Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 | 1:00 PM | Spiro Sports Center | Staten Island, N.Y.
SACRED HEART PIONEERS (4-8, 1-0 NEC) vs. Wagner Seahawks (4-8, 0-0 NEC)
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Fresh off a resounding come-from-behind victory over Merrimack, the Sacred Heart women's basketball team gets right back into action on Saturday as the Pioneers head on the road for an afternoon showdown at Wagner. SHU looks to jump out to a 2-0 start to NEC play for the second straight season after overcoming an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Warriors, 63-60, in the Pitt Center on Thursday night.

SHU has dominated the all-time series with Wagner, owning a 29-9 all-time record against Wagner while winning an incredible 18 straight games against the Seahawks at home. The Pioneers own an active 12-game win streak against Wagner, the longest-running active win streak against any team, having last lost to the Seahawks back on Jan. 13, 2013 in Staten Island by a score of 79-70.

OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers head into 2019-20 having lost five players to graduation, three of which were All-NEC honorees last season including Kat Haines (First Team All-NEC), Candice Leatherwood (Second Team) and Erin Storck (Third Team). With seven fresh faces to the program (five first-years, two incoming transfers), SHU will lean on several key veterans as senior Allyson Murphy, junior Olivia Dabney and redshirt junior Nikki Johnson will be relied upon heavily in the early stages of the season as other contributors work their way into the lineup or back from injury.
• The Pioneers matched a league record last season as four players (Haines- First Team, Leatherwood – Second Team, Storck – Third Team and Adrianne Hagood – Third Team) were named All-NEC. That was just the second time in league history (joining FDU in 2014-15) that four players from one team were named All-Conference. Hagood is the lone returning All-NEC performer for the Pioneers from last season.
• A women's basketball program with a storied history, the Pioneers advanced to the WNIT for the fourth time in school history in 2018-19, marking the eighth time in SHU's Div. I history that the Pioneers have advanced to a national postseason tournament (4x WNIT, 3x NCAA, 1x WBI). Also impressive is that all four of the Pioneers' WNIT berths have come over the last seven seasons while SHU has made a national postseason tournament in six of the last nine seasons overall.
• Adrianne Hagood is having herself a breakout junior season as she heads into Saturday sitting second in the NEC in scoring (15.9 PPG), 12th in three-point percentage (37.5) and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.5). Hagood has gone off for double figures in 8-of-11 games played thus far in the season and has led the team in scoring in more than half her appearances (6-of-11). Coming into her junior year with four career 20+ point games, Hagood already has four 20+ point efforts on the season including a 22-point effort (8-20 FG, 4-10 3FG) at Penn State. Hagood's 22-point outburst against the Nittany Lions is the most points scored by a Pioneer against a non Big East Power 5 school since Callan Taylor dropped 24 on March 21, 2009 against Ohio State in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
• Playing with a very limited bench that featured just seven healthy players, SHU overcame an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to topple Merrimack 63-60 on Thursday in the team's NEC opener. Olivia Dabney put her first career double-double, finishing with a career-high 17 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds in 38 minutes. Sonia Smith came off the bench to match her season-high with 12 points, including eight in the fourth quarter that featured a spurt wherein Smith scored six straight points to erase a three-point deficit and give SHU a lead late that they wouldn't relinquish.
• SHU's dominance in the NEC is noteworthy as the Pioneer have finished the regular season sitting in the top four of the league standings in 14 of the last 15 seasons. In addition, SHU has advanced to the NEC Tournament in all 20 seasons since joining the NEC in 1999-00 and own the league's longest-standing active postseason streak (next-closest is Bryant at seven straight postseason berths). The Pioneers own a cumulative record of 252-98 (.720) in NEC regular season play and have never finished with a win percentage below .500 in league play across 20 NEC seasons.

FREE POINTS AT THE LINE

As a team, the Pioneers are leading the NEC in free throws made and attempted in 2019-20 and a huge contributor of-late has been Jayla Davis. In the past five games alone, Davis is 27-for-32 (84.4 percent) at the free throw line, having scored an impressive 27 of her 56 total points at the line over those five contests. For the season, Davis is shooting a team-leading 81.3 percent from the charity stripe (39-for-48; 4.8 attempts per game) while she has generated close to half of her total points scored this season (39 of 91) on free throws. The sudden surge has lifted Davis as she is averaging 11.2 points per game over the last five compared to her 7.0 PPG average in her first five games played of the season.

COMEBACK KIDS

In one of the more-impressive comebacks for the Pioneers in recent memory, SHU overcame an eight-point deficit with 8:20 remaining in the fourth quarter to defeat Merrimack 63-60 in the NEC opener on January 2. This comeback win marks the largest fourth quarter deficit overcome for the Pioneers since Jan. 18, 2016 when SHU defeated CCSU 61-57 in double overtime despite trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter. The three-point win also signaled the first time SHU overcame a halftime deficit to win a game this season, having lost all six games to start the season wherein the Pioneers trailed at the break.

DABNEY HAD A DAY

Playing with just seven healthy players against Merrimack, the Pioneers needed several individuals to step into leading roles and they benefitted from a career game by Olivia Dabney in the win. Dabney recorded career-highs in points (17) and rebounds (12) on her way to the first double-double of her career. Dabney's previous career-high in points was 13 and rebounds was eight as she easily eclipsed both in the resounding comeback win.

CRASH THE BOARDS

One of the keys to the victory over Merrimack in the NEC opener was in the rebounding department as SHU set a season-high with 46 rebounds, 18 of which were offense, as the Pioneers owned a +11 rebounding margin. The single-game total represents the most total rebounds and offensive rebounds for SHU in an NEC game since Jan. 27, 2018 when the Pioneers recorded 50 rebounds and 18 offensive rebounds in a road win at LIU Brooklyn.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE LADY LIONS

Despite an 88-65 defeat to Penn State on Dec. 22, the Pioneers had several key positives to take from the loss. Adrianne Hagood went off for 22 points including nine in the fourth quarter alone, as her 22-point scoring effort represents the most points scored by a Pioneer in a game against a non-Big East Power 5 school since Callan Taylor notched 24 on March 21, 2009 against Ohio State in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. SHU managed to match a season-high with 10 three-pointers and also committed a season-low 12 turnovers, winning the turnover battle 18-12 against PSU. Also of-note, the Pioneers missed their first 11 shots and trailed 17-0 midway through the first quarter but recovered and managed to be outscored by just six against PSU (71-65) across the final 35:27 of play.

FREE POINTS AT THE LINE

Through 12 games, the Pioneers generate a large percentage of their offense at the free throw line as SHU ranks third the NEC in free throws made (153) while generating the most attempts (226). Individually, four Pioneers are shooting at least 70 percent from the charity stripe while Hagood (52) is third in the NEC in free throw attempts. As a team, SHU is shooting 67.7 percent from the line and average 12.8 makes per game.

THAT 70+ SHOW
After going 5-4 in games where the Pioneers scored 70+ points in 2017-18, SHU has since turned it around completely in 2018-19 and into 2019-20, having gone 13-0 in similar games over the last two seasons as team defense keyed the turnaround. Cumulatively, in those 13 contests the Pioneers outscored opponents by 255 (+19.6 per game) and defeated opponents by 22 or more points in seven of those games.

DRI-PPING BUCKETS

After missing the first game of the season with an injury, Adrianne Hagood has provided a huge scoring lift in 2019-20. After scoring 13 (4-10 FG, 3-9 3FG) in a 27-point home win over Hofstra, Hagood netted 23 on 8-for-11 shooting and 3-of-5 from long range at Siena while she tallied a career-high 29 on 8-for-12 shooting, 5-for-7 from three and 8-of-8 at the free throw line against Bridgeport. She followed that up with 21 points in a win over Detroit Mercy to go along with a team-leading 16 points against Nebraska. Most-recently, Hagood went off for 22 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, at Penn State as she hit four three-pointers on her way to another 20+ point effort. The junior guard came into this season with four career 20+ point games but she already has four in the 2019-20 season.

DABNEY DOING HER BEST WORK

Back healthy again after missing the final 10 games of 2018-19 due to injury, junior Olivia Dabney was at her best in the Pioneers' 63-60 win over Merrimack. Playing 38 of the possible 40 minutes, Dabney set new career-highs in points (17) and rebounds (12) as she tallied her first career double-double while also setting new career-highs in field goal makes (seven) and attempts (19). A featured player for SHU, Dabney has played at least 30 minutes in nine of her 11 games played this season while her 33.1 minutes per game average leads the team. Dabney's defense has been another strong suit in the 2019-20 season as she is fifth in the NEC in blocks (17) and blocks per game (1.5).

TAKE YOUR SHOT

Looking to capitalize on a boost in playing time, first-year Sonia Smith is picking her spots and looking to shoulder a sizeable load on offense with the Pioneers forced into a limited rotation. Over the last four games, Smith ranks second on the team in field goal attempts (38) while she has at least seven points in all four. Smith also has cleaned the glass well as she has 17 rebounds to go along with 10 steals and two blocks while averaging 27.1 minutes per game in the last three combined.

SOUTH POINT SHOOTOUT RECAP

Flying out to Las Vegas for their first regular season tournament since 2015-16, the Pioneers showed well with a 66-60 win over Detroit Mercy before giving Nebraska a solid fight in a 72-49 loss. In the Detroit Mercy victory, the Pioneers recorded their first win away from home in 2019-20 behind a season-high 10-for-22 (45.5 percent) showing from three-point distance while capitalizing on their free throws with an 18-for-22 (81.8 percent) effort at the charity stripe. That was the best single-season percentage for SHU at the free throw line since going 18-for-20 against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 20, 2018 (32 games prior). Against Nebraska, the Pioneers couldn't overcome a 31-9 deficit midway through the second quarter but the effort was evident as SHU was outscored by just one point (41-40) in the final 25:14 of play.

PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS

At the league's annual Social Media Day held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, SHU tied for third in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. This marked the second straight season the Pioneers earned third in the preseason poll and it comes on the heels of a productive 2018-19 campaign in which the Pioneers went 19-13 overall and 14-4 in the NEC. Seeded second in the 2019 NEC Tournament, the Pioneers were bounced by Saint Francis U in the semifinal round but still got a taste of national postseason play as SHU earned the league's automatic bid into the WNIT. That WNIT berth marked the sixth national postseason tournament appearance for the Pioneers in the last nine seasons while SHU's 14 league wins last season was their most in a single-season since the 2014-15 campaign.