Feb. 29, 2008

Sacred Heart vs. Central Connecticut Game Notes in PDF Format

Sacred Heart Pioneers (18-9, 13-3 NEC) vs. Central Connecticut Blue Devils (4-23, 3-13 NEC)

Game #28 - Saturday, March 1, 2008 - 2:00 pm - Fairfield, Conn. - William H. Pitt Center (2,100)

Radio: WICC 600 am, SacredHeartPioneers.com

The Storyline... The Sacred Heart Pioneers close out the regular season with a pair of home games starting Saturday after against the Central Connecticut Blue Devils. The Pioneers are looking to rebound from a rough offensive outing a week ago where they shot a season-low 23.9% (16-67) in a 59-48 loss at Quinnipiac. SHU is looking to make it 14-straight over their Nutmeg neighbors from the New Britain as a win will keep them in the position for one of the higher seeds in next weekend's NEC Tournament. Central Connecticut comes in having lost four-straight and closes out their season against the Pioneers and Bobcats on Monday night.

Series... The Pioneers lead the all-time series, 19-8 and have won 13-straight meetings. Sacred Heart is 16-2 against the Blue Devils since joining the NEC. The last Central victory came in 2001, 55-42, at home. They posted their other win in SHU's inaugural D-I season, 1999-2000, 61-45, also in the Detrick Gymnasium. The two teams met for the first time during the 1979-80 season, with the Blue Devils coming away 74-55 winners. CCSU holds a 6-3 edge during both team's Division II days.

The Coaches... Ed Swanson (SHU `89) is in his 18th season as head coach at his alma mater. Swanson posts a 296-211 record in his career at Sacred Heart. His teams have a 169-92 record since joining the Division I ranks in 1999-00. Swanson is the program's longest tenured coach and is the all-time leader in coaching wins, (296) and winning percentage (.584). He earned his first ever NEC Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year award after guiding SHU to a then school record 21 wins in 2003-04. Beryl Piper (CCSU `87) is in her first season at the helm of her alma mater's basketball program. Piper spent the last 19 seasons as the head coach at New Britain High School where she guided the team to three state titles. She played both basketball and softball at Central and was inducted into CCSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 1999 .

Last Time Out... The Sacred Heart Pioneers got 16 points from freshman Alisa Apo but shot a season-low 23.9% (16-67) as a team falling at Quinnipiac, 59-48, a week ago. The Bobcats dominated the boards, holding a 53-39 edge as they took over sole possession of first place in the NEC with the win. The Pioneers took a season-high 67 shots and 33 three's in the loss as they see their five-game winning streak stopped. SHU suffered a pair of long scoring droughts, going seven and a half minutes in the first half with a point and five and a half minute span in the second half with just a pair of free throws. The Bobcats used the Pioneer drought to their advantage building a nine point lead that hit double digits with a minute to go, forcing SHU to foul the rest of the way. QU's Mandy Pennewell hit all four of her free throws and Monique Lee hit one of two down the stretch to ice the game away for the Bobcats. Joining Apo in double figures was Kaitlin Sowinski and Maggie Cosgrove, each with 12 points. Cosgrove matched her season-high with four three-point field goals in the loss. Sacred Heart did turn the ball over a season-low five times but couldn't overcome the poor shooting afternoon.

Scouting the Blue Devils... The Central Connecticut Blue Devils have lost four-straight and nine of their last 10. CCSU is tied for 10th place with Saint Francis (PA), both at 3-13. Sophomore P.J. Wade is the Blue Devils leading scorer at 10.1 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 caroms per game. Freshman Kerrianne Dugan is averaging a shade under double digits at 9.7 points per game. Sophomore Emily Rose is sixth in the NEC in three-point field goals per game with 51 makes (1.89) from behind the arc on the year.

Last Meeting with CCSU... Junior Stephanie Ryan led three players in double figures with 15 points and seven rebounds as the Pioneers improved stayed perfect in early season NEC play with a 71-40 win at Central Connecticut last Monday. The Pioneers shot a season-high 51.9% (27-52) from the field while holding an opponent to their lowest point total of the year. The Blue Devils were within 11 midway through the second half but a 17-2 run opened the Pioneer's biggest lead as they outscored Central 27-7 over the final 10 minutes. Central finished with 28 turnovers leading to 41 Pioneer points on the other end. The Pioneers hit 42.9% (6-14) from behind the arc and finished with a season-best 21 assists. Ryan added three steals and an assist to her game totals, hitting six-of-11 from the floor on the night. Fellow junior Kaitlin Sowinski found double figures for the ninth-straight game, scoring 12 points with eight rebounds and three blocks. Off the SHU bench, freshman Alisa Apo added 14 points.

Pioneers in the Northeast Conference... Sacred Heart is in it's ninth season of play in the Northeast Conference. The Pioneers have posted a 119-41 conference record, having never finished lower then tied for third in the final league standings. The Pioneers have won back-to-back NEC Regular Season Championships and laid claim to the 2006 NEC title winning the league tournament. Head Coach Swanson is closing in on becoming the conference's all-time leader in regular season NEC wins at 119. Bill Sheahan from Mount St. Mary's is the all-time leader at 124 victories.

Team News and Notes...

- With two games to play, the Pioneers sit in third place with a 13-3 conference mark. Quinnipiac and Monday night's opponent Robert Morris are tied for the top-spot at 14-2. Long Island is a game behind SHU in fourth at 12-4.

- The top-seed in this year's tournament will only earn the right to host the championship game if they advance that far. Reverting to the format from three years ago, the first two rounds of the NEC playoffs will be held at Long Island University on March 8th and 9th. SHU is 0-2 in the Blackbird's new building since its opening two seasons ago.

- Sacred Heart notched their 18th win of the season last Monday night at Wagner. In doing so, the Pioneers clinched their seventh-straight season with at least 18 wins, the longest streak in the NEC.

- The Pioneers are looking to shake off a pair of poor offensive outings last week heading into the stretch run of the season and toward tournament play. SHU gutted out a 53-49 win on the road at Wagner last Monday where they shot 38.6% from the field and turned it over 21 times. In last Saturday's first-place showdown at Quinnipiac, the Pioneers took a season-high 67 shots, including a season-high 33 from behind the arc, and shot a season-low 23.9% losing 59-48.

- Freshman Maggie Cosgrove tied her season-high with 12 points in the loss to Quinnipiac. It was the third time this season the freshman point guard hit four shots from behind the arc. Also in the loss, Cosgrove took over the team lead in assist from teammate Khalia Cain. Cosgrove dished out four assists in the loss and now has 70 on the year.