SYRACUSE – The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team used a pair of second half surges to eventually upend host Le Moyne College 61-55 tonight in a Northeast-10 Conference game at Ted Grant Court. The Golden Knights (15-12/14-8 NE-10) have now won 10 of their last 13 games heading into their opening round conference tournament game Sunday against Merrimack College. Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium between fifth and 12th seeds.

The Dolphins (7-20/4-18 NE-10) got off to a fast start by burying six of their first 10 shots to go up 13-5 just 6:31 into the contest. Four different players got involved in the early going, including senior forward Siobhan Shields who knocked down a pair of jumpers over that span.

Saint Rose whittled away its deficit and actually went into the locker room up a bucket, 30-28, thanks in large part to 11 Le Moyne miscues that the Golden Knights turned into 13 points. Saint Rose furthermore went 4-for-9 from the arc and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe.

The Golden Knights finally generated some breathing room behind an 11-2 run to start the second period. Sophomore guard Ola Shajuyigbe put up four straight points to get things going and classmate Ashley Rath drained a 3-pointer to put Saint Rose in front 41-30 with 14:38 to go.

The Dolphins showed their resolve when senior guard Muffy Sadler put the finishing touches on a 15-5 jaunt with a trey of her own to get Le Moyne back to within a point, 46-45, with 9:31 left. Sadler sparked the run with three consecutive free throws after being fouled behind the arc and then closed things out with five straight points to put the Dolphins in business.

The Golden Knights then embarked on a decisive 15-4 run that put the game out of reach, thus earning a sweep of the regular-season series against Le Moyne for the second year in a row. Five different players found the scoring column during the outburst as junior guard Lynsey Timbrouck went 1-for-2 from the line to give Saint Rose a comfortable 61-49 cushion with 54 seconds on the clock.

Rath led the Golden Knights in scoring for the 14th time this year with 17 points on the strength of five, 3-pointers. Timbrouck added 12 points and four assists, while Shajuyigbe contributed 10 points.
 
Sadler was the lone double-digit scorer for the Dolphins with 16 points.

Saint Rose will make its seventh consecutive NE-10 Tournament appearance Sunday afternoon. The Golden Knights have also finished among the league's top-five teams following regular season play for the third time since joining the conference at the outset of the 2000-01 campaign. Initially, Saint Rose was picked to finish 10th in the NE-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll. 

Box Score