Syracuse, N.Y. – Head Coach Mary Grimes and the Le Moyne College women’s basketball program are thrilled to announce the addition of two talented student-athletes for the 2023-24 season and beyond.
Leah Middleton, a guard from Auburn High School, and forward Sydney Postell of Churchville-Chili high school have both signed to join the Dolphins after they graduate in the spring.
“It’s exciting to welcome Leah and Sydney to our ‘Phamily’. Both young women come from great families and will fit right in with the culture of our team. They will be true stewards of the Heights,” said Le Moyne Head Coach Mary Grimes.
Coach Grimes on Leah Middleton: “Leah is a worker! She has been resilient in improving her game since I began recruiting her. She has a great feel for the game and is a true team player. Her ability to shoot the three along with her mid-range game is a great fit for our style of play.”
Coach Grimes on Sydney Postell: “Sydney has improved tremendously in the short amount of time I’ve seen her play. She took on more of a leadership and scoring role this summer with her AAU team and it was great to see. Sydney has the ability to face up and score or post up and create opportunities with her back to the basket.”
“We are very excited about the upside of both of these young women. They both have great length and will fit in well in the up-tempo style of play that we strive to achieve both offensively and defensively,” Grimes added.
Through Auburn’s nine games in the 2022-23 season, Middleton has scored at least 20 points in seven contests, including four different outings where she scored at least 30 points.
As of January 12, she is leading Section III in scoring at 25.4 points per game to go along with 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 1.7 assists per contest. Middleton is currently knocking down 2.3 three-point field goals per game for the Maroons.
During a Salt City Athletic Conference matchup at Henninger on December 28, Middleton scored 18 of her game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter as the Maroons outscored the Black Knights 25-13 during the final period and sent the contest to overtime after Middleton hit a buzzer-beating three-point field goal at the end of regulation. Middleton finished the contest with 32 points, seven rebounds and seven steals as Auburn claimed a 69-65 league win at Henninger.
Auburn is currently on top of the SCAC Empire Division with a 6-2 conference record, including a 4-0 resume within their division.
During her junior campaign in 2021-22, Middleton totaled 470 points in 22 games played, averaging 21.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.6 assists per contest for the Auburn High School Maroons. Following her team’s loss in the semifinals of the Section III Class A playoffs last year, Middleton was named to the All-Tournament Team. After the season, Middleton was named to the 2021-22 All-CNY Girls Basketball Large Schools Team, as well as the New York State Sportswriters Association All-State Fifth Team. She was also named 2021-22 Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year by The Citizen (Auburn Publication). Middleton was also the 2021 Salt City Athletic Conference Empire Division Player of the Year.
Middleton has served as a captain for the Maroons girls’ basketball team during the last two seasons and was named team MVP following the 2021-22 campaign.
A four-year varsity player at Churchville-Chili High School near Rochester, Sydney Postell was a Second Team All-County selection following both her freshman and sophomore seasons for the Saints. Postell averaged 15.0 points per game during her junior season for Churchville-Chili and was subsequently named an All-County First Team honoree. Postell is in her second year serving as a captain for the Churchville-Chili girls’ varsity basketball team and just like Middleton she was named team MVP following the 2021-22 campaign.
Early in the 2022-23 season, a tough 38-36 loss to Webster Thomas on December 22 dropped Churchville-Chili’s record to 0-4, but Postell and the Saints bounced back in a big way. Postell tallied 19 points and five rebounds as the Saints got their first victory of the season, a 65-50 win over Dansville on December 28.
Two days later Postell poured in 32 points to go along with six boards and two steals to lead her team to a 49-40 victory against Brighton. Postell scored 28 more points as the Saints earned a hard-fought 63-62 win over Rush Henrietta on January 3 to extend their winning streak to three games. Churchville-Chili improved to 4-4 on January 5 with a 52-26 win against Irondequoit led by Postell’s 21 points.
The Saints then capped a five-game winning streak on January 9 with another blowout victory against Wilson.
Following her performances against Dansville and Brighton, Postell was named Rochester First’s Player of the Week.
Postell plays her travel basketball with the New York Havoc and earned MVP honors at the 2022 Gym Ratz Tournament.
