FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 8, 2009) – Keeping the turnovers to a season low of eight, junior guard Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) led the Saint Francis women's basketball to their 12th appearance in the Northeast Conference Championship Game by defeating the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 73-62 on Sunday afternoon at the Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn. The Red Flash will compete next weekend against the Sacred Heart Pioneers for their 10th NEC title since 1994.
The game was a match up of two of the nation's best turnaround teams. Both the Blue Devils and the Red Flash finished the 2007-08 well out of the postseason with records of 3-15. The two have come a long way from the preseason predictions of 11th and 8th place, respectively using youth and depth to get to the top of the conference.
“We're young,” said second year head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl, who is now 2-0 in the postseason. “We have no seniors starting, and we have five freshmen on our team. We struggled early this season against a tough schedule, but we could see our team getting better, and it was just a matter of it all coming together."
Neither team scored in the first minute of play, until Leanne Crockett gave the Blue Devils two a little more than a minute in. Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) retaliated with a lay up. The score stayed close for the next six minutes, with Saint Francis finally taking a six point advantage on a three-pointer by Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity). Gabrielle Oglesby and Justina Udenze each put up two to cut the lead down, and a lay up by P.J. Wade tied the score at 15-15.
A free-throw by Shontice Simmons put CCSU ahead by four before a three-pointer from Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) and another from Daly put the Flash in front with 3:25 left to play in the first half. Daly and Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) both sunk jumpers to stretch the lead to six. Shontice Simmons made two at the charity stripe and Crockett put up a lay up, but Leach countered with a jumper that allowed SFU to take a 34-30 lead into the locker room.
Hodges got the second half started early with a jumper just 12 seconds in, but Udenze came back to tie the game at 36-36 three minutes later. A three and free-throw gave the Flash an eight point advantage, and two free-throws by Leach put them ahead by nine with 7:56 left to play.
Simmons cut the lead to three, but four free-throws by Hodges put SFU back up by nine before Daly added another two to give the Flash their largest lead of the night at 11 points with 16 seconds remaining. Saint Francis went 18-of-19 at the line in the second half.
Hodges led the scoring effort with 20 points as four Red Flash players scored in double-digits for the eleventh time this season. Daly put up another monster game for the Red Flash with 19 points and seven boards, as she went 6-for-6 on free-throws and came away from the game with 58 three-pointers on the season.
"We worked hard to develop all of the kids, and that is a testament to their hard work,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “I think Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) is probably the most improved player on our team from last year. She didn't get off our bench until February last year. She's an example of how someone with talent can succeed through hard work. I'm proud of all of our kids. They've played together and they haven't been selfish."
Lilley also added in two three-point shots on her way to scoring 15 for the Flash. Leach put up 10 points and had two steals in her second playoff appearance. The team shot 34.3 percent from the field, marking their lowest shooting percentage in a victory this season. They fared much better at the free-throw line, going 19-21 for 90.5 percent. A season low of eight turnovers, ten less than CCSU, also helped greatly in the win.
Simmons led the Blue Devils with 15 points, followed Oglesby and Leanne Crockett with 13 apiece. CCSU shot 40.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Red Flash 41-40. They had one steal to SFU's 11.
Saint Francis will return to Sacred Heart to put their 29-game postseason winning streak on the line as they face the Pioneers on March 15 at the Pitt Center. The championship game will tip off at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
