MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Nov. 16, 2007) – The Saint Francis University women's basketball team fell to 19th-ranked West Virginia University, 81-29, at the WVU Coliseum on Friday night. With the loss, the Red Flash dropped to 1-2 overall on the young season.

SFU held its own for the contest's first two minutes, before the Mountaineers' Sparkle Davis made a pair of freethrows to spark a 17-0 run. Saint Francis would never recover, limping into the intermission with the host team leading 46-12.

“We need to be mentally prepared and come to play every night,” said Saint Francis head coach and West Virginia native Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “As a staff, we weren't pleased with the effort or intensity we showed tonight.”

“We understand where we are and where we want to be. It's not going to happen overnight, but we have to get back to work and keep improving until we get there.”

The Mountaineers, on the other hand, showed vigor in their offensive attack, shooting nearly 48 percent from the floor including a 6-for-16 performance from three-point land. Saint Francis shot 23 percent for the game.

The Flash were led offensively by freshman guard Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) who responded to her first collegiate starting assignment by scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds, while playing a full 40 minutes. Six of Leach's points came by way of a 2-for-4 night from behind the arc.

Sophomore Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal Academy) – who played only 14 minutes on the evening due to foul trouble – and junior Whitney Robinson (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont) (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont) both scored five points.

Senior Emily Bollinger (Westminster, Md./Westminster) (Westminster, Md./Westminster) and Robinson led SFU on the boards, each pulling down five.

Saint Francis returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 20 when they visit University of Maryland-Eastern Shore for a 7 p.m. tilt.