FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team is set for an instate battle against Central Connecticut State on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. at the Blue Devils' Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, Conn. 

LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM | GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers make the short trip to New Britain on Saturday to play the Blue Devils in the 64th all-time meeting between the two teams. 
• SHU has won 10 of the last 11 matchups against CCSU, including four of the last five at Central. 
• The Pioneers have won eight straight games heading into Saturday, the team's longest streak since winning 11 consecutive in the 2015-16 season. 
• Sacred Heart improved to 11-1 in the NEC with the win over the Knights on Thursday. SHU remains one game ahead of second-place Le Moyne in the league standings with one extra game to play. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor came close to recording her second triple-double of the season with 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. Pryor has tallied a double-double in two out of her last three games. 
• Kelsey Wood had her best game of the season on Thursday with season highs of 15 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes. She finished two points shy of tying her career-high in scoring. 
• Sajada Bonner and Nalyce Dudley also crossed double figures with 13 and 11, respectively. Bonner did most of her damage from behind the arc with four 3-pointers, while Dudley had five rebounds.

NEAR TRIPLE-DOUBLES
For all of the amazing things Pryor has, one feat she keeps just missing is posting her second career triple-double. She has one triple-double this season, posting 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists at Bryant on Dec. 2, the second in program history. Following that game, Pryor has come perilously close on multiple occasions, including her 22-point, 10-rebound, nine-assists stat line against FDU on Thursday. Including Thursday, she has three games this year where she finished either two rebounds or two assists shy of a triple-double. She has tallied three double-doubles on the season, with two coming in her last three games. 

KELSEY COMING ON STRONG
Senior forward Kelsey Wood had her best game of the year on Thursday, with season highs of 15 points and nine rebounds in 20 critical minutes off the bench. Wood finished two points shy of tying her career high in points and one board shy of her sixth double-double. The Wynantskill, N.Y. native has played 20 minutes in back-to-back games and is proving to be a valuable weapon off the Pioneers' bench.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
The Blue Devils have split their two games since playing SHU on Feb. 9, dropping a 69-54 contest to Le Moyne last Thursday before handing Wagner a 69-61 defeat this Thursday. With the split, CCSU has dropped to fifth in the league standings at 5-7. The Blue Devils' leading scorer Samora Watson has hit a slight slump following the game against the Pioneers, as the conference's second leading-scorer tallied six points against Le Moyne and 15 against Wagner. Despite the dip in play, Watson should not be taken lightly, as she averages 17.4 points per game and has scored 35+ three times. Belle Lanpher has also been a key contributor for the Blue Devils, leading the team with 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. She also ranks second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg).

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CCSU
The all-time series between SHU and CCSU has featured 63 games and started in 1980. The Pioneers have dominated the series, winning 43 of the 63 contests, including 10 of the last 11.