MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Erin Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds as Southern New Hampshire University held off a late Le Moyne College rally for a 53-52 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory Saturday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen upped their record to 7-11 and 5-8 in the NE-10, while the Dolphins are now 10-8 and 6-6 in the league.

Doherty finished 6-9 from the floor and recorded her fourth double-double of the season to pace four SNHU players in double figures.  Lorreta Rocha (Espargos, Cape Verde) finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) totaled 11 points.  Brooke Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H.) registered 10 points and five assists.

Alex Marple was the lone Dolphin to finish in double figures as she recorded a game-high 17 points.

Southern New Hampshire led by as many as 15 points in the second half and held a 49-40 lead with 3:25 left following a three-pointer by Ryan.  Down 53-45 with 1:40 left following a pair of Doherty free throws, Le Moyne's Kayla Stroman scored back-to-back baskets to make it a 53-49 game with just over a minute remaining.

SNHU turned it over on its next possession, and with 21 seconds remaining, Tessa Pucello knocked down a three from the top of the key to cut the lead to one, 53-52.  Le Moyne fouled Springfield, but she missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Pucello controlled the rebound.  Stroman attempted to give the Dolphins the lead with seven seconds left, but following a jump ball on the rebound, the guests retained possession with 3.8 seconds left.  Le Moyne called its last timeout and drew up a play for Marple, but her shot was too strong as Southern New Hampshire held on.

The Penmen held a double-digit lead for much of the second half, leading 31-17 at halftime and going up by as many as 15 twice, the last time on a basket by Rocha with 16:29 to go that made it 36-21.  Le Moyne finally got within single digits on a Pucello three with 6:32 remaining that made it a 46-38 game.

Southern New Hampshire trailed just once, on a three by Maddy McKnight on the game's first possession, and opened up a 10-3 lead five minutes into the game.  The Penmen outscored the Dolphins 12-4 over the final 4:43 of the first half, and a putback at the buzzer by Kelly Chergey (Bow, N.H.) gave the hosts a 31-17 lead at intermission.

The Penmen shot 48.8% from the floor for the game while Le Moyne shot 35.2%, with the Dolphins going 4-15 from three and SNHU 1-6.  Both teams went 10-14 at the free throw line, with Southern New Hampshire holding a 39-24 rebounding advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Tuesday evening when it hosts the University of New Haven in a 5:30 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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