LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 13, 2007) – Saint Francis University turned a one-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation into a ten-point non-conference victory over Longwood, 65-55, to give head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl her first career win at DeGol Arena on Tuesday night.

The Red Flash gained their third and final lead of the night on a free throw by freshman Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace), but it was junior Shawna Scott (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill?Academy) (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill Academy) and sophomore Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal Academy) who slammed the door shut on the Lancers.

The backcourt duo combined for the team's final 11 points of the game, albeit by much different avenues. Scott scored the final six of her 16 points by way of the charity strip – the 5'6” point guard was a perfect eight of eight from the line on the night – and Hodges scored the last of her career-high 18 points by way of a steal-turned-layup and her second three-point field goal of the night.

“Britney did a really good job in making that three and taking some shots she really didn't want to take earlier in the game,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “Great players make great plays and she certainly stepped up for us tonight – but we need the rest of our team to do the same thing.”

“Shawna also did a great job tonight. She learned from her mistakes early and got better as the game went on.”

Scott wasn't the only Flash player who was hot from the line. Senior Emily Bollinger (Westminster, Md./Westminster) (4-4) and Leach (2-2) also had a perfect night from the stripe, contributing to an 81% team conversion rate for the game.

Junior Whitney Robinson (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont) (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont) rounded out SFU double-digit scorers, tying a career-high with 12.

However, for as well as Saint Francis executed offensively down the stretch, Robinson Fruchtl's squad sputtered on the boards despite the continued improvement of Robinson and sophomore Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills).

Killian pulled down seven boards as did Scott, while Robinson led the Flash with eight, but SFU was out-rebounded, 50-34, by the under-sized Lancers.

“Janie was tough on the boards for us, but obviously we have to get better,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “In the first half we were pretty even in rebounding, but in the second half we weren't doing a great job of boxing out.”

Saint Francis shot just over 41% in the win – a vast improvement over the 24.5% shooting night in Friday, Nov. 9th's season opening loss to South Carolina – while Longwood converted at just under a 33% clip.

As for getting career win #1 out of the way: “We're thrilled to get our first win here at home. We've seen a lot of growth through the preseason, now we have to get better through the season.”

The Red Flash return to action on Friday when the visit West Virginia.