TOLEDO, Ohio (Nov. 12, 2010) – Toledo's Naama Shafir hit a prayer shot from 38 feet with the shot clock winding down to hand the Saint Francis women's basketball team a tough 71-66 season opening loss in the first round of the preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.

The Red Flash dropped to 0-1, and will now head to Towson for a 5 p.m. tipoff on Tuesday night. That game can be heard live on The EDGE 1400 AM and at www.myedgeradio.com.

“This was a great effort,” said Saint Francis head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “We'll get better from this one for sure. Toledo is good. They're going to have a great year in the MAC. We'll be following them. We got a good look at our team tonight, and what we need to improve upon.”

SFU trailed 68-66 and had the ball with 1:11 remaining, but the inbounds pass was stolen. The Rockets, who were are the preseason pick to win the MAC Western Division, got a key offensive rebound with 44.4 seconds left. Saint Francis tipped the ball away with the shot clock winding down and could have had the ball with a two-point deficit, but Shafir sunk a prayer from just inside the mid-court line to make it 71-66 with 17.3 seconds remaining.

SFU could not convert from there in losing its season opener.

“She is a senior,” Robinson Fruchtl said of Shafir. “And she played like a senior tonight. She gave them great leadership on the court. We played extremely hard, but came out on the short end.”

Four players led the Red Flash in double figure scoring as senior Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa. / Trinity) and junior Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Pa. / Severna Park) had 11 points each, and senior Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio / Miami Trace) and junior Sarah Thorn (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) (Yardley, Pa. / Pensbury East) had 10 points each. Daly just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, and Lilley dished out five assists.

Shafir had 21 points, and Jessica Williams added 20 for the Rockets, who won their 14^th straight home game at Savage Arena.

Saint Francis shot 41.9 percent from the field (26-of-62), besting the 36.8 percent effort (25-of-68) of Toledo. The Red Flash was also good on 40 percent (6-of-15) from outside the arc.

Freshman Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) had a strong debut with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 26 minutes of action, and sophomore Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) (Dayton, Ohio / Chaminade-Julienne) added 8 points and 5 rebounds.

Saint Francis held a 42-41 lead at halftime behind a balanced offensive attack. Eight of the 10 Red Flash players that got in the game scored at least two points with five scoring at least five.

SFU shot 45.7 percent (16-of-35) in the first 20 minutes, while Toledo shot at a 33.3 percent (12-of-36).