FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Not many teams can say they haven't lost in their home arena, but the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team can. The Pioneers had a dream opener in their first game in the newly-renovated Dave Bike Court at the William H. Pitt Center, as SHU came back to defeat Monmouth, 63-56, on Thursday evening. 
    
Amelia Wood and Ny'Ceara Pryor both led all player with 19 points, but the duo found success in very different ways. Wood sank five 3-pointers, tying a career-high, on her way to a season-best scoring effort, while Pryor hit six buckets from midrange and layups, with seven points from the line. Dianne Crespo López also finished with a season-high, scoring 11. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 2-3
Monmouth: 0-6
 
Top Performers:
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Amelia Wood: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks 
Dianne Crespo López: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
 
How It Happened:
After Sierra Johnson's 3-pointer went down as the first field goal scored in the arena, the two teams traded points for the remainder of the quarter. SHU led by as much as one twice, taking a 13-12 advantage after one. It was a Wood layup with three seconds left that gave the home team the lead after one. 

Monmouth started the second quarter with the momentum, going up 23-18 4:03 into the frame. Back-to-back jumpers from Pryor and Crespo López cut the margin to one before a Pryor lay-in gave the home team a 24-23 advantage. Unfortunately for the Pios, the Hawks tallied a late basket to send them into the halftime up 25-24. 

The Hawks and Pioneers traded buckets coming out of the break, with Monmouth adding to its lead with a 5-0 spurt, setting the SHU margin at eight, 36-28, with 5:21 left. Sacred Heart kept the deficit below double-digits for the rest of the frame, going into the fourth trailing 45-38. 

SHU's shots started to drop again at the start of the fourth, as it opened the frame on a 5-0 run to tie the score at 43-43. Wood hit a triple to start the burst, while Pryor ended it with two straight at the line, which forced a Monmouth timeout. 

The Hawks answered the spurt with four straight before another Pioneers' run swung the momentum. Crespo López sank a pair of 3-pointers for SHU, driving the home crowd nuts, the second giving the Pios a 53-50 lead with 3:27 on the clock. From there, the game was settled at the line. As a back-to-back conference champion, the Pioneers thrived under the pressure, hitting their clutch free throws to secure a 63-56 win on their home court. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers return to Dave Bike Court on Sunday, Nov. 24, for a 2 p.m. tip against Coppin State.