FAIRFIELD, Conn. – When the Sacred Heart and LIU Brooklyn women's basketball teams first met in January, the game was an overtime thriller that saw the Blackbirds take a big win in Brooklyn. The second match-up of the year followed the same pattern, but this time, it was the Pioneers who came out on top. LIU fell to Sacred Heart in overtime Saturday afternoon in the William H. Pitt Center, 78-71. Sacred Heart junior Hannah Kimmel had 10 of her 24 points in the overtime period to propel the Pioneers to victory.

The game was a close one throughout, as neither team ever led by more than nine points, and the lead changed hands 15 times. The Blackbirds opened scoring early in the game, when junior Jolanna Ford made a quick layup at 19:53 to put LIU on the board.  Sacred Heart answered with a three-pointer from senior Gabrielle Washington, and the back and forth began. The two teams stayed close until the ten minute mark, when the Blackbirds defense started to put the pressure on.

LIU forced 17 Sacred Heart turnovers in the first half, and scored 13 points off of those turnovers. The Blackbirds took the lead with just under ten minutes to play, when a layup by freshman DeAngelique Waithe put LIU up, 21-19. 25 seconds later, junior Shanice Vaughan added a layup to widen the lead to four points. LIU would continue to widen the lead, using back-to-back three pointers from Vaughan and junior Sophie Bhasin to go up, 29-21. The Blackbirds stayed up from there, holding on to a 36-29 lead at halftime.

But the turnover-happy Sacred Heart team that left the court did not come back after the break. After 17 turnovers in the first half, the Pioneers had just five for the rest of the game, while forcing the Blackbirds into 17 turnovers of their own.

The home team came out of the break firing, going on a 12-0 run to take the lead, 41-38 with just over 13 minutes left to play in the game. The two teams stayed close, and sophomore Shanovia Dove hit a three at 12:34 to tie the score up at 41. A minute later, junior Brianna Farris hit another three to give the Blackbirds the lead once more, 44-41.

Sacred Heart retook the lead at the ten minute mark, when Kimmel hit a jumper and then a three-pointer to put the home team up, 46-44. SHU led for the remainder of the half, but the Blackbirds kept it close, and with 1:24 on the clock, senior Letava Whippy made two free throws to tie the score up, 62-62. LIU's defense held Sacred Heart scoreless for the remainder of the period, and the two teams went to overtime for the second time this season.

In the extra period, LIU held the lead twice, including a 67-66 advantage when Dove made a free throw at 3:11. But then Kimmel went to work, scoring back-to-back layups. The junior gave SHU a 72-67 lead that the Blackbirds would not be able to touch, and she cemented the win for her team with four seconds left, when she drained two free throws to put the final score at 78-71.

Junior Sophie Bhasin led LIU's scoring with 19 points, along with a game-high six steals and a team-high four assists. Junior Brianna Farris added ten points, going 4-for-5 from the field. Senior Letava Whippy had nine points, nine rebounds and four steals, while Shanovia Dove added nine points and seven rebounds.  

Up next, the Blackbirds host the Battle of Brooklyn, Monday, March 2 at the Steinberg Wellness Center, taking on St. Francis Brooklyn at 7 p.m.