BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Long Island University women's basketball team (10-6, 5-0 NEC) defeated Le Moyne College 79-68 at home on Thursday night to improve to 5-0 in NEC Play, marking the program's best start to NEC play in its history. 

LIU's 5-0 mark in NEC surpasses its previous best of 4-0, which was set in the 2001-02 season. The Sharks have defeated Central Connecticut State University, Chicago State University, Mercyhurst University, Saint Francis University, and Le Moyne over its first five games of conference action. 

As both teams stood tied at eight through the early minutes of the first quarter, a three-pointer by junior Janessa Williams capped off an 11-0 scoring run in under two minutes for LIU, pushing the Shark lead to 19-8 early in the game. Le Moyne chipped into the LIU lead, bringing the score to 24-20 through the first 10 minutes.  

LIU remained effective on the offensive end to begin the second quarter, as a 10-2 scoring run pushed the LIU lead to 34-22 less than four minutes into the second quarter. A late three-pointer by junior Laura Molnarova extended LIU's lead to 43-32 on its final possession of the half. 

The Sharks maintained a consistent double-digit lead through most of the third quarter, however the Dolphins managed to cut the deficit to seven points entering the final 10 minutes of play; however, any momentum for Le Moyne was washed away by back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Williams, junior Solangelei Akridge, and graduate student Hannah Humphrey early in the fourth quarter.  

LIU shot 14-27 from beyond the arc on Thursday, including seven made three-pointers by Akridge, who finished with 23 points. Williams led LIU with a career-high 24 points on Thursday, shooting 4-5 from deep and finishing one rebound shy of a double-double. Senior Kadidia Toure also finished in double figures, scoring 14 points in the win. 

The Sharks host FDU on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 2 p.m. in a matchup of the NEC's leading teams.