FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team will welcome Quinnipiac to the William H. Pitt Center on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m. for its final game of 2024. The Pioneers and Bobcats will meet for the first time as Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponents. 

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OPENING TIP

• Sacred Heart welcomes Quinnipiac on Saturday, Dec. 21, for an early-season marquee matchup in the MAAC. 
• SHU and QU are set to tip off at 2 p.m. at the William H. Pitt Center. 
• Saturday's contest will mark the 62nd all-time meeting between the two former NEC foes. 
• Sacred Heart owns a 34-27 lead in the all-time series and is 19-11 at home against the Bobcats. 
• The Pioneers head into this weekend's bout following a 58-44 loss at Iona in their MAAC opener on Thursday. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor led all scorers with 18 points while adding seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for an all-around showing.
• Amelia Wood was next on the team with nine points. 
• She also set a new career-high with five blocks against the Bobcats, becoming the first Pioneer since Olivia Dabney to tally that many swats in a game. 
• Dabney racked up eight blocks at Saint Francis on Dec. 23, 2021.
• Emma Kirby finished the evening with six points and tied a career-high with three assists.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers opened MAAC play on Thursday at Iona, suffering a 58-44 setback to the Gaels in New Rochelle, N.Y. Iona controlled the action in the first half before SHU rallied in the second. The Pioneers took the second half by a score of 27-19, winning the third 18-12. Unfortunately for SHU, it proved to not be enough as Iona held on to take the home victory. Ny'Ceara Pryor continued her impressive stretch of play Thursday, leading all scorers with 18 points. She also added seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for an all-around showing. Amelia Wood shined on both ends of the court, scoring nine points and tallying a career-best five blocks. She is the first Pioneer to tally five+ blocks in a game since Olivia Dabney had eight at Saint Francis on Dec. 23, 2021.

PASSING FROM THE POST
Emma Kirby has started to come into her own in her second collegiate season, showcasing facets of her game we did not see as much last year. In addition to owning a career-best scoring average (7.5 ppg.), the sophomore center has started to display her passing ability. Over the last two games, she tied her career-high with three assists in each contest.

GETTING HOT FROM BEHIND THE ARC 
Over the last four games, Pryor has been getting hot from behind the 3-point line, going 7-for-11 from deep. She hit multiple 3's in each of the last three contests, something she only did five times over her first two collegiate seasons.

SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC 

• The Bobcats are the hottest team in the MAAC heading into this weekend, as they are 9-1 overall and 1-0 in the league after defeating Rider on Thursday. 
• Quinnipiac owns non-conference wins over Princeton, Holy Cross and Maine, which all won their conferences last season and made it to the NCAA Tournament. 
• The team's lone loss came in overtime at Miami. 
• Sacred Heart will have to pay special attention to the 3-point line against the Bobcats, as they rank eighth in the country with a 39.3 3-point field-goal percentage. 
• QU has also been good at limiting turnovers, ranking 26th in DI with 13.1 turnovers per game, which also leads the MAAC. 
• First year guard Gal Raviv leads the way for the Bobcats with 17.1 points per game, which ranks third in the conference. 
• She also paces the team with 4.0 assists per game and is a three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week. 
• Senior guard Jackie Grisdale has also been strong this season, as she ranks first in the league with a 43.4 3-point field goal percentage and is second with 23 made triples. 
• She was also the first MAAC Player of the Week on Nov. 11.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Pioneers and Gaels have met 61 times prior to Saturday's contest, with the series dating back to 1976. 
• SHU leads the all-time series against its former NEC foe 34-27. 
• The Bobcats won the last three meetings, but the teams have not played since 2013. 
• Sacred Heart is 19-11 all-time at home against Quinnipiac.