FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team hits the road on Thursday for the first of two straight away contests, battling Stonehill at 6 p.m. at the Skyhawks' Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, Mass.

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OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers and Skyhawks have met 20 times before Thursday's contest, with Stonehill leading the all-time series, 17-3. 
• A majority of the series came when both teams competed in Division II as 18 of the 20 meetings happened between 1981-96. As DI programs last season, SHU took both meetings.
• The Pioneers earned a pair of impressive NEC wins last week, last defeating FDU on Saturday on NGWSD. SHU topped the Knights by a 68-51 final score, winning the middle quarters by a 51-23 margin to pull away. 
• As a team, the Pioneers shot a season-best 51.9% from the floor after hitting 27-of-52 shots. 
• Amelia Wood continued her torrid stretch of play, leading all players with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. She also hit a career-best five 3-pointers, going 5-for-7 from behind the arc. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor also had a day with 18 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, a season-high six steals and a block, coming perilously close to posting her second triple-double of the season. 
• Nalyce Dudley also hit double figures on Saturday with a season-high 16 points and six rebounds in just 18 minutes. Dudley went 8-for-9 from the floor.

WOOD IS ON FIRE 
Amelia Wood has been on a tear of late, tallying 20+ points in two of her last three contests. In her previous game, the outstanding sophomore hit a career-best five 3-pointers on her way to 23 points. Her torrid run of play started on Jan. 21 against Wagner, when she tallied a career-high 25 points. Wood hit three shots from behind the arc in all three games and has climbed to second on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. After this strong run, Wood is 25 points shy of reaching 500 in her career. 

EXCEPTIONAL EFFICIENCY
Nalyce Dudley needed just 18 minutes on the court to make an impact in SHU's victory over FDU on Saturday. The first year forward tied her season-high with 16 points on stellar 8-for-9 shooting from the floor. She also hauled in six rebounds in an all-around performance. Dudley has hit double figures 10 times this season and has two double-doubles to her name.

NY EYES 1,000
After Saturday, Pryor is up to 953 points in her two-year career, putting her just 47 shy of the prestigious 1,000 mark. The outstanding sophomore guard has appeared in just 54 games in her career, as she maintains an average of 17.6 points per game entering Thursday. If Pryor scores her 1,000th point this season, she will be the second Pioneer this year to accomplish the feat, as Bonner did so on New Year's Eve against Mercy.

SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
The Skyhawks are 3-17 through 20 games this season, with all three wins in conference play. Stonehill is 3-4 in the NEC, defeating FDU, Wagner and Saint Francis all at home. Graduate guard Lauren Sampson leads the Skyhawks this season with a 14.3 points per game average in the seven games she has played. She scored a game-high 23 points in 20 minutes off the bench in Stonehill's most recent contest against Saint Francis. Junior forward Maureen Stapleton has also done a lot for the Skyhawks this season, as she paces the team with 7.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The Spring Lake Heights, N.J., native is second in the league in rebounds, fourth in blocked shots (0.9) and ninth in assists per game. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. STONEHILL
The all-time series against the Skyhawks has been short, with Stonehill holding a 17-3 lead over 20 meetings. However, most of the series came before the Pioneers joined the Division I ranks, with the last two being the only one with both teams under the D1 banner. SHU beat the Skyhawks both times last season.