FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team concludes the 2024-25 season on Saturday, Mar. 8, with a 2 p.m. tilt against Iona at the Pitt Center. SHU will celebrate Senior Day before the game against the Gaels. 

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OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers welcome Iona for their final game of the 2024-25 season on Saturday, Mar. 8, at 2 p.m. 
• Before Saturday's game, SHU will celebrate Senior Day by honoring Carmen Williams, Afia Owusu-Mensah and Ciara Brannon. 
• Sacred Heart last defeated Manhattan by a 61-50 final score on Thursday evening at the Pitt Center. 
• The Pios owned a 31-22 halftime lead after forcing 12 first-half turnovers with 10 steals. 
• Sacred Heart won all four quarters in Thursday's contest, putting together one of its best defensive performances of the season. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor led the charge with eight steals in the opening 20 minutes, finishing the game with a single-game program record 11 steals. 
• Pryor also recorded the second triple-double of her career with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 steals. 
• Amelia Wood ended the day with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three 3-pointers in 34 minutes.  

LAST TIME OUT
Sacred Heart put on a defensive showcase to defeat Manhattan by a 61-50 final on Thursday evening at the Pitt Center. The Pioneers got off to a strong start with an impressive first half, holding the Jaspers to 22 points in the opening 20 minutes, forcing 12 turnovers with 10 steals. The Pioneers never looked back after building a 31-22 halftime lead. Ny'Ceara Pryor led the way with a historic performance Thursday. The standout junior tallied a 24-point, 10-rebound, 11-steal triple-double. Her 11 steals are a new single-game program record. Amelia Wood also put on a show against Manhattan, tallying 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three 3-pointers in 34 minutes. Dianne Crespo López also crossed double figures with 10 points, her third 10+ point game as a first year.

OH, WHAT A NIGHT
Pryor had one of the best performances in SHU women's basketball history on Thursday evening. The junior sensation set a new single-game program record with 11 steals, topping her own mark set earlier this season. She is now eight steals shy of tying the program record. Eleven steals are also tied for the second most in a game by a Division I player this season. Pryor also tallied her second career triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 steals. Pryor owns two of the three triple-doubles in program history. She also climbed to fourth on the SHU points leaderboard with 1,766.

LAST DANCE
The Pioneers have three players heading into their final collegiate seasons, as Ciara Brannon enters into her graduate season, while Carmen Williams and Afia Owusu-Mensah are both seniors. Brannon has played the last two seasons with SHU after transferring from Wagner. Owusu-Mensah has played 62 games in three seasons with the Pios. Both players played a role in SHU's historic two-season run that saw the team win back-to-back NEC Championships, a regular-season NEC Title and an NCAA First Four victory. Williams joined Sacred Heart after transferring from George Mason as a junior. She also played a pair of seasons at Radford.

SCOUTING IONA

• The Gaels had Thursday off and head into their regular-season finale with a 10-19 overall record. 
• Iona clinched a spot in the MAAC Tournament with an 8-11 league record. 
• The Gaels have hit a rough patch as they close out the regular season, as they lost five straight, including a home defeat to Niagara, which is now 2-25 this season. 
• Senior guard Ella Fajardo leads the way in a balanced Gaels' offense with 9.8 points per game. 
• She also paces the team with 2.7 assists per game. 
• Zoey Ward and Erin Leary have been Iona's rebounds leaders with 5.4 and 5.2 boards per game, respectively.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Pioneers and Gaels will meet for the 14th time on Thursday, with Iona holding a 10-3 lead in the all-time series. 
• The Gaels have won four straight against the Pios. 
• Iona took this season's meeting, 58-44, in SHU's first-ever MAAC game. 
• The Pioneers' last win in the series was an 82-80 classic in the 2014 season.