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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball drew No. 1 Sacred Heart in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinal scheduled for Monday, March 11 at 7 p.m.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
The Red Flash earned the No. 8 seed in the NEC Tournament after a 4-12 conference record this season. Kendall Carruthers finished her freshman regular season campaign fourth in the NEC with 14.0 points per game and her 16.4 per game in conference play ranked third. She tied for fifth in the NEC with 1.7 three-point field goals per game. Carruthers recorded 20 double-digit scoring games this season, which included two games with at least 30 points. Kameryn Dorsey dished out a conference fourth-best 3.3 assists per game, which included a second-best 4.3 per game during conference play. Marina Artero ranked 10th in the conference with 5.5 rebounds per game and Julianna Gibson was second on the team with 5.0 per game. 
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis fell in the season finale to Sacred Heart 76-47. The Pioneers took an early 12-4 lead eight minutes into the game and led 14-5 after the first quarter. Saint Francis responded with a 9-2 run to start the second quarter and cut the Sacred Heart lead to 16-14 with 6:13 remaining. The Pioneers then strung together an 18-6 run to finish the first half with a 34-20 lead. Out of the break, Sacred Heart opened a 52-29 lead with 3:31 remaining in the third behind an 18-9 run. Saint Francis ended the third on a 7-0 run and cut the deficit to 57-36 after three. In the fourth quarter, Sacred Heart outscored Saint Francis 19-11 to clinch its victory.
 
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers won their first NEC Regular Season title since the 2015-16 season after its victory over Saint Francis in the season finale. Sacred Heart finished the season 15-1 in conference play and head into the NEC Tournament with 12 straight victories. Sacred Heart is led by reigning NEC Player of the Year Ny'Ceara Pryor, who is likely the favorite to repeat the award this season. She leads the NEC with 18.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game and is fifth in the conference with 7.1 rebounds. Her steals per game rank 10th in NCAA Division I. Amelia Wood adds 10.5 points, while Sajada Bonner averaged 9.0 per game. Sacred Heart leads the NEC with 66.0 points per game and allows the fewest points against per game with 57.7. The Pioneers are the only NEC team with a positive scoring margin at plus-8.3.
 
All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart owns a 30-21 all-time advantage over Saint Francis and took both of this season's games 76-47 on March 7 and 86-47 on Jan. 8. Sacred Heart is on a current four-game winning streak in the series. Saint Francis and Sacred Heart first met in a 65-49 Saint Francis victory in 2000.
 
Around the NEC
Sacred Heart earned the NEC Regular Season title with a 15-1 record finishing one game ahead of Le Moyne at 14-2 in its first Division I season in program history. No.1 Sacred Heart draws No. 8 Saint Francis in the first round, while No. 2 Le Moyne draws No. 7 Stonehill. No. 3 FDU will host No. 6 LIU and No. 4 Merrimack hosts No. 5 Central Connecticut.
 
Next
The winner of Monday's game will advance to the NEC Tournament Semifinal on March 14 at 7 p.m. with its opponent to be determined.