FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The first Battle of the 203 at the new Pitt Center lived up to the hype on Saturday afternoon, as the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team took the undefeated Stags of Fairfield to the brink in an 82-76 loss.
Ny'Ceara Pryor played all 40 minutes against the Stags, tying her career high with 28 points, adding seven rebounds, four assists and steal.
Amelia Wood put up 19 points, seven boards and three assists in 35 minutes.
Emma Kirby had a near double-double with eight points and six rebounds.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 6-15, 2-10 MAAC
Fairfield: 19-3, 13-0 MAAC
Leaders:
Ny'Ceara Pryor: 28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Amelia Wood: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Emma Kirby: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block
Of Note:
After Fairfield scored the first four points of today's game SHU answered with nine straight to take a 9-4 lead.
Nalyce Dudley nailed a 3-pointer to highlight the run. The Stags evened the score at 13-13 by the 3:43 mark, with the score getting tied again at 19-19 by 1:06.
Carmen Williams put the Pios up 21-19 before Sydni Scott nailed a three to give the Stags a 22-21 advantage.
Wood and Meghan Andersen traded 3-pointers to start the second, while
Nalyce Dudley hit a layup to give SHU a 30-27 lead by the 6:35 mark. Fairfield went on to score the next 11 points to go ahead 38-30 before a Pryor bucket cut SHU's margin to 38-32 heading into the third.
The Pioneers continued to rally at the start of the second half, tying the game at 42-42 2:53 into the third quarter. Pryor started the 10-4 run with a three-point play and ended it with a pair of free throws.
After some back and forth play, the score was again tied by the 2:26 mark, this time at 56-all. The Pios continued to fight over the final 2:26 with a pair of Williams' free throws putting SHU down 59-58 going into the fourth.
Sacred Heart took the lead, 60-59, 17 seconds into fourth and was tied at 62-62 by 8:57. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the Stags went on a 16-4 run over the next 5:57 to go up 78-66 with three minutes left. SHU scored the final six points of the game, but still suffered the loss in an exciting affair.
Up Next:
The Pioneers head up I95 next for a 6 p.m. clash against Quinnipiac on Thursday, Feb. 13.
