BROOKLYN, N.Y.— A fourth quarter comeback by the Long Island University women's basketball team was capped off by a three-pointer with .01 seconds remaining by sophomore Ryan Weise for the 66-63 victory over Sacred Heart on Monday night at the Steinberg Wellness Center. With the The Sharks improve to 6-18 on the season and 5-8 in Northeast Conference play.

Weise led LIU with 17 points, seven assists and four steals in the win over the Pioneers. Sophomore Brandy Thomas helped propel the LIU comeback, recording 15 of her 16 points in the second half. Sophomore Kiara Bell added 15 points and nine boards.

GAME BREAKDOWN

After the Pioneers picked up the opening basket, the Sharks got on the board with a 6-2 run on triples from Weise and Sanford to take a 6-4 lead at the 8:04 mark. Both teams would trade baskets for the next few minutes before the Pioneers went on a 7-1 run to take a 16-11 lead with 1:31 to go in the first. Graduate student Drew Winter hit a three-pointer with 26 remaining in the quarter to cut the deficit to two at 16-14.

LIU used momentum from that triple with a 7-0 run capped by a layup from junior Paulani Tarawa for a 21-16 lead and forced a SHU timeout. The Sharks continued to hold the slight lead over the Pioneers as the quarter wore on before using back-to-back layups from Tarawa and junior Mia Perkins to take a 30-23 lead with 1:16 remaining in the half.  SHU hit a three-pointer as time expired to bring the score to 30-26 at the half.

Both teams came out strong to start the second half matching basket for basket for the first five minutes of the third quarter. LIU used back-to-back layups by Thomas and Bell to take a 40-34 advantage at the 4:40 mark. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Pioneers who embarked on a 10-1 run to close the quarter and take back the lead, 44-41.

Sacred Heart carried the strong end to the third quarter into the start of the final quarter with a 7-4 stretch building to a 51-45 lead, their largest of the game. LIU used two more layups from Thomas and Bell to cut the deficit to two, 51-49 at the 5:47 mark. The Pioneers continued to hold the slight lead over the next few minutes. The Sharks started to make their push with a five-point swing on a triple from Weise and layup from Thomas for a 58-56 lead with 2:47 to go. SHU answered with a 5-3 stretch to tie the game up at 61-61 at the 1:32 mark.

In the final minute of play, the Pioneers reclaimed the lead, 63-61 on a layup with 41 seconds remaining. LIU tied things back up on the next possession as Thomas drove to the lane for the layup with 15 seconds remaining. SHU looked to take the final shot but the three point attempt fell short. Junior Zhané Williams grabbed the ball with four seconds remaining and dished the outlet pass out to Weise. The junior let the shot fly on the catch & shoot with .01 seconds remaining and banked home the game winning three-pointer to give LIU the 66-63 victory.

SHARK BITES

• Weise tallied double digits for the ninth time this season, leading the LIU offense with 17 points. She tied her career and season-high with three made three-pointers on the night. She recorded her 11th game with five or more assists, finishing the game with seven assists.
• Thomas finished in double figures for the 20th time this season, recording 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
• Bell registered her 15th double-digit scoring effort finishing the game with 15 points and a team-high nine boards.
• LIU won the rebounding battle for the 15th time this season, with a 35-32 advantage on the glass.
• The Sharks defense recorded their 10th game with double-digit steals after recording 13 steals against the Pioneers. Weise and Thomas led the way with four steals each and sophomore Shyla Sanford registered three steals.

UP NEXT

The Sharks hit the road next weekend for a pair of games. First up, is a trip to Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, February 21 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in the opening game of a doubleheader with the men's teams.