FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team is set to embark on its 50th varsity season on Tuesday, Nov. 7, with a 6 p.m. tilt at Rhode Island. 

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OPENING TIP

• Tuesday's season opener marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Rams. 
• Rhode Island is 3-0 against SHU all time, with the latest matchup being a 62-50 win by URI on Dec. 20, 2008. 
• This season marks the 11th for Head Coach Jessica Mannetti, who has racked up 146 wins in her career and has led the Pioneers to the NCAA Tournament and three appearances in the WNIT. 
• After winning the conference for the first time in over a decade last season, the Pioneers were tabbed unanimous favorites in the 2023-24 NEC Preseason Poll. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor and Sajada Bonner were named to the Preseason All-NEC Team after making All-Conference a season ago. SHU was one of just two teams to have multiple Preseason All-NEC Players this year. 
• The Pios return all six of their top-minute earners and top six scorers from last season. 
• Tuesday's opener will mark the 50th season in the Pioneers' history. Sacred Heart women's basketball started play in 1974-75 and has grown into one of the top programs in the NEC.

Notes:
DYNAMIC DUO
In addition to being announced as the preseason NEC favorites at the conference's media day on Oct. 24, Ny'Ceara Pryor and Sajada Bonner were named to the 2023-24 Preseason All-NEC Team. SHU joined Merrimack as the only two teams with two preseason All-NEC players. Pryor enters 2023-24 fresh off becoming the first player in league history to win Player, Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Bonner led the Pios in made 3-pointers in her first campaign with the team, making the All-NEC Second Team in the process. 

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
A year removed from being an Atlantic 10 semifinalist, the Rams were tabbed preseason favorites in the conference with 12 of the possible 15 first-place votes. URI went 26-7 overall and 14-2 in the A10 in 2022-23, taking the No. 2 seed in the league tournament. No. 3 Saint Louis upset the Rams in the tournament semis, which sealed an appearance in the WNIT for Rhode Island. The Rams won twice in the WNIT before being knocked out by Harvard in the Super 16. URI had four players named preseason All-Conference as Mayé Touré made the First Team, Syracuse transfer Teisha Hyman the Second Team, Tenin Magassa the Third Team and Anaelle Dutat the All-Defensive Team. Touré, the 2022-23 Most Improved Player of the Year, broke out last season after averaging 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season on her way to an All-A10 First Team nod. 

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST URI
The all-time series between the Pioneers and Rams is a short one, as the two teams have only met three times before this season's opener. Rhode Island holds the edge in the series by winning all three bouts. The first contest was a hard-fought 69-66 win by the Rams in Dec. 1998. Most recently, URI won by 12 points in a 62-50 bout in Dec. 2008 in Fairfield.

JESSICA MANNETTI, 11TH SEASON
Head Coach Jessica Mannetti enters her 11th season as Sacred Heart University's head women's basketball coach in 2023-24. Last year, she became the first coach in NEC history to win an NCAA Tournament game when she led the Pioneers to a 57-47 win over Southern in the NCAA First Four. She also helped guide Pryor to becoming the first player in league history to win the triple crown of major awards in one year. Her other accolades include one NEC championship, one NEC regular-season title and three appearances in the WNIT. She was also named the 2015-16 NEC Coach of the Year. Thirteen Pioneers have earned All-Conference honors under Mannetti, including returners Pryor and Bonner.

CULTURE OF STABILITY 
One of the reasons that the Pioneers were picked as the preseason favorites in the NEC is that they returned most of last year's conference-winning team. SHU brings back its top six scorers from a season ago. In addition to Pryor and Bonner, the Pios returns Amelia Wood (7.7 ppg), Olivia Tucker (7.1 ppg), Sierra Johnson (5.5 ppg) and Kelsey Wood (4.7 ppg).