LORETTO, Pa. (Dec. 28, 2008) – The Saint Francis women's basketball team were able to overcome a 20-point deficit, but couldn't overcome Bucknell's powerful offense and fell to the Bison 61-56 in a post-Christmas match up at DeGol Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Flash, who are 3-7 this season, will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats on December 30 at 7:05 p.m. After a short holiday break, they will continue on to Pittsburgh for a Northeast Conference game at Robert Morris on January 3 before taking on the Cavaliers of Virginia on January 5 in Charlottesville.
After a big NEC win versus Long Island last Sunday, the Red Flash were able to carry the momentum into the early minutes of the first half, and jumped out to a 16-10 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Bison were able to score on a three-point shot and a jumper, and free throw shot by Cosima Higham brought the score to 18-18, tying the game for the second time. The rest of the first half was a hard fought battle, with the score being tied 5 times and the lead changing hands 5 times in the first period alone.
Down 33-28 at the half, the Red Flash couldn't find their step and soon found themselves down by 20 midway through the second period. Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) was sent to the free throw line and came away with 2 points, and then Sarah Thorn (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) put in a three-point shot to start off a 13-2 run that brought SFU within 9 points of the Bison with 3:39 remaining in the game.
The last three minutes proved to be the most exciting, Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) had 4 points and Killian sank a free-throw to put the score at 60-56 with just 9 seconds left. However, the Flash sent Bison guard Amanda Brown to the free-throw line with 5 seconds left, erasing all hope of a comeback.
Killian had her second double-double of the season, coming away with 13 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds. Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) led the team with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Daly also finished in the double-digits for the Flash with 11 points.
The Bison were led by Morgan Wrightson, who had 14 points and 4 assists. Higham led the team in rebounds, with 9 and also added in 11 points. Forward Joyce Novacek had all 5 of the Bison's blocked shots.
