FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team's quest to clinch the outright Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship ends on Thursday when it plays Saint Francis at 11 a.m. at the Pitt Center. With the win, SHU will be the sole winners of the NEC regular-season crown and will earn hosting rights throughout the NEC Tournament. 

LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM | GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP

• The Pioneers and Red Flash will meet for the 51st time on Thursday, the 23rd all-time meeting in Connecticut. 
• SHU owns a 29-21 lead in the all-time series after winning the last three contests. The Pios took this year's bout by an 86-47 margin after hitting a season-high 12 3-pointers. 
• The Pioneers have won 11 straight games heading into Saturday, tied with the 2015-16 season for the team's longest win streak in the last decade. 
• Sacred Heart improved to 14-1 in the NEC with a win over Merrimack on Saturday. SHU clinched at least a share of the NEC regular-season championship and will win the title outright with a victory over SFU on Thursday. 
• Ny'Ceara Pryor finished Saturday's game with her fourth double-double of the year behind a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. She also added two assists, a steal and a block in an all-around effort. 
• Kelsey Wood continued her strong play down the stretch of the season with 14 points, six rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal in 29 minutes off the bench against the Warriors. 
• Sierra Johnson and Amelia Wood also had stellar stat lines. Johnson scored nine points and four rebounds, while Wood recorded seven points and seven boards.

AWARDS UPDATE
The accolades continue to roll in for Pryor, as she set history on Monday, becoming the first in NEC history to win 10 Player of the Week awards in one season. In addition to winning 10 POW nods, she was also a two-time MET DI Women's Player of the Week award winner. For her career, Pryor has won 12 Player of the Week nods and was the first 13-time Rookie of the Week last season. 

IMPORTANT VICTORY
Saturday's victory over Merrimack was important for the Pioneers, as it accomplished a few critical benchmarks for the team. With the win, SHU clinched at least a share of the NEC regular season championship, the team's first since 2015-16. The Pios also reached 20 wins on the season for the first time since 2015-16. Sacred Heart also tied their longest win streak of the decade at 11 games. The last time the team won 12 consecutive games was in 2008-09, when the team won 21.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
The Red Flash have a lot at stake in Thursday's game at SHU, as they could finish between sixth and eighth place in the conference, depending on Thursday's result. SFU has clinched a playoff spot and holds a 4-11 league record. The Red Flash have hit a rough patch of late, losing four straight, including a 56-24 loss to Le Moyne in their most recent game. Leading the offense has been the duo of Kendall Carruthers and Kameryn Dorsey. Carruthers, a freshman guard, is the team's leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. She also ranks second on the team with 2.2 assists per game. Dorsey paces SFU and ranks fourth in the NEC with 3.3 assists per game. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SAINT FRANCIS
Monday's contest will mark the 51st all-time meeting in the long-time series between the Pioneers and Red Flash. SHU holds a 29-21 lead in the series, winning the last three contests. The Pios took this season's tilt by an 86-47 margin on Jan. 8 in Loretto, Pa.