Baltimore, Md. – For the second game in a row it came down to a last second opportunity for the Sacred Heart women's basketball team as the Pioneers dropped a 52-49 decision to the Coppin State Eagles in a non-conference match-up.

Leading the Pioneers on the day was junior forward Emma Kirby who finished with a season-high 16 points, her first game of the year in double figures. For the game, Kirby shot 5-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-4 in the second half. Kirby also finished the game 6-of-7 at the free throw line, again going 4-of-4 in the second half.

Joining Kirby in leading the Pioneers was senior guard Amelia Wood who finished with 12 points to go along with four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Nalyce Dudley followed the pair, finishing just outside of double figures with nine points and was tied with Kirby and Sophie Nascimento with a team-high seven rebounds.

As a team, Sacred Heart finished the game shooting 29.6 percent from the field, connecting on 16-of-54 attempts overall, with three of those from outside the three-point arc. The Pioneers were also 14-of-21 at the free throw line for the game.

RECORDS
Sacred Heart: 2-6
Coppin State: 2-8

TOP PERFORMERS
Emma Kirby: 16 points, 5-8 field goals, 6-7 free throws, 7 rebounds
Amelia Wood: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Nalyce Dudley: 9 points, 7 rebounds
Jordanna Schrecker: 8 points, 3 rebounds
Sophie Nascimento: 3 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

·       Coppin State opened up the game scoring the first five points of the game.

·       Wood was the first to convert for the Pios with the first bucket of the afternoon a three-pointer just over three minutes into the action.

·       Wood would strike again on a fastbreak steal and bucket that made it a one point game.

·       Facing a four-point deficit, Schrecker came off the bench to hit a three pointer thanks to a shovel pass from Emma Kirby, making it a two-point game.

·       Sacred Heart would have the final word in the quarter with Wood connecting with 38 seconds remaining giving her a game-high seven points in the opening quarter.

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

·       The Pioneers kept that momentum into the second quarter with Dudley hitting an outside bucket on the opening possession for the first lead change of the afternoon.

·       The Eagles responded by converting the next three baskets for a 7-0 rally that opened up an 18-13 lead before Kirby broke that momentum with a layup.

·       Schrecker would then go back-to-back with Kirby as the shot clock was expiring to cut the deficit to one, 18-17.

·       The next six points all came at the free throw line, the first four for the Eagles and the second two from Kirby, putting the CSU lead at 22-19.

·       Coppin State would provide the final offense in the half with a steal and layup from Skylar Barnes.

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

·       The first six points for the Pios out of the halftime break all came at the free throw line with the first basket coming just under five minutes back to action from Nascimento as she drove to the hoop for two.

·       The first-year point guard, Nascimento would follow that up on the next trip down the court firing a pass into the paint that Dudley converted to complete a 7-0 run and make it a one-point game at 31-30.

·       After a single free throw from the Eagles, Schrecker added a pair of her own at the line and Wood drove the right side of the lane for two to flip the score in favor of the Pios for the second time.

·       Kirby would do that again with the final basket of the quarter with 24 seconds remaining, again off a pass from Nascimento, to put the score at 36-35.

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

·       Coppin State regrouped in the final intermission and came out of the break to score to baskets in the first 75 seconds and force a Sacred Heart timeout.

·       Coming out of that timeout, the Pioneers responded with a second-chance layup from Dudley, her first of back-to-back baskets that resulted in a 40-39 SHU lead.

·       The lead would switch sides three more times before the Eagles used back-to-back baskets to take a 45-42 lead with just under five minutes to play.

·       Sacred Heart followed up those to-straight from CSU by scoring seven of the next nine points to take a 49-47 lead with 23 seconds remaining. Six of those seven points came from Kirby.

·       After calling a timeout to advance the ball, the Eagles converted on a long three-pointer, their only one of the second half, flipping the score back in their favor 50-49.

·       From that point, the Eagles would get a pair of free throws on their next possession while a shot from just inside midcourt for the Pioneers deflected off the front of the rim as the horn sounded.

UP NEXT
Sacred Heart returns home looking to put a bow on its non-conference slate when they host the Vermont Catamounts in the final non-conference game of the season on Sunday, December 14. Tip-off from The Pitt Center is set for 2:00 p.m. tip with all of the action available live on ESPN+.