The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team captured the Northeast Conference regular season championship after defeating the Monmouth University Hawks, 70-50, on Feb. 21 at the William H. Pitt Center.

The win also improved the Pioneers' record to 19-7 overall and 16-0 in the NEC. The Pioneers also tied the school record for conference wins with 16 and extended their winning streak to 15.

"It definitely feels good to be 16-0, but more so because we secured the regular season NEC championship," said sophomore Maggie Cosgrove. "I think we have done a good job of taking it one game at a time and focusing on our goals of winning the conference championship instead of focusing on our record."

Monmouth came out swinging in the opening minutes of the first half on Saturday behind back-to -back 3-pointers by Monmouth seniors Marbely Montas and Jennifer Bender, giving the Hawks a 6-4 lead. This was Monmouth's only lead of the game as they simply did not have an answer to combat the Pioneers' heavy pressure throughout the game.

"I think one of our biggest advantages over Monmouth was our attitude going into the game," said Sowinski. "We realize that every game is critical at this point and never think for one second that there's no chance of us losing. It also didn't hurt that Monmouth came into our game raging and screaming and yelling acting like they had already won. That's just the fuel our team feeds off of to get the adrenaline pumping."

Sowinski sunk a pair of free throws to tie the score 6-6 then a steal and jump shot by senior Stephanie Ryan began a 19-2 run by the Pioneers. Cosgrove, freshman Callan Taylor and senior Khalia Cain all knocked down 3-pointers during the spurt and with ten minutes to play in the first half, the score was 23-8 in favor of Sacred Heart.

Sacred Heart continued to dominate the first half by only allowing Monmouth two layups while a layup and free throw by sophomore Alisa Apo as well as two free throws by Sowinski kept the Pioneers ahead 28-14. However, a foul against Sowinski forced her to the bench and gave the Hawks two points on free throws followed by a layup from Bender which tightened Sacred Heart's lead to 28-18.

The Pioneers finished the first half with a 13-4 run which began on a jumper by Cosgrove. Apo also led the charge with three layups and a free throw of her own. She scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half as the Pioneers headed to the locker room with a 41-22 lead over the Hawks.

"In the first half we were able to take a big lead because we were beating them to loose balls, crashing the offensive boards, and forcing them to play fast which they don't like to do," said Apo.

Monmouth started the second half just as they did the first with back-to-back 3-pointers. This time, however, Sacred Heart was quick to answer as the combination of Cosgrove and Cain led to six points which gave the Pioneers a 47-30 lead.

A foul against Apo followed by a layup by Montas helped the Hawks cut the Pioneer lead to 13 points, 49-36.

With 12:53 left in the half, a 3-pointer by Cosgrove and layups by Sowinski, Taylor, and junior Lindsey Gibson brought the score to 64-50 with about three minutes left to play.

The Hawks seemed broken and beaten in the game's final minutes. With three minutes to play, Apo was able to get two steals with one resulting in a layup and the other in a jumper by Sowinski - all in the span of less than a minute.

Less than 30 seconds later, a steal by Cosgrove gave Taylor the final basket of the game, making the score 70-50 in favor of Sacred Heart.

Again, a humble attitude and simple approach is what Sowinski attributes the team's successful performance.

"I think our strongest asset is our ability to take the court with the intention of nothing less than handling business," said Sowinski. "We don't underestimate any teams, whether they are the tenth or second place team. We put aside everything but the task at hand and work together for 40 hard minutes and win."

Sacred Heart had five players reach double digits in scoring against Monmouth. Apo and Taylor each scored 14 points while Cosgrove added 13 and Sowinski chipped in 12. In 32 minutes of play, Cain came off the bench to score a season high 11 points.

With just three games left in the regular season, the Pioneers will continue to take it one game at a time and are looking to head into the NEC playoffs on a high note.

"What it comes down to is who wants it most and I have absolutely no doubt that we have more desire than any other team out there and that's what it takes to win it all," said Sowinski.

On Monday, Feb. 23, the Pioneers defeated Central Connecticut State University 81-62, improving their record to 20-7 overall and 17-0 in NEC play. Apo had 19 points, Cosgrove had 14 points, and Taylor had 15 points.

The Pioneers will take on the Bryant University Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 28 in the William H. Pitt Center. The Bulldogs are 3-13 in away games and 10-16 overall. Tip off is at 2 p.m.