JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team led late in the fourth quarter at Saint Peter's Saturday afternoon, but the Peacocks came out on top in a 56-53 thriller in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play in Jersey City, N.J. 

Ny'Ceara Pryor had herself a day against SPU, finishing with game-highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds, the latter tying a career-high for the junior. With 23 points, Pryor became the eighth player in program history with 1,500+ points in her career. 

Amelia Wood and Nalyce Dudley were next on the team with eight points each. Grace John finished with a season-high five points, all of them coming in critical spots in the fourth quarter. 

Records: 
Sacred Heart: 5-11, 1-6 MAAC
Saint Peter's: 6-10, 4-3 MAAC
 
Leaders: 
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 23 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Amelia Wood: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block 

Of Note: 
The Pioneers opened today's game with a quick 5-2 advantage after the first 2:02, which featured a Pryor and-one in the paint. Saint Peter's answered by scoring 17 of the final 19 points in the frame to go into the second up 19-7. 

The Peacocks began the second quarter with a triple before SHU answered with five straight to cut the margin back to 10, 22-12. After trading baskets, Sacred Heart put together a 5-0 run to get within seven, 24-17, at the 5:21 mark. 

Unfortunately for SHU, Saint Peter's tallied the next seven points to take a 31-17 lead with 1:43 left. The Pioneers responded by scoring the final three points of the period to take a 31-20 deficit into the halftime break. 

SPU maintained a double-digit advantage through the first four minutes of the second half, 38-28, before the Pioneers started to chip away. Sacred Heart went on a 9-4 run over the final 5:59 to cut the deficit to five points going to the fourth. Pryor took over in the late stages of the third with seven of the team's nine points.

Sacred Heart opened the fourth by scoring seven of the first nine points to tie the game at 44-44 with 7:37 left. A John three from the wing knotted the score. John struck again at 5:43 to give SHU its first lead since the opening quarter, 46-45. The Pioneers led by as much as three, 48-45, at 4:05 for the remainder of the game. 

With the advantage changing multiple times over the next three-plus minutes, SHU sat up one, 53-52, following a corner triple from Dudley with 46 seconds on the clock. Unfortunately for the Pios, the Peacocks scored a bucket on the next possession and hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining. Wood had a look to tie the game as time expired, but the ball found the front rim, as Saint Peter's escaped with the 56-53 victory. 

Up Next: 
SHU returns home on Thursday, Jan. 23, for a 7 p.m. rematch against Canisius at the William H. Pitt Center.