Women's Notebook checks out Le Moyne and a look at the first regional rankings

“I think we have a good group of returners that experienced the NCAA tournament and understand the expectations of our program,” said Grimes. “We sat down last spring and that was the goal for this team. Furthermore, when I interviewed for this job, the goal of the program was to win national championships. It also helps when you have coaches in the hallways (at Le Moyne) who have won national titles and aspire to win them. We’re all speaking the same language and support each other in achieving that goal.”

While the roster only lists ten players, they all fill enormous roles for the team. One of them, senior Lytoya Baker, is a prime candidate for NE10 Player of the Year.

“Lytoya is a TEAM player, she loves basketball, and it shows in her play,” mentioned the coach. “The tenacity she has on the defensive end is something to be admired because she defends and rebounds with a passion. Being named a captain this year has given her the ability to voice her passion but what she will always do is lead by example, and that speaks volumes.”

Baker leads the squad in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (10.6 rpg) while bringing a defensive ferocity to the floor. The native of Rochester is listed as a 5-9 guard but her play reeks of an all-around dynamo who drives herself and team forward.

She’s not the only returner to raise her level of play this season. 6-1 redshirt sophomore Haedyn Roberts (12.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 87.5% at the line) learned from the veterans who played ahead of her last term and used those lessons to blossom into one of the league’s best interior threats.

“Haedyn (also a captain this season) is a tremendous leader for our team and learned a lot from Emma Brinker and Jenna Zimmerman last season. Last year Haedyn was a sponge, wanted to learn and do whatever was asked of her. This season she has taken on that leadership role as well as a scoring and rebounding role,” offered Grimes.

“Both Lytoya and Haedyn may not be typical post players based on their size but ‘it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog’ and those two embody that quote to its fullest,” cited their mentor.

Another returner who sets a tone is 5-6 Lexi Gruss of Binghamton. While her stats aren’t gaudy (3.3 ppg in 18 minutes a game), she brings much more to the table than meets the eye.

“I also wanted to touch on Lexi Gruss, another captain, who is one of the heartbeats of this team,” admitted Grimes. “She does things that do not always show up in the stat sheet from making sure there is energy in practice to playing a one woman press at times! She has overcome hurdles in her career and has had one of the best attitudes I have seen in my coaching career. Her leadership is why we are where we are (right now).”

And then there are the newcomers. Le Moyne boasts one of the best rookie classes in the region, but Grimes doesn’t see age, she only sees talent.

Redshirt freshman Sydney Lusher (11.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg) leads the team in minutes played (35.2 mpg), assists (93) and blocks (20) while showcasing a varied offensive game (45 three-pointers, 77% at the line). The 5-11 wing from Oneida is joined by perimeter mates Kaia Goode (a 5-4 jet from Rochester; 10.4 ppg, 77 assists, 33 triples) and Sierra Linnin (a smooth 5-8 lefty sniper from Valley Cottage; 9.2 ppg and a team-best 61 three-balls), forming a formidable array of issues for foes to contend with.

“I get asked this all the time, but I don't see the 'youth' in this team, I just see them as players,” admits Grimes. “I think in the recruiting process I was straightforward with them in my expectations, be yourself! They are doing what comes natural to them and I think that has made for a better transition.” 

“My only expectation (for the freshmen) was winning. I wasn’t sure how it was going to look or who was going to start/play major minutes. The thought process was to earn everything from day one. I just wanted to make sure I put players in positions that they would be most successful in to help the team win. I think I was able to recruit ‘winners’ like Goode, Linnin and Michelina Lombardi, who were playing in their respective high schools this time last year so as far as ‘youth’, I’d say that this is what they know…playing in the post season. Of course, high school is different than college, but our returning core did a great job of preparing the whole team for what lay ahead in a college basketball season,” described Grimes.

Lombardi (5-6) and Emily Florvil (5-6 sophomore) are regulars in the rotation while rookie forward Tamiya Turner (the only non-New York state native, hailing from Howell, New Jersey) and junior Erin Lofaro play spotty minutes. The group relies on intensity and defense to thrive, a cocktail that’s gone nearly unbeaten since a 69-56 setback at Assumption on December 11. Stylistically, Le Moyne is a different proposition for regional teams to handle.

“(Our defense) does fit well with our personnel and is different from most teams,” conceded Grimes. “Last season we were able to play man and zone and we tried that early this season. I think we have settled into our zone now, but it was not by design. Our man defense early in the season was decent but was not getting us to where we wanted to be as far as our defensive goals.”

“The strengths of this team include resilience, hard work, selflessness, and energy. On the other hand, we have had games where we may have started off slow and dug ourselves a hole but each time we fought regardless of the outcome. I think resiliency can be taught but this team came in with that characteristic (existing) across the board.” 

That it does. The Dolphins dig in as well as anyone at the defensive end, conceding less than 56 points a game but haven’t allowed more than 64 points during their current blazing hot stretch. They lost only four league games all season and own at least one win over every other NE10 team, so they’ve solved a lot of problems while creating many for others.

Awards may come in bunches once the regular season closes, with Grimes, Baker, Lusher, Goode, Roberts and Linnin all likely to earn some sort of recognition from the league. But it’s winning the Dolphins crave and if the calendar year is any guide, they are well-placed to succeed in both conference and regional tournaments. If they do, age won’t matter, only results, fulfilling Grimes’ purpose to a tee.

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Keep in mind that each league will award an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament to their respective conference tournament champions, so that cannot be figured into the rankings at this point. Think of it this way – the tourney champions will be joined by five teams which receive at-large bids, meaning the regional rankings are used to select those five teams, as well as the order for all eight, arguably a more critical task. My feeling is that four teams are locks to get into the field, whether they win the AQ (automatic qualifier) or not – Assumption (#1), Jefferson (#2), Le Moyne (#3) and Southern New Hampshire (#4). These are the top four in the rankings this week, and all are playing for seeding/host possibilities. That’s one part of the equation. The other is, who gets the at-large bids?

Bentley is 5^th in the rankings and unless they get upset in the NE10 tournament, or there are some seismic results in the region, they are in good shape to nab a bid. It gets murky after that. Holy Family (6^th), St. Thomas Aquinas (7^th), Southern Connecticut (8^th), New Haven (9^th) and Daemen (10^th) fill out the rankings.

Holy Family could help its case immensely with a win over Jefferson on Saturday. Even if they don’t do that, if the Tigers can at least advance to the CACC title game, they should be in a decent spot – unless Jefferson loses before then, and a team not in the regional rankings is in the title clash across from them. Either way, HFU requires the status quo to hold firm across the region, and they cannot slip up in the CACC tourney before the championship game to feel reasonably secure.

St. Thomas Aquinas and Daemen may end up in the ECC title tilt with the loop’s AQ on the line (Mercy could gate crash that party). BTW, did you notice that Daemen wasn’t in consideration last week but are now in the top 10? Go back to the second paragraph in this section and explain to me how they are now in the top 10 after not ‘being in consideration’. Yes, I know I’m being picky, but I cannot fathom the logic of the wording. Chestnut Hill fell out of ‘consideration’ at Daemen’s expense.

Anyway, it seems likely the ECC is a one-bid league. The only twist would be if somebody other than STAC wins the league tourney, either Jefferson or Holy Family wins the CACC, one of the four NE10 teams above them win the NE10 crown and the Spartans stay ahead of the rest of the pack. Got it? Daemen needs to win the ECC title to get into the field, otherwise there is no path for the Wildcats.

The teams with the most at stake this week (aside of the ECC clubs) and need to get a few keys win are Southern Connecticut and New Haven. Both host NE10 first round games tomorrow and if either lose (UNH hosts Franklin Pierce and SCSU welcomes Adelphi), they may be doomed. Both hit the road for NE10 quarterfinal games if they advance and could do with a win in that round; SCSU would visit Assumption and UNH would travel to Bentley (assuming the Falcons beat St. Michael’s), providing for great chances to bolster the resume and make the rest of the region very nervous.

The only thing that’s a mystery is just how close the teams are to each other in the committee’s eyes, and what would move the needle? In theory, all the teams in the region have a body or work to review, so how much does one result help or hurt? And how much does an upset or big win from another team/league help or hurt somebody? The sliding scale is impossible to know but judging by previous seasons, expect movement in the final week and a half, as the committee tends to put (too much?) stock in conference tournament victories.