FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team will play the first basketball game at the newly-renovated William H. Pitt Center on Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. tilt against Monmouth. 

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OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers open the renovated Pitt Center on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. with a high-profile matchup. 
• SHU has battled 35 times in the two teams' histories, with the Pios owning a 20-15 lead in the all-time series between the two former NEC programs. 
• Sacred Heart won last season's contest 59-50 in New Jersey. 
• The Pioneers last fell at UAlbany by a 61-49 final score on Saturday. 
• SHU held an early lead but trailed by 13 going into halftime. 
• Sacred Heart started the second half on a 15-4 run to get as close as two points, but the Great Danes pulled away on their way to a 12-point victory. 
• Amelia Wood had one of her best performances of the season against the Hawks, pouring in 20 points, while Ny'Ceara Pryor had 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. 
• SHU owns a 1-3 record to start the season. The Pioneers opened the year with a win at Hofstra before dropping three straight at Boston College, NJIT and UAlbany. 
• Pryor and Wood led the Pioneers against the Great Danes, as both tallied 12 points in the contest. 
• Pryor also tallied 10 steals in the bout, tying Ericka Norman for the single-game program record. Norman recorded 10 steals in two games, once in 2011 and once in 2012. 
• Sierra Johnson came alive from behind the arc as she hit both of her 3-pointers on her way to scoring eight points.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers dropped a road bout at UAlbany on Saturday afternoon, 61-49. The Pioneers started off strong, owning an 8-4 lead through the first 3:39. Unfortunately for SHU, the Great Danes took control of the contest over the rest of the first half, taking a 28-15 advantage into halftime. The Pioneers rallied in the third, cutting the margin to two, 32-30, following a 15-4 run to start the half. Despite stealing the momentum, Sacred Heart did not get any closer than two as the Great Danes held on to take a 61-49 win. Ny'Ceara Pryor led the way with a 12-point, 10-steal double-double. 

SWIPER KEEPS SWIPING
Pryor continues to be one of the best defenders in the country, as she tied a program record with 10 steals against the Great Danes Saturday. With that historic performance, the Baltimore, Md., native is now third in the country in total steals (19) and steals per game (4.75).

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
In the Pioneers' historic 2023-24 season, SHU was nearly unbeatable at home at the Pitt Center. Sacred Heart went 13-2, with one loss coming to Fairfield by five points in OT and Le Moyne by four points. The Pios were better on both sides of the ball, scoring 68.3 points at home and 65.5 on the road. Defense is where the team really shined, as they allowed 51.5 points at the Pitt and 60.6 away from it. SHU's scoring margin jumped from +4.9 on the road to +16.8 at home.

SCOUTING MONMOUTH 

• The Hawks have sputtered coming out of the gates, starting the season with a 0-5 record. 
• Monmouth has played four of its five contests on the road, getting outscored by a 329-235 margin in those tilts. 
• The Hawks have challenged themselves to start the year, as they have played Yale, Brown, George Mason, UMass and Penn State. 
• Damaris Rodriguez and Taisha Exanor lead the for the Hawks with 12.6 and 12.4 points per game, respectively. 
• Rodriguez also paces the team with 2.4 assists per game, while Exanor is the team's best rebounder, ranking eighth in the CAA with 7.8  boards per game. 
• The Pioneers will also have to contend with Ella Farrelly in the paint, as she ranks sixth in the league with 1.5 blocks per game. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Thursday's game will mark the 36th all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Hawks in a series that dates back to 1997-98. 
• The Pioneers lead the series with a 20-15 record against their former NEC foes. 
• SHU has won two of the three previous meetings, taking a 59-50 triumph last year in New Jersey.