BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Jan. 7, 2010) – A 13-0 lead just four minutes in turned into a huge win, as the Saint Francis women's basketball team got their second Northeast Conference victory of the season by defeating the Saint Francis College Terriers 64-43 on Thursday evening at the Pope Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Saint Francis got off to a hot start, as Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) sunk a three-pointer to start the scoring off before Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) added a three-of her own to give the Flash a 6-0 lead off the bat. Daly netted her second three of the night to stretch the lead to 9-0. Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) notched her first two points of the night from the field before heading to the free-throw line to add two more as the Red Flash took a 13-0 advantage just four minutes into the game.
Autumn Lau put the Terriers on the board soon after by sinking a free throw and then putting up a lay-up to cut into SFU's double-digit lead. Hodges then sank a jumper to put the Flash ahead by 14 and brought the lead up to 16 after a steal by Daly turned into a fast break layup by Hodges. Freshman Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) added in a jumper and then a three-pointer to put the advantage up past 20 points.
St. Francis (NY) battled back with Lau, who notched two triples but could only shrink the deficit to 20 points. Jacinda Williams got it under 20 by nailing a free-throw before Lau hit another three. Soon after, Hodges sunk a three-pointer of her own followed it up with a jumper. Leach put up four more points, and Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) added in two to end the half with a 43-18 SFU lead.
A jumper from Hodges started the scoring off in the second half, and a three-pointer from the senior guard less than five minutes later gave the Red Flash a 26 point lead over the Terriers. Consecutive layups from freshman Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) gave the Red Flash a 30 point advantage with a little over eight minutes remaining in the game.
With most of the starting lineup getting a break, reserves Lilley and Gibbs combined for three points as the Terriers were able to get within 24 on a three-pointer from Lau. Lilley then sank a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to give Saint Francis University a 64-43 win over Saint Francis College.
Hodges led the scoring for the Red Flash, putting up 17 points in 25 minutes of action. She also added in three assists and two steals. Leach totaled 15 points on the evening, and dished out a team-high five assists. Fleming led the rebounding effort with seven total boards, five of which came on offense, while Allison Smith (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) set a career high with six. Lilley also had six boards and chipped in offensively with eight points.
Gibbs, seeing a season-high 21 minutes of action, had nine points and two assists. Daly had six total points and three steals for the Red Flash, who shot 39.0 percent from the field and 62.5 percent at the free-throw line. The Red Flash forced 24 turnovers, 12 of which were steals and had 18 assists on the evening. The bench accounted for 21 points, outscoring the SFC reserves by 20. They also outscored the Terriers 24-6 in the paint, 26-10 off of turnovers and 19-2 on second chance points.
Lau had 29 points for the Terriers, and led the team with six rebounds. Kim Snauwaert finished with nine points as just five Terriers scored all evening. SFC shot 31.7 percent overall and 50 percent at the charity stripe.
The Red Flash will remain in Brooklyn a tilt with Long Island University on Saturday afternoon. The Red Flash will take on the Blackbirds at 2 p.m. and will be followed by the SFU men's contest with the Blackbirds.
