PITTSBURGH, Pa.  (Mar. 21, 2010) – Seniors Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio / Mount de Chantal) and Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) (Verona, Pa. / Penn Hills) concluded their Saint Francis women's basketball careers with the school's 10th NCAA Tournament Appearance, dropping a 93-59 contest against the second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, in the first round, on Sunday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

The game marked SFU's first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2004-05 season, and was the program's Northeast Conference-record 10th appearance. The Red Flash played in front of a large contingent of Saint Francis student, fans and alumni who made their way to Pittsburgh for the tournament.
It was also the Red Flash's first loss since February 11, 2010.  SFU had been on an eight-game winning streak prior to their defeat by the Buckeyes. 

Killian had a large hometown crowd of her own and finished the game with 2 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Hodges wrapped up her career with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Sophomore Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md. / Severna Park) came off the bench to provide a spark with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, junior Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mt. Sterling, Ohio / Miami Trace) had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and junior Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa. / Trinity) added 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

Eighth-ranked Ohio State had four players in double-figure scoring, and was led by Jantel Lavender with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Brittany Johnson had 18 points and 3 rebounds, Samantha Prahalis contributed 14 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, and Shavelle Little came off the bench to add 14 points and 5 steals.

It was the first NCAA appearance as a coach for Susan Robinson Fruchtl, the third-year Red Flash head coach. She was just the second coach in league history to take a program from worst (2007-08) one season to the NEC championship game the next (2008-09). She brought Saint Francis from worst to league champions in just two years (2009-10).

SFU struggled from the field most of the day, finishing 28.6 percent on field goal attempts (20-of-70), and 7-of-30 from outside the 3-point arc. The 30 three-point field goal attempts set a Petersen Events Center record.

The Buckeyes shot 49.3 percent from the field (37-of-75) and out-rebounded the Red Flash, 55-38.

The Buckeyes opened the game with an 11-0 run in the first 2 minutes, 11 seconds. The Red Flash perhaps struggled with nerves early on, hitting just three of their first 17 field goal attempts in the first 10 minutes. After a Killian block of a Lavender shot, Leach would get Saint Francis on the board with a lay-up three minutes into the game. Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) pulled down a rebound and Daly hit Hodges for a 3-pointer to cut it to 11-5. However, Lavender hit on a lay-up to make it 13-5 before Leach hit a baseline jumper to cut it to 13-7. Leach hit another jumper to cut it to 13-7, but that's as close as the Red Flash would get the rest of the way.

Ohio State went on a 19-2 run over the next 6:36 to put the game out of reach. Saint Francis was 0-for-12 with three turnovers during the Buckeyes' run. The Red Flash scored their two points on a pair of free throws by Hodges.

Later in the half, Prahalis gave Ohio State its largest lead at that point in the game, 36-14, making a pair of free throws to make it 36-14 with 8:23 left. SFU went on a mini 6-2 run to cut it to 38-21 with 6:37 to go. However, the Buckeyes answered with another 13-3 run to make it 51-24 with 1:54 to play.

The Buckeyes had three players in double-digits in the first half, while Prahalis had six points, six assists and three rebounds. Little had a game-high 12 points at the break, Brittany Johnson had 11, and Lavender added 10. The Buckeyes shot 59.0 percent in the first half, making 23-of-39 field goal attempts.

The Red Flash struggled from the field, making just 10-of-36 attempts from the field (.278). Hodges had a team-high 10 points and three steals, while Leach and Daly had six points each.
 Hodges will end her career ranked sixth on the SFU All-Time scoring lists with 1,529 points.  She will also finish fifth all-time with 408 assists and seventh in steals.  Fellow senior Killian will also remain in school history, ranking sixth with 78 career blocks. 
 
Despite the loss, Robinson Fruchtl was pleased with her team's effort. 
“We try to stay positive. We did not play our best at times, but we battled. We have to be proud, but we have to learn how to move on now. Our young kids have to take over,” she said.  “The next step for this conference and school is to get an NCAA win.  It's going to take a lot of work. We will have to do a lot of recruiting. Size is the biggest problem. A lot of these kids just wanted to get here.”

Quotes from the Postgame Press Conference

Head Coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl
Opening statement:
“First of all I just want to congratulate Ohio State. They are a very good team so hats off to them. We knew it would be challenging. Size gave us the most problems. It would have been better if we would have hit a few more shots, but our kids battled. We always play hard. Our young kids got some good time today.”

On what this experience does for the Saint Francis program:
“The next step for this conference and school is to get an NCAA win. It's going to take a lot of work. We will have to do a
lot of recruiting. Size is the biggest problem. A lot of these kids just wanted to get here.”

On Ohio State's zone defense:
“We have to close out a lot quicker. Even though we are in a zone, we can't just stand. We have to use our quickness and speed.”

On Jantel Lavender:
“We have guys as big as her, but probably not as skilled. She rebounded well and really took over.”

On the Saint Francis seniors:
“We started off with six wins when the seniors were freshman. Hodges has really turned out to be a great point guard. They hung with it, and I am very proud of them.”

On the game:
“We try to stay positive. We did not play our best at times, but we battled. We have to be proud, but we have to learn how to move on now. Our young kids have to take over.”

On Shavelle Little:
“She was very aggressive today. I'm sure she is happy with her play. It's important for older kids to step up like that.”

Senior center Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills)
On playing at home…
“It was amazing to see all of my friends and family come out for my last game. I'm glad I got to experience that.”

Junior guard Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity)
On the experience of playing in the NCAA Tournament:
“It was a great experience for all of us. We appreciated the fan support and all of our friends and family who came
together to support us. I think the word that we have all been using to describe this experience is a dream. We have dreamed about this since we were little girls. March Madness is a dream, and we are blessed to have this experience.”

Senior guard Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal)
On Ohio State…
“We knew what to expect. I think their post players bothered us the most.”
Junior guard Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace)
On playing in the NCAA tournament:
“It was exciting. Our school has been known for making the NEC Championship, winning it and being here. We want to get back to that tradition and that's why it was great to be here. We want to make this a year-to-year thing. We have great fans that came out to support us. It's very motivating when there is a group of people that follow you and support you.”

On her 14 points despite her three early fouls:
“I had three fouls in the first half. I got two quick ones and then I forgot I had two when I committed my third. I just knew I had to be smarter in the second half. That's what coach kept telling me and I was able to do that and make some shots.”

Sophomore guard Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park)
On playing in the NCAA tournament:
“We got to the NEC Championship game last year and we lost. So for us to win it this year and get back to this point feels great. It fired us up to play close to home and to play Ohio State. We have girls on the team from Ohio, and we were excited to play them. We're happy to get the NCAA appearance and NEC Championship tradition back to St. Francis.”

On her 16 points:
“We came out and we were hesitant. That's something that we didn't want to do. Once we found a rhythm we were able to calm down a bit and get more comfortable. Shots started to fall for us and everyone was able to hit. Coach told me first to attack the basket and that's what I did, and then shots came to me.”

On Ohio State:
“They're a great team. I know there's a lot of upsets going on right now for the men's side, but it's different for women.  They have great guard and an awesome center. I wouldn't be surprised if they keep winning with the way that they play.”