FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The No. 2 Sacred Heart University women's basketball team pulled out a 63-44 win over No. 7 LIU in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference tournament on Monday.
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 16-13, 12-4 NEC
LIU: 7-22, 5-11 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 21 pts, 8 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls
Sajada Bonner: 18 pts, 5 rebs
Olivia Tucker: 17 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts
 
Of Note
The game went through eight lead changes in the first half, but first year Ny'Ceara Pryor scored back-to-back baskets that sparked an 8-1 run to put Sacred Heart in the lead 30-24 at the break. 
 
In the third quarter, the Pioneers tallied eight unanswered points in the first seven minutes to grow their lead by 10. The Sharks worked it back down to five, but Pryor scored another layup to keep the team in front, 40-33. 
 
The fourth quarter was all SHU as it outscored LIU 23-11. The Pioneer scored 14 of their points from the charity stripe. Most of the free throws came from senior Olivia Tucker, who drained 6-of-6 of her perfect 8-of-8. 
 
Pryor finished with 21 points racking her 13^th 20+ point performance of the season. Graduate student Sajada Bonner notched 18 while Tucker had 17. 
 
Despite struggling from the free-throw line in the first three quarters, SHU was able to make 16-of-28 overall compared to LIU's 8-of-11. The Pioneers also posted 10 points off 17 offensive boards. 
 
Up Next
SHU hosts the NEC semifinals against No.3 Merrimack on Thursday at 7 p.m.