FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team is set to welcome Le Moyne to the William H Pitt Center on Monday in a battle of two teams at the top of the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings. 

LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM | GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers and Dolphins will meet for the 10th time on Monday. Monday will mark the first meeting since the 1995-96 campaign. 
• The Dolphins won five of the nine all-time meetings, but SHU took the last two. 
• Sacred Heart improved to 3-0 in NEC play on Saturday, traveling to LIU and handing the Sharks a 67-56 defeat.   
• The Pios shined at the free throw line Saturday, hitting a season-best 22 free throws at a season-high 91.7% clip (22-for-24). Five Pioneers had a perfect day at the charity stripe, led by Ny'Ceara Pryor, who went 9-for-9. 
• Pryor led the Pioneers in scoring for a fifth consecutive game with her seventh 20+ point contest of the season. She tallied 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals for another outstanding day. 
• Nalyce Dudley posted 12 points and 12 rebounds against the Sharks for her second double-double of the season. She has hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds in back-to-back games.
• Amelia Wood and Olivia Tucker also had stellar outings against LIU. Wood recorded 11 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Tucker set season highs in minutes (33:45), rebounds (4) and steals (3) to go along with nine points.

ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST
Through 17 games this season, Pryor ranks among the best in the country in a handful of categories. The outstanding sophomore is sixth in all of Division I with 108 free throw attempts this season, which is 24 less than the national leader, Angel Reese of LSU. She is also ranked 14th with 81 made free throws. For the second straight season, Pryor stands as one of the most feared defenders in the country. She ranks 11th with 50 steals and 17th with 2.94 steals per game. 

HOME COOKING
The Pioneers are back at home for just the sixth time this season on Monday. Sacred Heart is 4-1 at home in 2023-24, with the lone loss being an overtime setback against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) leaders Fairfield. The Pios are averaging 63.8 pointers per game while allowing 53.2 for a +10.6 scoring margin. Pryor has been the Pios' best player in home bouts, as she is averaging 19.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, all of which pace the team.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Le Moyne has had a tough start to its tenure in Division I, as they enter Monday's game with a 4-11 overall record. The Dolphins played a challenging non-conference schedule that featured losses to No. 10 USC (93-42) and No. 20 Colorado (97-38). The start of the NEC slate has been much kinder to Le Moyne, as they are 2-0 to open league play. The Dolphins own double-digit wins over FDU (65-52) and Merrimack (74-59), with the latter being on the road. Fifth year guard Lytoya Baker has been at the center of everything the Dolphins do this season, as she leads the team in points (12.1), rebounds (8.0), steals (1.7) and blocks (0.9) per game. She paces the NEC in rebounds per game and is fifth in scoring. Graduate student Sydney Lusher is second on the team with 9.1 points per game. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LE MOYNE
The Pioneers and Dolphins will meet for the 10th time on Monday, with Le Moyne holding a 5-4 lead in the all-time series. The series began in the 1992-93 season and was last played in 1995-96. All nine of these matchups came when both programs played in Division II, while Monday's matchup will be the first as two Division I teams.