BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team kicked off 2025 in style on Saturday afternoon, defeating Canisius on the road 70-63 for the program's first-ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victory. 

The dynamic duo of Ny'Ceara Pryor and Amelia Wood continued leading the way for the Pioneers, scoring a team-leading 19 points. Pryor also tallied seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. 

Both Ciara Brannon and Esther Kursite tallied season highs against the Golden Griffens. Brannon pulled down a season-best six boards, while Kursite tied a season-high with five points. 

Records: 
Sacred Heart: 5-7, 1-2 MAAC
Canisius: 1-12, 0-3 MAAC
 
Leaders: 
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Amelia Wood: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
Nalyce Dudley: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal

Of Note: 
Following a close start to this afternoon's game, SHU started to pull away at the end of the first quarter. With the Golden Griffins up two, 9-7, at 4:49, the Pioneers put together a thrilling 11-0 run to take an 18-9 lead into the first break. Kursite highlighted the run with five points on an and one and a layup, while Pryor, Nalyce Dudley and Emma Kirby all had two points. 

The second quarter featured mostly back-and-forth play, with SHU's lead growing to as high as 11 at multiple points. Unfortunately for the Pios, a 3-pointer by Canisius with five seconds left set the score at 33-25 Pioneers going into halftime. 

Pryor and Wood began to take over in the second half, as the duo scored 10 of the team's 17 points in the third quarter. Pryor tallied six in the quarter, hitting a much-needed three-point play with 7:37 left after the Pios' lead dipped to four. Wood tallied a jumper and a pair of free throws for her four points, with the two at the line giving SHU a 48-42 advantage heading into the fourth. 

The pair then combined to score the Pioneers' first nine points of the fourth quarter, as Pryor had seven points and Wood had two. The duo helped SHU maintain its lead, which hovered between 11 and four points, for the remainder of the game. Over the final 2:06, Sacred Heart hit their clutch free throws, with Wood going 6-for-6 and Sierra Johnson hitting a pair to clinch SHU's first-ever MAAC victory.  

Up Next: 
The Pioneers remain on the road for their next game, heading to Merrimack on Thursday, Jan. 9, for a 7 p.m. clash.