Sacred Heart Hosts LIU Brooklyn Saturday on Senior Day
2/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SACRED HEART (15-11, 10-6 NEC) VS LIU BROOKLYN (9-18, 6-10 NEC)
GAME 27 * Fairfield, Conn. * Coach Bike Court at the William H. Pitt Center * 1:00 PM
Live Stats and Video
Inside the Series...
- This is the 32nd meeting between the Pioneers and the Blackbirds dating back to the 1997-98 season
- The teams have gone back-and-forth splitting the last six seasons
- Sacred Heart opened the series with four straight wins over three seasons
- The teams have faced each other four times in the Northeast Conference Tournament including three straight battles in 2002, 2003 and 2004
- After LIU knocked out Sacred Heart in the semifinals in 2002 73-56 and in the quarterfinal in 2003 51-48, the Pioneers prevailed with an identical score a year later, and ran over the Blackbirds 64-50 en route to the Pioneers' first ever NEC title in 2006
Scouting the Blackbirds...
- LIU Brooklyn comes into Saturday's game having won its last two games over Mount St. Mary's (48-45) and Wagner (75-47) for a recent boost up to tied for sixth in the NEC standings
- The final two games of the season against SHU and St. Francis Brooklyn are crucial for the Blackbirds, who are fighting four teams one of three remaining spots in the Northeast Conference Tournament
- Sophie Bhasin leads LIU averaging 15.8 points per game, more than seven points higher than her closest teammate, Shanovia Dover (8.1 ppg) who totaled a career-best 26 points in the Blackbirds' win over Wagner
Last Time They Met...
After a late comeback, the Sacred Heart women's basketball team fell to the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, 77-74, in its first overtime game of the seasonin the Steinberg Wellness Center. Lerae Ettienne led the Pioneers with a career-best 20 points shooting 80.0% (8-for-10) from the floor as SHU drops to 7-7 on the season and 2-2 in Northeast Conference play. The win improves the Blackbirds to 5-10 and 2-2 against NEC opponents. Sophomore Adaysha Williams had the hot hand through most of the game and came close to a double-double with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Surpassing Last Year's Total...
Wednesday's win over Fairleigh Dickinson was the Pioneers' tenth Northeast Conference win of the year officially surpassing last season's nine wins.
Coming Home...
Prior to last year, Sacred Heart had never finished lower than tied for third in the regular season standings clinching a quarterfinal home game in each of its first 14 seasons in the Northeast Conference. Last year, a sixth place finish sent the Pioneers to Saint Francis for what turned into a double-overtime high-scoring affair. With the win over Fairleigh Dickinson, SHU is bring the NEC Tournament back to the William H. Pitt Center. Securing the No. 4 seed, the Pioneers will host the No. 5 seed on Sunday, March 8.
Rendering the Kimmel Bucketless...
For the first time since her fifth game back from injury in 2013, Hannah Kimmel was unable to hit a single field goal Wednesday night against Fairleigh Dickinson. The red-shirt junior tallied just one point from the free throw line in the Pioneers' 66-65 win. Also, prior to Saturday's loss to Central Connecticut State, Hannah Kimmel had hit at least one triple in 15 straight games dating back to December 17's loss to Siena.
