RIVERDALE, N.Y. – A thrilling buzzer beater and a strong first half proved to not be enough for the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team as the Pioneers suffered a hard-fought 64-58 road loss in overtime to Manhattan on Saturday in Riverdale, N.Y.

Ny'Ceara Pryor led the way for the Pioneers with a near double-double, putting up 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five steals in 33 minutes. Amelia Wood added 14 points to finish second on the team. 

Emma Kirby (8pts, 8rebs), Nalyce Dudley (8pts, 8rebs) and Carmen Williams (7pts, 8rebs) all put up similar stat lines. Williams tied her career-high with eight boards. 

Records: 
Sacred Heart: 6-13, 2-8 MAAC
Manhattan: 11-9, 5-6 MAAC
 
Leaders: 
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists
Ciara Brannon: 14 points, 1 steal

Of Note: 
The Pioneers started today's game strong on both sides of the ball, claiming a 17-6 lead after the first quarter. SHU scored the first nine points of the contest to force a Manhattan timeout at 7:12. The Pios led by as much as 11 in the quarter, with the score sitting at 17-6 SHU following a Williams' layup with five seconds remaining. 

For the quarter, SHU shot 50% from the field (7-for-14), while the Jaspers went 2-for-13 for 15.4%. Wood led all players in the first with seven points. 

Sacred Heart scored the opening five points of the second quarter to go up 16, 22-6. The Pios led by 17, 25-8, at 5:50 before Manhattan went on a run. The Jaspers scored the following eight points before a pair of Pryor free throws returned SHU's advantage to 11 heading to halftime. 

The Jaspers rode their momentum from the end of the second into taking the lead after the third. Manhattan took the third quarter 22-10 to build a 38-37 advantage going into the fourth. 

The margin remained close for the duration of the fourth quarter, with the Jaspers building a quarter-high five-point lead, 48-43, at 3:05. SHU rallied with a 7-2 run to force overtime. The highlight of the surge was a miraculous basket from Wood with less than a second remaining. With seven-tenths of a second left, Wood caught a pass while falling, pivoted on the ground, and buried the bucket while sitting. 

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, overtime did not go their way. A 7-0 Manhattan run with the score tied at 52-52 gave the home team the cushion to secure a 64-58 victory. 

Up Next: 
Sacred Heart is on the road again on Thursday, Feb. 6, to play Rider at 6 p.m. in Lawrenceville, N.J.