FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team is set to begin the 2024-25 campaign on Monday evening with a road 7:30 p.m. tilt against Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. 

LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM (FLOSPORTS) | GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers open the 2024-25 season on the road at Hofstra on Monday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. 
• SHU battles the Pride for the seventh time in both teams' histories, with the all-time series tied at 3-3 after the Pios won the last three bouts. 
• Sacred Heart is coming off of a very successful 2023-24, winning both the NEC Tournament and regular-season championships, making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor led the way for the Pioneers, winning her second straight NEC Player of the Year award after setting the Pioneers' scoring record and leading the NEC in points (18.7 PPG), assists (4.5 APG), steals (3.2 SPG, fourth in the country) and field goal percentage (46.4%) last year.
• SHU also returns All-NEC performer Amelia Wood, who ranked second on the team with career highs in scoring (10.3 PPG) and steals (1.8 SPG). 
• Pryor, Wood and Sierra Johnson lead the way in the Pioneers' impressive junior class, as all three ranked in the top four in minutes last season. 
• Johnson was one of one of three Pios to start all 34 games last year, averaging 6.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game as an all-around performer.

PRYOR KNOWLEDGE
Heading into her third collegiate season, SHU standout Ny'Ceara Pryor looks to add to her impressive list of accomplishments heading into her first season in the MAAC. Hopes are high for the junior guard, as she was named to the preseason watch list for the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and was tabbed First Team Preseason All-MAAC. Last year, Pryor set the paced the NEC in scoring (18.7 PPG), assists (4.5 APG), steals (3.2 SPG, fourth in the country) and field goal percentage (46.4%). She also has two NEC Player of the Year and NEC Tournament MVP awards to her name.

LAST DANCE
The Pioneers have three players heading into their final collegiate seasons, as Ciara Brannon enters her graduate campaign, while Carmen Williams and Afia Owusu-Mensah are both seniors. Brannon has played the last two seasons with SHU after transferring from Wagner. Owusu-Mensah has played 62 games in three seasons with the Pios. Williams joined Sacred Heart after transferring from George Mason as a junior. She also played a pair of years at Radford.

SCOUTING HOFSTRA 

• The Pride finished last season with an 11-21 overall record and a 3-15 mark in the CAA. 
• Hofstra made the CAA quarterfinals for the third straight year after upsetting fifth-seeded William & Mary in the second round. 
• The Pride ended up falling to fourth-seeded North Carolina A&T in the quarters. 
• Junior guard Emma Von Essen, Hofstra's leading scorer last season, returns in 2024-25. 
• The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native averaged 11.6 points per game in 32 appearances, shooting 37.9% from the floor and 36.0% from behind the arc. 
• On the defensive side of the ball, graduate center Zyheima Swint returns as the team's leading rebounder with 8.1 boards per game. 
• Standing 6-3, Swint racked up 10 double-digit rebound performances, including a season-high 21 against Wagner. 

SERIES HISTORY

• The all-time series between the Pioneers and Pride features six games, with both teams having three wins in the series. 
• Hofstra won the first three games against SHU, while the Pios have won the last three. 
• The most recent meeting was a hard-fought 63-60 Sacred Heart victory at the Pitt Center last November. 
• SHU eyes its second win at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, N.Y.