Bramanti scored a game-high 25 points, reaching 20-plus points for the second-straight game for Stonehill (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Skyhawks nearly fight back from double-digit third quarter deficit behind Bramanti's game-high 25 points

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (January 28, 2023) – Sacred Heart University held off a fourth quarter comeback effort from Stonehill College to secure a 66-61 victory and keep pace atop the Northeast Conference standings in women's basketball action at the William H. Pitt Center this afternoon.

Freshman Ny'Ceara Pryor scored 13 second half points, shaking off first half foul trouble to finish with a team-high 17 points for Sacred Heart, converting 9-of-11 free-throws as she drew 11 fouls herself, adding six rebounds, six assists and four steals. She scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone, aided by 7-of-8 free-throw shooting, drawing eight fouls in the final frame. Junior Kelsey Wood added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench for the Pioneers, with seven rebounds, while postgrad Sajada Bonner chipped in ten points, three rebounds and three assists.

Fifth-year Emily Bramanti led all scorers in the game with 25 points for Stonehill, including 14 in the second half to fuel the comeback effort, on 7-of-14 shooting, including 5-for-11 from three-point distance, with two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Classmate Sophie Glidden posted a double-double with ten points and a game-high 12 rebounds (four offensive), with three assists. Freshman Melissa Whitmore chipped in a season-high matching nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, and four boards.

Stonehill started strong, holding a four-point lead (15-11) after a Bramanti three with three minutes to play in the opening quarter. Sacred Heart finished the frame with 11-straight points to take a seven-point lead (22-15) into the second after a Bonner three at the buzzer. The Pioneers stretched their lead to nine (28-18) with a Pryor steal and layup three minutes into the second quarter. The Skyhawks trimmed that lead down to two (29-27) after another Bramanti three with 1:14 to go before the half, but Sacred Heart got another buzzer-beating three, this time by first-year Amelia Wood, to take a five-point lead (32-27) into halftime.

Glidden posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and a game and season-high matching 12 rebounds. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Sacred Heart scored the first six points of the second half to extend its lead to 11 (38-27) less than two minutes into the third after a Kelsey Wood layup. Stonehill rallied to within six (38-32) with a Whitmore jumper two minutes later, but the Pioneers used an eight-point spurt to open a game-high 14-point lead (48-34) on an Amelia Wood three with 2:46 to go in the third.

Sacred Heart's lead was still ten (57-47) with a Bonner layup midway through the fourth quarter, when Stonehill scored eight straight, keyed by a Bramanti three, to close the gap to two (57-55) after a Whitmore layup with 1:57 to play. The Skyhawks had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but Prior delivered a key steal and layup to instead give the Pioneers a two-possession lead (59-55) with 77-seconds left.

Stonehill would draw within two after both postgrad Maddie Loder and Bramanti made two free-throws in the final minute, but Sacred Heart hit its next six free-throws, and 7-of-8 overall in the last minute, to seal the win.

Noteworthy

• Sacred Heart outscored Stonehill 36-16 in the paint, but the Skyhawks boasted a 40-35 rebounding edge.
• Bramanti, playing in the 100^th game of her collegiate career, posted her second-straight 20-point game and fifth of the season overall (ninth career) and cut to within 25 points of becoming the 34^th 1,000-point scorer in program history. She has now scored 975 points in 100 games and moved within three career three-point field goals of cracking the program's career top ten list with 142.
• Glidden posted her second double-double of her season and career.
• Sacred Heart shot slightly better (41.7%) than Stonehill (36.5%), fueled largely by 58.8% (10-17) shooting in the first quarter.

Up Next
Stonehill (6-15, 2-6 NEC) is back in action on Thursday, when it visits Saint Francis (Pa.) University for an NEC matchup in Western Pennsylvania at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return to Merkert Gymnasium just two days later, next Saturday, February 4, to host St. Francis College of Brooklyn for their Equity and Inclusion Awareness Game at 2 p.m. Sacred Heart (10-10, 7-1 NEC) visits Wagner College for a top of the NEC showdown on Thursday at 7 p.m.

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