BROOKLYN, NY – St. Francis Brooklyn women's basketball returned to the ARC for a pivotal Northeast Conference contest Thursday evening, defeating Sacred Heart in a thriller by a score of 58-55. The Terriers led for a majority of the contest, surrendered the advantage halfway through the second half and then stormed back to claim their ninth conference win.
The hosts had a balanced offensive effort, led by freshman Tyra Myers' 17 points. Alyssa Fisher followed suit with 14 points and Angena Belloso rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and six rebounds. Sarah Bandoma added eight points and 13 rebounds.
The Terriers opened the game on a 9-3 run, thanks in part to five points for Myers and four for Belloso. The game went back-and-forth for the remainder of the period and the Terriers led by as many 11 points before taking a 21-13 edge after 10 minutes of action.
Both offenses stalled in the second quarter, but St. Francis Brooklyn maintained their edge. A Jada McMillan turnaround jumper made it 28-19 at the 3:10 mark, but Sacred Heart fought back to cut it to a six-point game heading to the final seconds before Myers canned a long two-pointer to finalize a 32-24 advantage at the break.
The Pioneers made their move in the third quarter, chipping away at the lead before finally taking a lead of their own at 38-37 at the 1:31 mark. On the next possession, Myers nailed a contested jumper to retake the lead and hit another one to beat the buzzer to make it 41-40 with 10 minutes remaining.
Sacred Heart regained an edge early in the fourth quarter as the two sides stayed within one possession of each other for over six minutes. At the 3:46 mark, Bandoma made a putback lay-up and added a free throw for a conventional three-point play to take a critical 47-43 lead. The Terriers and Pioneers proceeded to trade baskets, but the lead was cut to just one point at the 1:12 mark.
With under a minute remaining, Belloso drove to her left and made a difficult scoop lay-in and was fouled. She nailed the free throw to make it another two-possession game. The Pioneers would cut it to three points on multiple occasions but that was as close as they'd get. They did have a shot at a three-pointer to send it to overtime and the contested shot hit the front rim to solidify an important 58-55 win for the Terriers.
In the win, St. Francis Brooklyn held Sacred Heart to 29.3% shooting from the field and 15% shooting from downtown.
The Terriers will continue action at the ARC Saturday afternoon, as they host FDU. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
