FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team closed out 2022 with an 81-44 win over Mercy on Saturday.
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 3-9
Mercy: Exhibition
 
Top Performers:
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
Olivia Tucker: 14 points
Kelsey Wood: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
 
Of Note
Sacred Heart jumped out to a 7-0 start in the first quarter. Mercy responded with an 8-0 spurt at the 6:26 mark to take a one-point lead. Junior Kelsey Wood drained two free throws that sparked a 14-1 run to give the Pioneers their largest lead. Sacred Heart would hang on to the advantage for the rest of the game as it outscored Mercy 21-9 in the first quarter and 25-15 in the third. 
 
The Pioneers shot 30-of-61 (49.2%) from the field compared to the Mavericks' 15-of-53 (28.3%). Sacred Heart tallied 36 points in the paint, 22 on the fast break and 20 off 19 Mercy turnovers.
 
Wood, Ny'Ceara Pryor and Olivia Tucker notched season-highs in scoring. Pryor recorded her fifth 20+ point performance of the season with a team-leading 21 points. Wood also grabbed a season-high nine rebounds and dished out a career-high four assists.

Up Next
Sacred Heart begins NEC play in a home contest against LIU on Friday at 7 p.m.