Women's Basketball 11/25/2008 7:12:57 PM

Lilley’s Big Night Not Enough As Red Flash Fall to Falcons 98-74

LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 25, 2008) – Freshman Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) became the first player to score more than 20 points in a game this season and the team shot a season high 50.8 percent from the field, but it wasn't enough as the Saint Francis women's basketball team fell to the Bowling Green Falcons 98-74 on Tuesday evening at DeGol Arena.

The Red Flash fall to 0-4 on the season. They will travel to the U.S. Naval Academy to take on the Midshipmen at 7 P.M. on Friday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md.    The team will travel to Youngstown, Ohio to face Youngstown Sate before returning home to face St. Francis (NY) on December 6 at DeGol Arena.

With both teams making three-pointers in the first 45 seconds of play, scoring went back and forth between the two teams for most of the first half. The Red Flash, who have often been slow on the start this season, kept it close and led 28-25 with 7:03 remaining in the first half. But Falcons wouldn't back down and went on a 16-2 scoring run, regaining the lead they would keep for the rest of the game.

After a strong first half in which they shot 55.2 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line, the Red Flash couldn't find the energy they showed at the start of the game, and their field goal percentage fell to 46.7.

“We got off to a good start, but then we turned the ball over several times in a row,” said second year head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “They got very easy transition buckets. We turned the ball over up top, so we're not going to be able to get back.”

Falcons guard Lauren Prochaska, the MAC Freshman-of-the-Year in 2007-08, couldn't be stopped and scored a career high 32 points for Bowling Green. Forward Tara Breske was also in double-digits with 15 points, followed by Chelsea Albert who had 13.

The trend for the Red Flash this season has been the stellar play of freshman. This game, it was Lilley's turn to come off the bench and impress, as she scored a career-high 21 points to lead the team in scoring. Lilley finished the night 10-of-14 on field goals, and also added 2 steals and 2 rebounds.

Junior Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal), who led the team in scoring last year, may not be at the top of the points list every game but has still shown she can be a major contributor. Again, Hodges proved she is an all around threat with 5 steals, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 12 points.    She also played strong defense, limiting Tracy Pontius to 6 points.

“There were some bright spots,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “I thought Hodges gave number 5 some problems, and we held her down. She (Hodges) was probably the bright spot for me.”

Sophomore Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) saw 29 minutes of action for the Red Flash and finished the night with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Freshman guard Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) was held to under 10 points for the first time this season, ending the game with 7.

The same problems that have plagued the Flash all season – turnovers and fouls – were present against Bowling Green. Saint Francis sent the Falcons to the free-throw line 25 times, and turned the ball over 25 times as well. This time, however, their opponents weren't error free, with the Falcons finishing with 26 turnovers.

While Robinson Fruchtl is satisfied with the team's offensive efforts, she wasn't as pleased with their defense.

“Turnovers are killing us,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “It's kind of the name of the game right now. I did not think we played good defense for most of the game. Our rotations are late. We're not rebounding, and we're not boxing out.    We gave up 16 offensive boards, and you just can't do that and be very successful. We have a lot of work to do.”

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