STATEN ISLAND, NY. – Three players scored in double digits to help the Saint Francis women's basketball team jump out to a 19-point second half lead, and the Red Flash made critical free throws down the stretch to earn their sixth straight win, 61-55, at Wagner College on Saturday night.
Sophomore Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mt. Sterling, Ohio / Miami Trace) led all SFU scorers with 17 points on a 6-of-8 effort from the field, while junior Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio / Mount de Chantal) added 15 points, five assists and three steals, and sophomore Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa. / Trinity) tallied 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Freshman Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) (West Chester, Ohio / Lakota West) had a terrific second half and led all players with a career high 13 rebounds.
Saint Francis improves to 9-13 overall, and 7-4 in the Northeast Conference, with its longest winning streak in five years. The Red Flash now head to Central Connecticut State for a pivotal NEC contest at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Stephanie McBride led all scores with a career high 19 points for the Seahawks, who dropped to 6-16 overall and 2-10 in the league. Andrea Reed tallied 12 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals.
The Red Flash were edged in rebounding, 20-17, in the first half, but turned up the heat in the final 20 minutes. SFU had a 27-16 rebounding edge in the second half.
Saint Francis jumped out to an early lead in the first half and built it to 11 points, 24-13, with 7:12 remaining. But the Seahawks battled back and cut that lead to as little as one point, 26-25, on a McBride layup with 1:43 left. Leach hit a pair of free throws with 1:15 to go, and the teams went scoreless the rest of the way as SFU took a 28-25 lead into the break.
Wagner came out of the locker room and, after a jumper by Jillian Killian (Verona, Pa. / Penn Hills), went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 30-30. However, Reed picked up two fouls in 16 seconds for her fourth foul of the game, and the Red Flash capitalized with her out of the game.
SFU proceeded on a 14-0 run to take control with a 44-30 lead with 11:20 to go. That lead would extend to 19 at 53-34 with 5:54 remaining, but the Red Flash then went the rest of the game without a field goal with the Seahawks playing a stingy full-court press. But Saint Francis went 8-for-10 from the free throw line to seal the victory.
