FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the second straight game, the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team will play an in-state rival as the Pioneers head to Hamden on Thursday to battle Quinnipiac at 6 p.m. the Bobcats' M&T Bank Arena. 

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OPENING TIP

• SHU heads up I95 on Thursday evening to conclude its season series against Quinnipiac, meeting the Bobcats at 6 p.m. at the M&T Bank Arena in Hamden. 
• Sacred Heart last battled the MAAC-leading Stags of Fairfield to a hard-fought 82-76 defeat on Saturday afternoon. 
• The margin sat at one point after the third quarter, 59-58, before the Pios took a 60-59 lead 17 seconds into the fourth. 
• Unfortunately for SHU, Fairfield put together a 16-4 run midway through the frame, dooming the Pioneers' chances at a comeback. 
• Sacred Heart's six-point defeat is the closest anyone in the MAAC has gotten to Fairfield this year, as the Stags are now 13-0 in conference. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor put together one of her best games of the season against the Fairfield, tying career-highs with 28 points and 12 made field goals. 
• She also did not sit during the game, playing all 40 minutes and posting seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. 
• Amelia Wood came very close to posting her second 20+ point game of the year with 19 points, seven boards and three assists in 35 minutes.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers played their hearts out against Fairfield on Saturday. SHU fell to the Stags, who are undefeated in the MAAC at 13-0, by six points, 82-76, Fairfield's closest league game this season. After trailing by six, 38-32, at halftime, the Pioneers rallied to make it a one-point game, 59-58, going into the fourth. Sacred Heart owned a 60-59 lead 17 seconds into the fourth, but a 16-4 run by the Stags later in the frame doomed the Pios. SHU scored the final six points in the contest but still suffered the loss. Ny'Ceara Pryor did not see the bench Saturday, playing all 40 minutes and tying a career-high with 28 points. Amelia Wood put up 19 points, seven boards and three assists in 35 minutes, while Emma Kirby had a near double-double with eight points and six rebounds.

NY NY, CAPTAIN
Something about the 203 rivalry fires up Pryor, as the junior guard had one of her best games of the season against Fairfield on Saturday. The Baltimore native tied a career-high with 28 points on a career-high-tying 12 made shots. Pryor has scored 27, 26 and 28 points in three games against the Stags.

SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC

• The Bobcats are the second hottest team in the MAAC, owning a 19-3 overall record and an 11-2 mark in the MAAC. 
• Quinnipiac's two MAAC losses came to Mount St. Mary's in overtime and Fairfield. 
• The Bobcats are riding a three-game win streak, defeating Siena, Canisius and Niagara. 
• QU is second in the MAAC in scoring offense (68.3 ppg.) and third in scoring defense (58.2 ppg.).  
• First year guard Gal Raviv has been outstanding this season, leading the team 17.0 points and 4.2 assists per game. 
• The Kadima, Israel, native is an eight-time MAAC Rookie of the Week and a one-time Player of the Week. 
• Senior guard Jackie Grisdale and Raviv are two of the minute's leaders in the country, as Grisdale is eighth at 36.94 and Raviv is 10th at 36.66. 

 
SERIES HISTORY 

• The Pioneers and Bobcats have met 62 times prior to Thursday's contest, with the series dating back to 1976.
• SHU leads the all-time series against its former NEC foe 34-28.
• The Bobcats won the last four meetings, taking the first game of this season's series, 78-63, in the Pios' last game of 2024.