GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: November 13, 2025
|
LOCATION: Pitt Center | Fairfield, CT |
|
GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO |
|
|
|
THE LEAD
The Sacred Heart women's basketball team will open up its 52nd season in program history at home as it welcomes the NJIT Highlanders to the Pitt Center for just the second time ever. The home opener is the first of just two home games in the opening month of the season as the Pioneers will head on the road for four-straight games that include stops in Iowa, Washington, DC and Massachusetts as well as an in-state rivalry game.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
The Pioneers enter the 2025-26 season looking to rebound from a 9-20 overall record and a 5-15 mark in their first season in the MAAC, finishing 12th out of 13 teams. Despite the loss of leading scorer Ny'Ceara Pryor, the Pioneers return four of their top-five scorers from last season with that group (Wood, Kirby, Dudley, Johnson) accounting for 47.8 percent of the total scoring. Additionally, three of those four leading returners collected at least 100 rebounds last season and were among the top players in assists and steals. Of the four leading returners, Amelia Wood is the top returner averaging 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds while she was second in steals (46) and third in assists (37). Additionally, Wood led the Pioneers with 38 three point field goals, of 113 total for the team.
SCOUTING NJIT
A middle of the America East squad last season, NJIT finished the 2024-25 campaign with an 11-19 overall record and an 8-8 record in conference action. The Highlanders enter the new season selected to finish fifth in the conference according to the league's head coaches. Highlighting the new season for the Highlanders is senior Alejandra Zuniga, a first-team All-America East selection last season who was picked to the preseason all-conference team. A native of Madrid, Spain, the three-time all-conference selection ranked third in the league in scoring (16.0 ppg), third in assists (3.4 apg) and fifth in both field goal percentage (44.0%) and free throw percentage (65.0%). Last season, Zuniga scored in double digits in 23 games, including 13 with 20 or more points and became the 13th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points.
SERIES HISTORY vs NJIT
·      Sacred Heart and NJIT meet for the third time in the history of the two programs after splitting the first two meetings evenly.
·      Both of the previous meetings have come under 13th year head coach Jessica Mannetti.
·      Sacred Heart won the first meeting, which came in December 2023, with the Pioneers taking a 57-48 decision on their home court.
·      The Highlanders lone win came last season in Newark with the home team scoring a 21-point victory (73-52).
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pioneers will spend the next 21 days away from the Pitt Center as they begin a stretch of four-straight road games with their longest trip of the season to Ames, IA. The Sunday afternoon matinee against a nationally ranked (No. 14/15) Iowa State is slated for a 2:00 p.m. (EST) opening tip off and will be the third game of the regular season for the Cyclones. All of the action from Hilton Coliseum will be available live on ESPN+.
HOW WE FARE OUT OF THE GATE
Overall through the first 51 years of women's basketball at Sacred Heart, the Pioneers are near even all-time at 25-26 in season opening games. Extrapolating that further, the Pioneers are 12-14 in season openers in the Division I era (since 1999-00) and are an even 6-6 under head coach Jessica Mannetti. Take it one step further and under coach Mannetti, the Pioneers are 9-3 in home openers during her previous 12 seasons.
Â
