BROOKLYN, NY – With as many stops and starts as the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team has had this season, a slow start wasn't anything it couldn't overcome. The Pioneers outscored host LIU 43-28 in the second half on their way to a 73-64 NEC victory on Tuesday.

Records:
LIU: 0-1, 0-1 NEC
Sacred Heart: 1-0, 1-0 NEC

Top Performers:
Sonia Smith (SHU): 16 points, 7 assists
Nikki Johnson (SHU): 9 points, 7 assists
Abigail Kangudie (SHU): 8 points, 80% shooting

Up Next:
The two teams are back on the court Wednesday for a 4 p.m. tip.

Of Note:
Playing its first game in 281 days, the Pioneers were a little rusty in the opening half. Sacred Heart shot 38.4 from the floor and only 2-of-13 (15.3 percent) from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.

LIU went on a 5-0 run to take a 36-28 lead with 23 seconds left in the first half. Abigail Kangudie made a basket as time expired in the opening stanza to cut the LIU margin to 36-30 at the intermission.

The game turned in SHU's favor midway through the third quarter. Adrianne Hagood made a jumper at the 6:43 mark to ignite a 9-0 run that gave the Pioneers a 46-41 lead.

The Sharks knotted the game at 56-56 in the fourth quarter but buckets from Kelsey Wood, Asia McCray and Kangudie helped put the game away.

The two teams couldn't be more different in their offensive attack. Led by Sonia Smith's team-high 16 points, eight different Pioneers scored five or more points while 60 of LIU's 64 points came from its starting five.

Sacred Heart was able to convert good defense into points. The Pioneers forced the Sharks into 17 turnovers which led to 15 fastbreak points.