GAME INFORMATION
Presbyterian Blue Hose (20-14) vs Sacred Heart Pioneers (24-9)
DATE: Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.)
WATCH: ESPNU
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TICKETS: TicketMaster
PRESBYTERIAN
Record: 20-14
Last Game: Sunday, March 10 2024 – Presbyterian 60, Radford 37
Head Coach: Alaura Sharp (6th Season)
Record at PC: 75-101
SACRED HEART
Record: 24-9
Last Game: Saturday, March 2 2024 – Sacred Heart 69, Le Moyne 48
Head Coach: Jessica Mannetti (11th Season)
Record at Sacred Heart: 170-156
LAST TIME OUT
The Blue Hose made history after beating the three seeded Radford Highlanders to claim the Big South Championship Title for the first time ever. Behind 21 points from Bryanna Brady, six assists from Tilda Sjökvist, and nine rebounds from Laney Scoggins the Blue Hose were the ones cutting down the nets last Sunday. In Radford's road to the finals, they put up 60 plus points in both their quarterfinal and semifinal games before the Blue Hose held them to just 37 points.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart beat the Le Moyne Dolphins to last weekend to claim the title of NEC champs. The team put up a 24-9 record with a 15-game win streak going into the Big Dance. The team has averaged 66.7 points per game and 36.2 rebounds per game over their 33 games this season. Sophomore guard Ny'Ceara Pryor leads the team with 18.9 ppg, 4.9 defensive rpg, 7.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 3.3 spg, and 32.4 minutes per game.
PRESBYTERIAN – SACRED HEART SERIES
Wednesday marks the first time that Presbyterian will play the Pioneers since the program joined Division I in 2008.
BLUE HOSE DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORERS
Over their 31 games throughout the regular season, Presbyterian has had nine different players who have scored in double-figures. Brady (21 times), Sjökvist (20 times), Neira (15 times), Herrin (four times), Kline (four times) Kierscht (three times), Cunill (three times), Kindseth (twice), and Carrillo (once) have all tallied double-digit scoring games this season.
2024 BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT AWARDS
Tilda Sjökvist was named the Big South Tournament's MVP for her exellent performance throughout all three games. Along with Sjökvist, Mara Neira, and Bryanna Brady were also on the league's All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the championship game.
BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Presby has totaled a 10-10 Big South Tournament Record with wins over Longwood (2014 & 2020), Charleston Southern (2015 & 2024), Gardner-Webb (2016), High Point (2017 & 2024), Winthrop (2019 & 2022) and Radford (2024).
BIG SOUTH STAT LEADERS
As a team, Presbyterian leads the conference with 13.1 assists per game, a -0.1-scoring margin, for holding opponents 58.5 ppg, and for their 40.6 field goal percentage. The team is also ranked second for their +2.4-rebounding margin, and for their 0.8 assist to turnover ratio. Individually, the Blue Hose have three players who are ranked in the top 11 in scoring, Brady and Sjokvist are ranked tied for seventh for their 12.4 ppg, and Neira is in 11th with 11.3 ppg. Sjokvist is also ranked third for averaging 3.5 apg. Brady is ranked second in the conference for her 78.8 free throw percentage. Neira is tied for third in the Big South with an average of 2.1 three-point field goals per game while Sjokvist is in sixth with 1.6. Sjokvist is also leads the league for the most minutes played with 33.9 minutes per game.
THE 1000 POINT CLUB
On Wednesday, January 10 Presbyterian beat the Winthrop Eagles with a score of 59-43. With 2:05 left in this game junior Mara Neira scored a three-point shot which was the 1000th point of her collegiate career. Later in the season the Blue Hose hosted the High Point Panthers for the team's breast cancer awareness game. Sixth year center Bryanna Brady scored her 1000th career point with a free throw and 2:45 left in the game.
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY AWARDS
Presbyterian beat the Columbia College Koalas 62-53 on Sunday, December 31. Brady scored a new season-high of 27 points while shooting 73.3% (11-of-15) from the field. She also shot 62.5% (5-of-8) from the free throw line and dished out two assists. Defensively, Brady helped the team hold the Koalas to no points for almost 11 minutes in the second half. She added four rebounds and a block to her efforts. This is the second time that Brady earned this award and the fourth Big South Player of the Week award that the Blue Hose have received so far this season.
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