FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team remains on the road on Thursday, Jan. 9, to play Merrimack in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play at 7 p.m. at the Warriors' Hammel Court in North Andover, Mass. 

LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM (ESPN+) | GAME NOTES

OPENING TIP

• Sacred Heart heads to Merrimack on Thursday, Jan. 9, for a MAAC contest at 7 p.m. at the Warriors' Hammel Court. 
• SHU is coming off its first conference win on Saturday, when they handed Canisius a 70-63 defeat in Buffalo, N.Y. 
• The Pioneers started the game strong, taking the first quarter 18-9, following an 11-0 run to end the frame. 
• SHU's strong start propelled them to the win, as the Pios hit their late free throws in the fourth to remain ahead. 
• The Pios hit a season-best 22 free throws on a season-high 27 attempts.
• Ny'Ceara Pryor and Amelia Wood led the scoring efforts for the team, scoring 19 points each. 
• Pryor also contributed seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block, while Wood added three rebounds and two steals. 
• Both Ciara Brannon and Esther Kursite tallied season-highs against the Golden Griffins, with Brannon pulling down a season-best six boards and Kursite tying a season-high with five points.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers won their first MAAC game on Saturday, defeating Canisius 70-63 in road action. Sacred Heart's 70 points is the team's second-highest total of the season. SHU stormed ahead by nine, 18-9, in the first quarter, ending the frame on an 11-0 run. The rest of the game was tightly contested, with SHU never giving up the lead in a wire-to-wire 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. Wood added three rebounds and two steals to round out her stat line. 

COMING UP CLUTCH
A key to Sacred Heart's success against Canisius was its ability to get to the free throw line. The Pioneers hit a season-best 22 free throws on a season-high 27 attempts. Many of these were clutch makes down the stretch of the game, with Wood going a perfect 6-for-6 at the line over the final 2:06. Wood finished the game 9-for-10 from the stripe, while Pryor went 7-for-8.

SCOUTING MERRIMACK

• The Warriors are 6-6 overall to start the season, with a 2-1 mark in their first MAAC campaign. 
• Merrimack opened 2025 with a 72-48 road loss at Fairfield on Saturday. 
• The Warriors began the conference slate with back-to-back home wins over Canisius (62-47) and Niagara (71-56). 
• The Pioneers will have to focus their efforts on the post against the Warriors, as Merrimack paces the conference with 37.3 rebounds per game. 
• Madison Roman leads the efforts in the paint with 8.0 boards per game. 
• She is also third on the team with 8.8 points per game. 
• On offense, Thalia Shepard and Paloma Garcia lead the way with 11.1 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. 
• Freshman guard Mia Fiore has also been solid this season as she is a two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week.

SERIES HISTORY

• SHU will meet the Warriors for the 15th time in the programs' histories on Thursday. 
• The teams are tied 7-7 in the all-time series after SHU won the last four meetings. 
• The Pioneers swept Merrimack over three games last year, the final one being a 73-48 win at the Pitt Center in the NEC Semifinals.