BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team improved to a perfect 3-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play Saturday with a 67-56 road victory over LIU in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ny'Ceara Pryor continued her five-game streak of being SHU's leading scorer with 23 points. She added nine rebounds, four assists and three steals to her total.
Nalyce Dudley finished with her second collegiate double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds, the latter tying a season-high for the first year.
Amelia Wood rounded out the Pios' double-digit scorers with 11.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 9-8, 3-0 NEC
LIU: 2-12, 1-2 NEC
Top Performers:
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Nalyce Dudley: 12 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block
Amelia Wood: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
How It Happened:
The opening quarter this afternoon was evenly contested, with the Pioneers taking a one-point advantage, 13-12, into the second. A handful of Pios contributed to SHU leading after one, as Pryor and Wood led the way with four points each, while
Sierra Johnson's 3-pointer in the final 31 seconds made the difference in the score.
Sacred Heart opened the second with four straight points to force an early LIU timeout. SHU continued to pressure, building a 26-17 lead by the 5:01 mark, but a 5-0 surge over the next 1:13 cut the advantage to 26-22. The Pioneers were ready with an answer, ending the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a double-digit lead, 34-24, into the halftime break.
After the Sharks opened the third quarter by cutting into the SHU lead, the Pioneers retaliated with a 9-0 burst to go up by a quarter-high 16 points. Dudley was key to the run with four points, while Pryor added an and-one. Hot shooting by the home team drew the margin to as low as nine but the Pios finished the frame strong to make it a 51-38 contest heading to the fourth.
The Pioneers held firm in the fourth, never letting its lead dip below 11 points. Sacred Heart built a game-high 18-point advantage, 65-47, with 1:19 remaining before putting the finishing touches on a 67-56 win to improve to 3-0 in NEC play.
A critical part of the Pioneers' win tonight was their success at the free-throw line. SHU hit a season-best 22 free throws at a season-high 91.7% clip (22-for-24). Pryor led all players by going a perfect 9-for-9 at the stripe, while five total Pios finished perfect on the day.
Up Next:
The Pioneers will next host Le Moyne on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. at the William H Pitt Center.
