March 2, 2008

Sacred Heart vs. Robert Morris Game Notes in PDF Format

Sacred Heart Pioneers (19-9, 14-3 NEC) vs. Robert Morris Colonials (19-9, 15-2 NEC)

Game #29 - Monday, March 3, 2008 - 7:00 pm - Fairfield, Conn. - William H. Pitt Center (2,100)

Radio: SacredHeartPioneers.com

The Storyline... Sacred Heart plays host to Robert Morris on "Senior Night" with playoff seeding in next weekend's Northeast Conference Tournament on the line. The Pioneers are in third place heading into the regular season finale with a 14-3 record, a game behind Robert Morris and Quinnipiac in first at 15-2. Both the Pioneers and Colonials still have a shot at getting to the top-seed if Quinnipiac were to stumble against Central Connecticut but neither team can fall farther then the #3 seed.

Series... Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 11-5. The Pioneers won the first meeting this season, 59-57, back on January 13th in Moon Township. The two teams split their two regular season meetings last season, each winning on the other's home court, but Robert Morris took the rubber match, claiming the NEC Championship last March. The Colonials denied SHU their second-straight title with a 68-66 win at home in the title game. Sacred Heart and Robert Morris have met one other time in the postseason, in the 2005 tournament semifinals, a 68-62 Colonial win in overtime in Fairfield. SHU at one time owned a five-game winning streak in the series before a 63-58 loss to the Colonials in 2003-04 that snapped their 17-game and a 26-game NEC losing streak that dated back to the 2002-03 season. Prior to that, the lone Colonial win in the series came in 1999-00, Sacred Heart's first season in the Northeast Conference.

The Coaches... Ed Swanson (SHU `89) is in his 18th season as head coach at his alma mater. Swanson posts a 297-211 record in his career at Sacred Heart. His teams have a 170-92 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, (297) and winning percentage (.585). 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. Sal Buscaglia (Canisius `76) is in his fifth season at the helm of the Robert Morris women's basketball program coming off an NEC Championship last season. Buscaglia has a 96-60 (.615) record in his five years as the head coach of the Colonials and a 573-251 (.695) mark in his 30 years as a head coach.

Last Time Out... The Sacred Heart Pioneers sprinted out of the gates to a 28-9 lead midway through the first half and never looked back running away with a 79-57 win over visiting Central Connecticut Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers shot a blistering 65.5% (19-29) in the first half and led 44-23 at the break en route to their 19th win on the season. Sacred Heart opened the game up 7-0 and ran that to a 12-3 lead four minutes in. The Pioneers kept their offense rolling and kicked the lead to 22-7 at the 13 minute mark. Leading 30-13 at the 7:41, the Pioneers ripped off a 14-1 run over the next four minutes to take their biggest lead of the afternoon at 30 points, 44-14. Junior Stephanie Ryan was the high-scorer on the day, turning in her team-leading ninth double double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Junior center Kaitlin Sowinski scored 17, missing just once (7-8), but saw her streak of 28 games with at least one block shot ended in the win. Sowinski's streak dated back to last season's championship game at Robert Morris. Junior Khalia Cain turned in a 16-point afternoon, hitting six-of-10 from the field and two-of-three behind the line. She also picked up four assists and four steals. Alisa Apo tallied 12 in the win and tied her career-high with six assists. As a team, the Pioneers shot a season-high 54.7% (29-53), also hitting 50.0% (9-18) from behind the arc. The Pioneers 22 assists also marked a season-high, eclipsing the 21 they had against Central Connecticut on the road back in December.

Scouting the Colonials... The Robert Morris Colonials are the hottest team in the NEC, winning 13-straight games. The Colonials haven't lost since the Pioneers dealt them their only home loss of the year, 59-57, back in January. RMU heads into the season finale tied for first place with Quinnipiac at 15-2. The Colonials feature the conference's leading scorer in junior Sade Logan who comes in averaging 25.2 points per game. Logan is shooting 42.6% (107-251) from behind the arc on the season, leading the league in three-point makes per game (3.8). Senior forward Chinata Nesbit is averaging 15.7 points for the league's leading offense while pulling down 8.6 boards per game.

Last Meeting with Robert Morris... Sacred Heart freshman Alisa Apo scored 18 of her team-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Pioneers to a 59-57 win at Robert Morris Sunday afternoon. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, sitting tied at 9-9 at the 9:12 mark and 12-12 with 5:19 to go. The Colonials caught a late spark and went into the locker room leading 24-20. The Pioneers opened the second half with a 10-1 run over the first five minutes of action to take a 32-25 lead and built it to eight, 56-48, with just over four minute left. RMU made one last run and pulled within one, 58-57, with 32 ticks left. The Pioneers turned the ball over setting up a Colonial attempt for the lead, but Sade Logan's bid missed the mark and Kaitlin Sowinski corralled the loose ball while getting fouled. The junior knocked down the first but missed the second as RMU raced up court with two seconds left and Kendra Williams got off a desperation heave just before the horn a step inside half court that banked off the rim sealing the Pioneer victory. Sowinski added 17 points and eight rebounds to Apo's 23 point afternoon. The Pioneers hit 46.4% in the second half en route to the win. The Colonials got a game-high 28 points from Logan and a double double from Chinata Nesbit who finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

"Senior Night"... The Pioneers will honor senior Lisa Moray Monday night as she takes the floor for the final time in the William H. Pitt Center in the Red & White. Moray has appeared in 110 career games with 35 starts. She has 580 points, 225 rebounds and 200 assists in her four-year career. One of the Pioneer's all-time clutch shooters from three-point range, Moray has 158 career three's a mark that ties her for third all-time at Sacred Heart. Last season, Moray set the season record for three-point field goals in the season with 69. Sacred Heart will also honor graduating team manager Kristin Kenny who has been with the team all four of her years at SHU.

Team News and Notes...

Sacred Heart's NEC Playoff Scenarios

•If Quinnipiac beats CCSU and Robert Morris beats Sacred Heart, then Quinnipiac is the #1 seed, Robert Morris is the #2 seed and Sacred Heart is the #3 seed.

•If Quinnipiac beats CCSU and Robert Morris loses to Sacred Heart, then Quinnipiac is the #1 seed, Sacred Heart is the #2 seed and Robert Morris is the #3 seed.

•If Quinnipiac loses to CCSU and Robert Morris loses to Sacred Heart, then Sacred Heart is the #1 seed, Quinnipiac is the #2 seed and Robert Morris is the #3 seed.

•If Quinnipiac loses to CCSU and Robert Morris beats Sacred Heart, then Robert Morris is the #1 seed, Quinnipiac is the #2 seed and Sacred Heart is the #3 seed.

- 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 will have a shot at their third-straight 20 win season Monday night. The Pioneers have posted 20 or more win in three of the last four years. SHU owns the NEC's longest streak of seasons with at least 18 wins at seven-straight.

- After a pair of sub par offensive performances against Wagner and Quinnipiac, the Pioneers bounced back on Saturday against Central Connecticut. SHU shot a season-best 54.7% (29-53) from the field with a season-high 22 assists in the win. The Pioneers ran out to a 30-point lead in the first half, shooting a blistering 65.5% (19-29) over the first 20 minutes of action.

- Junior Kaitlin Sowinski heads into the regular season finale needing one rebound to reach 500 for her career and 18 points to reach the 1,000 point plateau. Sowinski is also eight blocks away from 100 for the season.