FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team completed a regular-season sweep of LIU on Thursday, cruising to a 70-55 win over the Sharks at the Pitt Center.
Ny'Ceara Pryor led all scorers with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, and five steals.
Amelia Wood posted her second straight outstanding performance with 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist and a career-best five steals.
Pryor and Wood accounted for 10 of SHU's 15 steals on the night, which is the second most by the team this season.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 11-9, 5-1 NEC
LIU: 5-13, 3-3 NEC
Top Performers:
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals
Amelia Wood: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals
Kelsey Wood: 4 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
How It Happened:
The Sharks found themselves ahead early in tonight's contest, leading by five, 9-5, with 4:40 left in the first quarter. The Pioneers were ready with an answer, taking the lead, 12-11, over the next 2:45 with an 8-2 run. Sacred Heart ended the frame on a 10-3 run to take a 14-12 advantage into the second. Pryor led the surge with four points, while
Sajada Bonner and
Olivia Tucker both hit 3-pointers. Tucker finished the night with five points to give her 600 in her career.
A triple from Wood and two straight buckets by Pryor kicked off a 7-0 run by SHU to start the second to force an LIU timeout trailing 21-12. After some back-and-forth play, SHU was again up nine, 31-22, with one minute remaining in the half. Unfortunately for the Pios, the Sharks hit a three and a pair of free throws to end the quarter, sending Sacred Heart into the break up just four, 31-27.
The game started to turn in SHU's favor in the third, as the home team took the quarter by 10 points, 26-16. After LIU took a 36-35 lead at the 6:16 mark, the Pioneers scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a 46-38 advantage.
Sierra Johnson led the way with five of seven points in the run. SHU put together another 11-3 surge to end the third to take a 57-43 lead into the fourth.
Sacred Heart went up by as much as 19 in the fourth, 62-43, and never looked back. A couple of late baskets by the Sharks cut into SHU's lead, but the home team held on to take a 70-55 victory.
Up Next:
The Pioneers are back at the Pitt Center on Saturday, Jan. 27, to play FDU at 2 p.m. Saturday will be a busy day for SHU, as the team will celebrate both National Girls and Women in Sports Day and their 50th-anniversary team at the game.
