BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team fell to Sacred Heart Monday night in the Steinberg Wellness Center, dropping a 62-53 decision to the Pioneers to fall to 6-16 on the season, 4-6 in Northeast Conference play. SHU improved to 10-11 overall and 8-2 in NEC action, led by 18 points from redshirt junior Hannah Kimmel. LIU senior Shanice Vaughan led all scorers with 23 points, including shooting a career-high 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

LIU had a strong first quarter to get the game started. Sophomore Stylz Sanders had two layups, and senior Shanice Vaughan hit a three-pointer, to put LIU up, 7-2 with 5:32 to play. LIU ended the quarter on an 8-2 run, including five points from junior Brianna Farris, and the Blackbirds took a 17-9 lead into the second period.

Vaughan would open the second period with a three pointer that gave LIU its widest lead of the day, 20-9. But the Pioneers started to storm back. Over the next eight minutes, Sacred Heart would outscore LIU 18-6, including 12 straight points in three minutes. The Pioneers made up lost ground, tying the score up on a three-pointer from Kimmel at 5:40, 22-22. Vaughan would hit a layup in the final 30 seconds of the half, but the damage was done, and the visitors had a 30-26 lead at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Farris started to find her sweet spot, and hit two three pointers that would cut SHU's lead down to five points, 37-32 at 6:40. Sanders and Waithe had two straight layups, and the Blackbirds were only down by three, 39-36 at 5:23. SHU answered with a 7-0 run, however, that gave the Pioneers their widest lead of the game, 46-36 with 3:20 left in the third period. LIU started to cut down on the deficit, with layups from sophomore DeAngelique Waithe and Vaughan, and Ford hit a jumper at 1:41 that would cut the gap to four, 46-42.

In the fourth quarter, Vaughan single-handedly kept LIU close to the Pioneers, as she scored all six points for the Blackbirds in the first four minutes of play, cutting the lead to 51-48 with 6:49 left in the game. Sacred Heart gave itself some breathing room over the next four minutes, outscoring LIU 8-2 to widen the lead back up to nine points, 59-50 with just over two minutes on the clock. A late three-pointer by Farris gave LIU some hope, but in the end, the Pioneers would maintain the distance, and take the win, 62-53.

Senior Shanice Vaughan led all scorers with 23 points and five assists. Junior Brianna Farris had 14 points in the win, while senior Jolanna Ford had 10 rebounds. Sophomore Stylz Sanders added eight points, five rebounds and four assists in the loss.

Up next, the Blackbirds host Mount St. Mary's, Saturday, February 6 at 2 p.m., in the team's annual Play4Kay fundraiser.