LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 30, 2010) – A season-high 12 three-point shots from Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) and Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) led the Saint Francis women's basketball team to a 91-80 Northeast Conference win over Long Island on Saturday at DeGol Arena, completing a season sweep of the Blackbirds and pushing the Red Flash into a three-way tied for third place at 9-11 overall and 6-4 in the NEC.
Hodges, who currently ranks ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,266 points, led the way with 26 points, 18 of which came from beyond the arc. Daly put up a season-high of 25, and also led the rebounding effort with seven.
“I think we executed the game plan pretty well,” said head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “Both teams shot exceptionally well. Both teams got some layups and some threes. In the first half, we gave up a lot of points in the paint. Then in the second half, Janie came in and did a really got job of keeping them out of the middle. I thought we got the shots that we wanted in our offense. We attacked their players off ball screen, and I felt we really attacked the mismatches. “
Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) drove to the hoop for a short jumper to start the scoring off, while Hodges ended LIU's possession with a steal. Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) added in two off of the turnover as SFU took a 4-0 lead before Ashley Palmer hit a jumper. Daly bounced back with a three and was countered by Heidi Mothershead who also sunk a three to put the score a 7-5 with 17:40 remaining.
Hodges sunk a three-pointer to put the Red Flash in double-figures, while Palmer hit one of her own to ct LIU's deficit to two. However, Hodges added in three more on SFU's next possession to keep SFU up by 13-10. She then added in her third three of the afternoon with 15 minutes remaining. Leach came up with a big steal on the Blackbirds' next possession, but the Flash were called for a travel and the ball went back to LIU.
Mothershead hit her second three of the day to cut SFU's lead to three. Daly put up a layup on the next possessions, while Kiara Evans added in two points for the Blackbirds. Daly then nailed her second three-pointer of the day from the corner before Marika Sprow put up a field goal for LIU.
Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) got a point at the free-throw line before Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) hit a layup in her first game back from injury as SFU took a 24-17 lead with 9:41 left. Evans hit a short jumper to bring LIU within four. Evans was sent to the charity stripe, coming away with one before Lilley came up with a huge steal for SFU, turning it into a fast break layup. Lilley then caused a turnover in the ensuing possession, while Leach grabbed the ball and sent it up to Hodges for another two points on the fast break.
Sprow got two on a jumper before Chelsi Johnson completed a traditional three-point play to cut what had been an eight-point Red Flash lead to jus three. Lilley added in two points, with Johnson again grabbing the rebound off of the next LIU possession. Kia Gibbs () put up her first two points of the day to keep the Red Flash ahead 32-25 with 5:38 to go in the first.
Lilley put up another lay up, countered by Tamika Guz with a layup of her own. LIU's Johnson made a layup but could not sink. However, Ashley Palmer was able to put up two as the Blackbirds cut SFU's lead to three. Leach forced a turnover on LIU's next possession, hustling to keep the ball from going out of bounds.
Hodges drew the foul soon after, and was able to get two off the inbounds play. Gibbs stole the ball as the Blackbirds moved up the court, sending it over to Daly for the layup. LIU's Johnson sunk a three, while SFU's Johnson struck back with two.
Palmer put up two as LIU gained possession on a jump ball call, and the Red Flash could not score on the next possession. Daly then tied up Evans on the next LIU possession, giving the ball back to SFU with 48 seconds remaining in the first half, then sunk a three-point field goal to put SFU up 43-36 at the half.
Guz put up the first points of the second half from inside the paint, before Johnson tied up a Blackbirds player to get the jump ball call. Allison Smith (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) hit a jumper to keep SFU up by seven before Leach drew a charge to give the ball back to SFU.
Palmer put up a lay up for the Blackbirds to put them within five. Johnson the swiped the ball on LIU's next possession and sent it over to Daly for a three-point field goal. Daly fouled Mothershead soon after, sending her to the line for two. Daly countered with another three to keep SFU up 51-42.
Evans put up two in the paint for LIU, with Palmer making another layup soon after. Daly then nailed her fifth three-pointer of the day as the Red Flash took a 54-46 lead with 15:12 remaining. Evans put up two for LIU on rebounding layup.
Leach was fouled attempting a shot, and went to the charity stripe for two. Palmer was also fouled attempting a layup, but couldn't convert at the free-throw line. Daly picked up a big offensive board and sent it over to Hodges for three-pointer.
Guz added in two points in the paint for LIU, but neither team convert as SFU kept a nine-point lead. Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) became the next player to score, putting up two in the paint before Evans drove to the basket for two.
Daly picked up a big steal, and was fouled on the play, forcing SFU to inbound the ball. LIU's Johnson then completed another three-point play after being fouled on a layup. Killian drew a charge on the next LIU possession, sending the ball back to the Red Flash where Hodges hit a three-pointer to put the Red Flash up 64-58 8:49. Palmer sunk a three-pointer of her own, but the Flash struck back with a jumper from Hodges to keep SFU up by eight. SFU forced a turnover on the next LIU possession and increased their lead with a layup by Killian.
Guz went to the line for a point as SFU's Johnson came up with the board. Hodges was fouled on the ensuing possession, and scored two at the charity stripe. Krystal Wells sunk a three-pointer soon after to cut the LIU deficit to eight points. However, Killian put up two more for the Red Flash to keep them ahead by ten.
The Flash forced a turnover on an inbound play by the Blackbirds, with Lilley drawing a foul on the fast break and coming away from the line with two. LIU was able to cut into SFU's double-digit lead as Johnson sunk a three from the corner. SFU's Johnson then came up with a big steal following a defensive rebound by LIU, with Daly turning it into two points.
LIU's Johnson scored to points and then went to the three-throw line for the one-and-one soon after and came away with two for the Blackbirds. However, SFU struck back with another three-pointer from Daly – her sixth of the game.
The Blackbirds' Johnson went to the line again, coming away with one. Palmer picked up the rebound and was fouled, going to the line as well. She picked up a point to cut into the Flash's lead as Daly grabbed the rebound off of the miss to give the ball back to Saint Francis.
Leach scored SFU's 80 point at the free-throw line, and tallied another to put the score at 81-71 with three and a half minutes to go. Hodges picked up a big steal, and Leach was fouled on the play to go to the line again, missing both. She got her own revenge; by forcing a turnover on the next Long Island possessions to bring the ball back to SFU. Lilley was able to convert on the possession to put SFU up 83-71.
Wells went to the line for the 'Birds and came away with a point, with Palmer putting up a rebounding layup and the ensuing free throw. Leach earned another trip to the charity stripe, coming away with two. Daly came up with a big turnover on the next possession and was sent to the line for one. Killian jumped up for the rebound on the missed shot and earned a trip to the line herself. The senior center came away with a point.
LIU's Johnson was fouled grabbing the rebound from Killian, and put up two at the line. Palmer fouled Lilley as she attempted to bring the ball up the court. She added two points to the SFU total, bringing the score to 89-76 with 1:20 to play.
Palmer went to the line herself on LIU's next possession and came away with two. After getting some time off of the clock, Gibbs went up for a short jumper with LIU returning the favor to give Saint Francis a big 91-80 victory.
Two players finished with double-doubles for the Blackbirds, as Palmer put up 22 points and 11 rebounds and Johnson finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Evans was also in double-digits with 14 points.
Saint Francis had one of their best shooting games of the year, going 32-of-63 for 50.8 percent from the field. They also finished 12-of-21 for 57.1 percent from beyond at the arc and improved to 75.0 percent at the free-throw line.
Lilley was the third SFU player to finish in double-figures with 13 points and six rebounds, while Leach set a new career high with seven assists. Hodges added five steals to her career total to move into ninth place on the all-time list, while Killian had one of her best games of the season with seven points.
The Flash forced 26 turnovers, scoring 35 points of the LIU mistakes. The SFU reserves outscored the Blackbirds' bench 26-17. The team also recorded 15 steals.
When asked what spurred the win after recent SFU losses, Daly had no problem finding an answer.
“I think it was team bonding,” stated the team captain. “We came home from the two losses last weekend and just said 'Never again.' We had some hard practices and just came together.”
