The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team earned a 60-49 win over Northeast Conference host Bryant University, Monday evening. The Pioneers improve to 11-17 on the year and 8-9 in league play, while the Bulldogs fall to 9-19 and 7-10 in conference action.

The victory puts the Pioneers into a tie with Fairleigh Dickinson at 8-9 in the league standings, in fourth place in the tournament standings and keeps the Pioneers chances for a home postseason game alive.

The Pioneers close out the regular season on Thursday when they host Long Island University. That game will tip-off at 11:00 am at the Pitt Center and can be seen on NEC Front Row.

Turning Point

• Brooke Bjelko made a pair of free throws with 4:15 to play, capping a 7-0 Bryant run that closed a 10-pont deficit to three, 48-45
• Adrienne Hagood ended the Bryant run with a three from in front of the SHU bench at the 3:19 mark to make the lead six points
• The Bulldogs would close to within three one more time, 52-49 when Trinity Bravo scored a jumper with 1:54 to play 
• Madison Cheatham was fouled scoring a layup with 86 seconds and converted the free throw to start an 8-0 game ending run for the Pioneers 

Pioneer Points

• Sonia Smith scored a game-high 15 points, hitting 5-10 from the field, and had four steals
• She also recorded three assists and a rebound
• Nikki Johnson also reached double figures, scoring 13, to go along with a team-best five rebounds
• Jayla Davis scored nine points and had three assists
• Olivia Dabney blocked three shots, to go along with four points and four rebounds
• Eight Pioneers scored four our more points in the win

By the Numbers

• Two Bulldogs scored 10 points apiece, with Masey Zegarowski and Sydney Holloway both tallying 10 points
• Holloway recorded a double-double, with 11 boards, while Bjelko had a game-best 14 boards
• SHU was 10-22, 45.5 percent, from the field in the second-half, going 3-6 from behind the arc
• Bryant outrebounded the Pioneers 51-28 on the day
• SHU committed only 12 turnovers in the game, and recorded 10 steals as Bryant turned the ball over 22 times

First Quarter

• Bryant opened with eight points in the first 2:12, four from Bjelko, forcing a Pioneers timeout
• The Pioneers opened 0-4 from the field, before Hagood took a steal and went the length of the court, a basket at 6:21
• Murphy knocked down a three pointer at the 4:36 mark, closing within 8-5
• The Bulldogs snapped a 4:18 scoring drought with a LaFrance Boyce basket at 3:30, to make the score 10-5
• Holloway made two free throws with 1:34 left in the quarter, to make the lead seven, 12-5
• Murphy snapped the Pioneers drought with a spinning layup ….
• Dabney beat the shot clock with 26 seconds left in the quarter, draining a three-pointer to bring the Pioneers within two at the end of the quarter, 12-10

Second Quarter

• Davis started the second quarter scoring, with a hoop 29 seconds into the period, tying the score 12-12
• Holloway ended the seven 7-0 SHU run with a layup at the 7:52 mark, ending a 3:42 scoring drought for the Bulldogs
• Holloway scored against at 6:53, to make the Bryant lead four, 16-12
• Boyce made the Bryant run six, with a basket at 6:19
• Carly Stroemel ended that run with a short jumper, that Smith followed with a steal and transition basket to close within two, 18-16 at 4:49
• Gallagher responded with a layup to push the lead back to four at 4:34, 20-16, before Smith drained a left win three to get within a point, 20-19, 19 seconds later
• Bjelko found the basket with 1:27 to end a more than 3:00 drought for Bryant and make the score 22-19
• Smith got a second chance at a free throw, after a lane violation, and converted to give SHU a 23-22 lead with 23 ticks left in the half

Third Quarter

• Zegarowski opened the second-half scoring, 27 seconds into the half for a 24-23 lead
• Davis put the Pioneers on top for a moment, at 8:35, before a pair of Boyce free throws gave Bryant the 26-25 advantage
• Stroemel scored after a Davis steal at 8:05 and Johnson netted a Davis pass at 7:11, to give the Pioneers a 29-26 advantage
• Zegarowski's free throw at 5:29 made the Pioneer lead two, before Smith drove the lane for a 31-27 edge
• Smith hit a three from the top of the key, making the Pioneers run 11-3, and forcing a Bryant timeout with SHU in front 34-27 at the 4:44 mark
• Holloway scored out of the timeout for Bryant and after a drawn charge Trinity Bravo knocked down a pair from the stripe, with 3:52 to play, to close the Bulldogs within three, 34-31
• A pair of technical free throws by Nicole Gallagher with 2:50 to play in the quarter, brought the Bulldogs within one, 34-33
• After a Madison Cheatham block, Johnson sank two free throws with 2:18 to play, to give SHU a three-point margin, that Holloway answered at 1:59 with two free throws of her own
• Smith went down the lane for a lay-up at 1:43 to give SHU a 38-35 advantage and a Cheatham free throw with 33 seconds left made the lead four, that it would take to the fourth quarter

Fourth Quarter

• Kandis Taylor made the first of two free throws, at the 8:38 mark of the final quarter, to make the deficit one possession, 39-36
• Smith made a pair from the line at 8:17 for a 41-36 advantage
• Johnson sank a pair of technical free throws 18 seconds later to equal the Pioneers largest lead, 43-36
• Taylor made her two free throws with 7:30 to play, to make it 43-38
• Johnson made the first field goal of the period, driving the lane at 7:10 and on the next possession Davis hit a three from the top of the key, for a 48-38 advantage
• Zegarowski ended the SHU run with a basket of her own at the 5:42 mark and made it a 5-0 run at 4:36 mark with a three-pointer
• Bjelko made two free throws with 4:14 to play to get the Bulldogs within three, 48-45
• Hagood ended the run and put the Pioneers up 51-45 with a three-pointer from in front of the bench with 3:19 to play
• Cheatham made 1-2 from the line with 2:32 to play, for the 52-45 lead
• Gallagher hit 3-4 free throws with @:05 to play, and Bravo hit a jumper at 1:54 to bring Bryant back within three, 52-49
• Cheatham was fouled making a layup at the 1:26 mark and made the free throw to push the advantage to 55-49
• The Pioneers made 5-6 free throws in the final 33 seconds to secure the victory