New Britain, Conn. – First-year Sophie Nascimento came off the bench as a spark plug in the second half as she helped lead the Sacred Heart women's basketball team to a 74-64 victory over in-state rival and former NEC foe Central Connecticut State University on Thursday night.

Nascimento, who closed out her first collegiate game with double figures at 15, was one of four Pioneers to surpass the double digit mark. Leading all scorers in the game was senior guard Amelia Wood who finished with 20 points, her second career game reaching the 20 point plateau, as she closed out the night shooting 4-of-7 from the field and 10-of-12 at the free throw line.  

Rounding out the leading scorers were Nalyce Dudley and Sierra Johnson who finished with 15 and 12 points, respectively. As a team, the Pioneers closed out the night shooting 42.6 percent from the field (23-of-54), with five of the 23 buckets from outside the three point arc. In a game that featured 54 combined fouls, Sacred Heart capitalized at the line making 23-of-34 attempts.

RECORDS
Sacred Heart: 1-2
Central Connecticut: 0-3

TOP PERFORMERS
Amelia Wood: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10-12 FT
Nalyce Dudley: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 6-9 FG, 3-4 FT
Sophie Nascimento: 15 points, 4-8 FG, 6-6 FT
Sierra Johnson: 12 points, 5 rebounds

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

·       The Pioneers came out of the gates and opened up a 9-0 lead with seven of the nine coming from Wood. In that early run, Sacred Heart was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and Wood added a 2-of-2 effort at the line.

·       Sacred Heart extended its lead into double figures with five unanswered points, the last three of which pushed Wood into double figures with 10 points in just over five minutes of action.

·       The final bucket of the quarter for the Pioneers came off the finger tips of Nascimento as her three pointer gave SHU a 24-13 lead. The Blue Devils would answer with the final five points of the quarter to cut their deficit to 24-16 at the break.

·       Sacred Heart finished the opening quarter shooting 61.5 percent, connecting on 8-of-13 with seven assists on those eight buckets. Dudley, Grace John and Wood all finished the first 10 minutes with a pair of assists.

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

·       Dudley opened up the second quarter with a layup thanks to a pass from Nascimento, however CCSU responded by cutting the Pioneers lead to one point with an 8-1 run over the next three-plus minutes.

·       Dudley would strike again to put an end to that rally with back-to-back buckets, but the Blue Devils would continue to fight, knotting the score at 31.

·       The Pioneers would take a one-point lead into the locker room at the break, 33-32, with the final two points coming on single free throws from Wood and Sierra Johnson.

·       At the intermission, Wood led all players in the game with 11 points, shooting 3-of-5 from the field, with a pair of long range buckets, and 3-of-4 at the free throw line.

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

·       The Blue Devils came out of the halftime break to net the first bucket on the opening possession, which provided their first and only lead of the night.

·       SHU responded by rattling off seven unanswered to extend its lead back to six, 34-30, with the final two in that run from Nascimento, part of 12 for the rookie in the second half.

·       After CCSU cut the lead to two just before the media timeout, the Pioneers went on to outscore the home team 8-4 over the final five minutes of the frame, taking a 48-42 lead into the final break.

·       Dudley and Emma Kirby would go back-to-back to close out the period, the second of which came on a rebound and put-back with two seconds remaining.

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

·       Dudley continued the momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring the first points to regain an eight point lead at 50-42. She would go on to score the first five points of the fourth for the Pioneers, the last three coming on a hoop-and-harm as she completed the old fashioned three point play.

·       Defensively, the Pioneers held CCSU without a field goal for the first four minutes of the fourth as their only point sin that stretch came at the free throw line.

·       On the other end, Johnson got hot from outside as she hit a pair of three pointers, the first extending the lead back to double figures (58-48) and the second extending the lead to 11, 63-52 with under four to play.  

·       Trailing by 10, the home team scored five-straight before the Pioneers secured the victory with a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line over the final 39 seconds, with six of those coming from Wood.

UP NEXT
Continuing a stretch of four-straight road games, Sacred Heart heads south to Washington, D.C. to take on the Big East's Georgetown Hoyas. Tip-off in what will be the first of four-straight home games for the Hoyas is set for 7:00 p.m. tip from McDonough Arena with all of the action available live on ESPN+.