FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Long Island University women's basketball team battled Sacred Heart to overtime on Thursday morning, ultimately falling 64-55 in the extra period. With the loss, the Sharks fall to 8-21 and 7-11 in Northeast Conference action.

LIU will be either the seventh or eighth seed in the 2020 NEC Tournament, pending the results of the Thursday night league slate.

Sophomore Brandy Thomas led the Sharks with her seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Kiara Bell finished just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards. Junior Jeydah Johnson added a game-high four assists and three steals.

GAME BREAKDOWN

Scoring was slow to begin the early start at the Pitt Center as the Pioneers held a slight 9-5 lead through the first five minutes and a half minutes of play. The Sharks kept pace using a triple from junior Zhané Williams and a layup by Bell on a 5-2 stretch to put the deficit at one, 11-10 with two minutes remaining in the quarter. It was tightly contested from there as SHU hung on to a 15-13 lead after the opening quarter.

Both teams quieted down in the second quarter, splitting the 18 points in the frame. LIU made the first run of the quarter with a five-point stretch on a three-pointer from sophomore Ryan Weise and a layup by junior Paulani Tarawa to take a 20-17 lead at the 7:04 mark. The Pioneers countered with a seven point run of their own to reclaim the lead 24-20 with 3:45 to go in the half. The Sharks chipped away at the deficit on a layup from junior Mia Perkins to bring the score to 24-22 at the half.

LIU tied things up in the first 30 seconds of the third on two free throw makes from Perkins. But momentum shifted back to the home team with a 8-0 run to jump out in front 32-24 at the 6:50 mark in the quarter. The Sharks countered that run with an 11-2 stretch capped by a layup from Bell to knot the game back up, 35-35 with 3:54 to go in the quarter. A five-point spurt created a little separation for the Pioneers but LIU answered at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to one with 19 seconds remaining. SHU got the last point of the frame on a free throw to take a 41-39 lead into the third.

SHU carried that last make into the fourth with the first four points of the quarter for a 45-39 lead. LIU got going shortly after with an 8-3 run to tie the game up at 47-47 with 3:50 to go in regulation. The Pioneers hung on to a two point lead as the game headed into the final minute of regulation. Thomas sunk a pair of free throws to tie things back up at 51-51 with 26 seconds remaining. SHU called timeout to run a set play and took back the lead with a turnaround jumper with three seconds to go. LIU quickly called time out to advance the ball. Sophomore Shyla Sanford got the inbounds pass and drove to the lane, just beating the buzzer to force overtime at 53-53.

The extra period began with with both teams just trading one basket each through the first two minutes of play. LIU was unable to get any momentum going offensively as the Pioneers took the last nine points of the game to earn the 64-55 victory and split the season series against the Sharks.

SHARK BITES

• Thomas registered double figures in scoring for the 23rd time this season with her 16 points. She added 10 rebounds including seven on the offensive end for her seventh double-double of the season.
• Bell finished in double-digits scoring for the third straight game and the 18th time this year with her 12 points against the Pioneers. She has also registered nine rebounds in five of the last six games.
• Weise added eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks for LIU.
• The Sharks recorded nine steals for the second straight game. Johnson led LIU with three steals.
• LIU posted its fourth game this season with 50-plus rebounds, out rebounding Sacred Heart, 55-48. The Sharks collected 23 boards on the offensive glass bringing the season total to eight games with 20-or more offensive rebounds.

UP NEXT

The 2020 Northeast Conference quarterfinal is set for Monday, March 9. LIU will be either the seven or eight seed for the Tournament with a trip looming to either the regular season champs, Robert Morris or two-seed Mount St. Mary's. Stay up to date on the latest news at LIUAthletics.com and @LIUwbb on Twitter.