ashley Anderson hit a layup to put the Golden Knights back up by nine, 57-48, with 2:13 remaining. Saint Rose sealed it by burying all eight of its free throws down the stretch.

Senior guard Dana Brown led the Golden Knights with 20 points, 10 in each half, while junior guard Elizabeth Buckley tossed in 15. Senior guard Suzana Sormaz went 3-for-5 from the arc en route to a nine point effort in 12 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Lynsey Timbrouck wound up with eight points, four assists and five steals while logging a workmanlike 40 minutes.

Holden registered a “double-double” to pace Le Moyne with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior center Courtney Coryea finished with 13 points and seven boards, while senior guards Katie Dunn and Jacqueline Precious added 10 points apiece.

The Golden Knights are scheduled to play their NE-10 home opener on Saturday against Southern Connecticut State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 pm. Meanwhile, Le Moyne will entertain league rival New Haven at 1:00 pm Saturday.

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