Feb. 1, 2008

Sacred Heart vs. St. Francis-NY Game Notes in PDF Format

Sacred Heart Pioneers (13-8, 8-2 NEC) vs. St. Francis-NY Terriers (7-14, 4-6 NEC)

Game #22 - Saturday, February 2, 2008 - 2:00 pm - Brooklyn, N.Y. - Pope Center (1,200)\

Radio: www.SacredHeartPioneers.com

The Storyline... The Sacred Heart Pioneers make a return trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon taking on the St. Francis-NY Terriers. SHU came back from a visit to Long Island University on Monday night with a 56-43 loss at the hands of the Blackbirds as they return to the city looking to snap back. The Pioneers had their worst offensive performance in Northeast Conference play, tying a season-low with 43 points while shooting just 29.8% in the loss. Despite the poor offensive team performance, junior Kaitlin Sowinski posted her third-straight double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Terriers snapped a five-game losing skid last time out with a 59-51 win at St. Francis (PA).

Series... The Pioneers lead the all-time series, 15-8, dating back to the 1974-75 season, Sacred Heart's first year of competition. The Pioneers ran their streak to 14-straight in the series after taking the first meeting this season, 63-47, at home. SHU has never lost to St. Francis-NY as a member of the Northeast Conference (14-0). Sacred Heart took the first ever meeting, 62-50, to record the program's first-ever win on February 4, 1975. St. Francis won the next eight-straight games before the two team's would meet again as members of the NEC.

The Coaches... Ed Swanson (SHU `89) is in his 18th season as head coach at his alma mater. Swanson posts a 291-210 record in his career at Sacred Heart. His teams have a 165-91 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, (291) and winning percentage (.581). 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. Brenda Milano (Wagner `95) is in her fifth season at the helm of the St. Francis (NY) women's basketball program. Milano has a 44-91 (.326) record in her five seasons at the St. Francis (NY) and overall.

Last Time Out... Long Island University sophomore Valerie Nainima scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Blackbirds to a 56-43 win over visiting Sacred Heart on Monday night. The Pioneers struggled all night offensively, tying their season-low for points scored while shooting their lowest percentage in conference play at 29.8% (14-47). The Pioneers led at the break 31-29 thanks in large part to some sharp shooting behind the three-point arc. Freshman Maggie Cosgrove led the charge knocking down three from long range as the Pioneers finished the half six-of-seven from downtown. The Blackbirds forced Sacred Heart into 11 first half turnovers leading to 16 points at the other end, led by Nainima's 14 by the break. LIU came out flying in the second half and ran of a 11-0 run over the first four and a half minutes to grab a 40-31 lead. The Pioneers made just five field goals in the second half, getting out scored 27-12, their lowest second half point total of the season. Kaitlin Sowinski was the Pioneer's leading scorer with 14 points and 12 rebounds, marking her third-straight double double. The Pioneers finished the game with 18 miscues which LIU turned into 25 total points on the night.

Scouting the Terriers... The St. Francis-NY Terriers snapped a five-game skid on Monday posting a 59-51 win at St. Francis (PA). The Terriers sit tied for seventh in the NEC standings with a 4-6 mark. St. Francis has been with out their leading scorer, senior Kara Ayers (16.7 ppg), for the last 10 games due to injury. The Terriers have welcomed back their All-NEC center senior Katja Bavendam, who missed the time early in the year recovering from knee surgery. Bavendam is averaging 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game on the year. Senior Tiffany Hill is the team's offensive spark plug, scoring at a 16.3 per game clip while leading the NEC in minutes per game (39.7).

Last Meeting with SFNY... Sacred Heart got 15 points apiece from junior Kaitlin Sowinski and freshman Alisa Apo on the way to a 63-47 over visiting St. Francis-NY on January 16th. The Pioneers never trailed in the game but struggled through the first half, shooting 34.8% while leading 25-18 at the half. The second half was a different tale as the SHU offense hit 52.2% from the field while breaking the game open. The Terriers cut the lead down to three, 36-33, at the 12 minute mark but the Pioneers responded and ripped off an 18-5 run over a seven-minute span that put the game away. A three by freshman Maggie Cosgrove with four minutes left gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the night at 59-40 as SHU cruised home to their fifth-straight victory. In addition to her 15 points, Apo added four assists and four rebounds to her totals. Sowinski finished with four rebounds, two assists and three blocks along with her 15. Ryan also finished in double digits with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in the win.

Pioneers in the Northeast Conference... Sacred Heart is beginning their ninth season of play in the Northeast Conference. The Pioneers have posted a 114-40 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 114. Bill Sheahan from Mount St. Mary's is the all-time leader at 124 victories.

Team News and Notes...

- For the first time since joining the NEC in 1999-00, the Sacred Heart Pioneers swept the weekly awards, winning both player and rookie honors. Junior center Kaitlin Sowinski nabbed the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week award for the second time this season while freshman Alisa Apo picked-up her third-straight NEC Rookie of the Week nod.

- Junior Kaitlin Sowinski is on a streak of three-straight double double games after Monday night's 14 points and 12 rebounds at Long Island. Sowinski has found double digits in all 21 games this season. The junior center is closing in on 1,000 career points, heading into Saturday's match-up with 878.

- Freshman Alisa Apo saw her streak of five-straight games in double digits snapped with an eight point outing at LIU. Apo tied her season-high with 15 field goal attempts in the loss.

- Junior Stephanie Ryan pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to the Blackbirds, her seventh game this season with double digit boards. Ryan continues to lead all NEC players with 136 defensive caroms.

- The Pioneer offense, coming off a season-high 92 points against Quinnipiac, tied their season-low for points at LIU on Monday, scoring just 43 in the loss. SHU shot 29.8% (14-47), a low in NEC games this year, while also managing a season-low for second half points with 12.

2007-08 Streaks and Stats...

30+ point games

Kaitlin Sowinski (2) 33 vs. Quinnipiac; 31 vs. Columbia

20-29 point games

Kaitlin Sowinski (5) 24 at Fairfield; 20 vs. Binghamton; 20 vs. Dartmouth; 23 vs. Princeton; 20 at La Salle

Alisa Apo (5) 20 at Lehigh; 23 at Robert Morris; 20 at Mount St. Mary's; 24 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson; 24 vs. Quinnipiac Stephanie Ryan (2) 24 at La Salle; 22 vs. Long Island

Double Doubles

Kaitlin Sowinski (8) 13 pts/11 rbs at Rhode Island; 20 pts/10 rbs vs. Dartmouth; 15 pts/10 rbs. at Monmouth; 15 pts/10 rbs vs. Wagner; 11 pts/13 rbs vs. Long Island; 14 pts/11 rbs vs. Fairleigh Dickinson; 33 pts/10 rbs vs. Quinnipiac; 14 pts/12 rbs at Long Island

Stephanie Ryan (6) 10 pts/11 rbs vs. Dartmouth; 14 pts/ 14 rbs at Monmouth; 24 pts/11 rbs at La Salle; 14 pts/10 rbs vs. Columbia; 22 pts/12 rbs vs. Long Island; 13 pts/10 rbs vs. Quinnipiac

Apo Racking Up Rookie Awards... Freshman Alisa Apo claimed Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week honors for the third consecutive week and fourth time in five weeks. Apo had the hot hand again last week, scoring a career-high 24 points in back-to-back games against Fairleigh Dickinson and Quinnipiac. The rookie guard is averaging 11.7 points per game on the year and shooting 45.0% (27-60) from behind the three point line and 79.3% (65-82) at the line.

Sowinski Takes Home Second NEC Award... Junior center Kaitlin Sowinski nabbed her second NEC Player of the Week honor with a pair of double doubles last week against FDU and Quinnipiac. Sowinski's career-high 33 points against QU was the highest point total by a Pioneer on the Division I level as SHU stopped the unbeaten Bobcats at home, 92-82.