LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 5, 2008) – Sophomore Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal Academy) scored a game- and career-high 29 points as Saint Francis University downed Northeast Conference rival Monmouth, 66-60, on Saturday afternoon at DeGol Arena. The win, Saint Francis' first over the Hawks since 2005, raises their record to 4-9 (1-1 NEC) on the season.
“We're pleased with this win. Getting our first conference win at home is awesome,” said Red Flash coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl, whose team evened its record at 3-3 in Loretto. “We played well in the second half and took the shots we wanted to get. We made some huge shots.”
Some of the biggest, no doubt, came from Hodges who also held a share of the team lead in rebounds with six and paced both teams in assists with four.
“It means a lot to me to help to get our first win,” said Hodges. “When my shots weren't falling in the first half coach told me to attack the basket so, that's what I did. My posts set the screens which opened up the basket.”
The Red Flash trailed by one at the half but came out firing in the second stanza, quickly building a four-point lead. Saint Francis surrendered their advantage only twice in the final period in spite of a stifling defense, before Monmouth's Brooke McElroy buried a three to tie the game at 60-all with 1:30 to go in regulation.
Saint Francis, however, responded by scoring the contest's final six points to seal their first league win of the year.
“It means a lot to be able to close out a game,” said junior Shawna Scott (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill?Academy) (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill Academy), who scored two points in the game's final 90 seconds. “Last year we lost a lot of games at the end and it felt good to be able to hold them off.”
In addition to Hodges, leading the Red Flash offense which shot over 40 percent from the floor for just the fourth time all season were Scott, who contributed 15 points, and senior Emily Bollinger (Westminster, Md./Westminster) (Westminster, Md./Westminster), who added 11 points as well as a career-high five steals.
The win snaps a seven-game winless streak for the Red Flash as they prepare to host Quinnipiac, a 72-66 winner over Robert Morris, at 7 p.m. on Monday.
