STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Behind outstanding performances from Amelia Wood and Ny'Ceara Pryor, the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team rolled to an 83-63 road victory over Wagner on Sunday evening. 

Wood led all scorers with a career-best 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the floor and three 3-pointers. Pryor had a prototypical all-around performance with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a season-high six steals. Pryor had just two points at halftime before exploding for 15 in the second half to help the Pioneers pull away. With 17 tonight, Pryor is already up to 913 points in her career. 

Sajada Bonner and Nalyce Dudley also crossed double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Bonner tallied five rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Dudley finished with 10 points, two rebounds and two steals in just 11 minutes.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 10-9, 4-1 NEC
Wagner: 4-13, 1-4 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Amelia Wood: 25 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals
Sajada Bonner: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

How It Happened:
Olivia Tucker started the game off right for the Pioneers, hitting a 3-pointer 1:06 in before a Dudley layup made it a 5-0 SHU lead. The Seahawks were hampered by the Sacred Heart defense for the duration of the period, scoring just 11 points. On the other hand, the Pios finished with 22 points following a buzzer-beating and-one from Wood. The Wynantskill, N.Y., finished the first with nine points, just two shy of Wagner as a team, as SHU went into the second up 22-11.

Sacred Heart quickly went up 20, 33-13, in the second quarter after Bonner hit two triples and Wood added one more. Unfortunately for the Pios, Wagner ended the frame on a 16-8 run to cut the lead to 12, 41-29, heading into halftime. 

After the Seahawks got as close at seven points, 43-36, following a hot start to the third, the Pioneers ramped up the pressure. SHU held Wagner to just six points over the final 8:25, scoring 22 points of their own. Pryor shined over this stretch with 12 points, tallying two three-point plays and multiple steals. Two Wagner free throws in the final five seconds sent SHU into the fourth up 65-41. 

The Pioneers held firm for the remainder of the contest, building the lead to as high as 26 on multiple occasions. Sacred Heart took the game by 20 points, 83-63, to retake the lead in the NEC at 4-1. 

As a team, the Pios had one of their best performances of the season, hitting eight 3-pointers, which is tied for second-best mark of the year. SHU also tallied 13 steals, the team's second most this season. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers return to the Pitt Center on Thursday, Jan. 25, to play LIU at 7 p.m.