HARRISONBURG, Va. (Nov. 20, 2010) – The Saint Francis University women's basketball team claimed its first win of the season, 77-69, over the Iona Gaels at James Madison University's Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon. Four Red Flash players scored in double digits led by senior captains Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) and Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity), who each racked up 20 points.

Junior guard Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna park, Md./Severna Park) and sophomore Shené Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) tossed in 18 and 13 points, respectively, in Saturday's Preseason WNIT contest.

Scoring wasn't that only aspect of SFU's game that was sharp in the program's first win in three tries vs. Iona. The Red Flash also out-rebounded their first opponent of the year (43-to-38) and dished out 21 assists.

“That's the mark of a good team – they come out every night and give that effort,” said Saint Francis head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “We were talking today about taking care of the things you can control. Two of those things are effort and hustle and we really did that for 40 minutes tonight.”

In addition to a career-high scoring total, Fleming was a one-women wrecking crew, pulling down seven boards, blocking two shots and notching a pair of steals.

“She's really getting better,” said Robinson Fruchtl of her sophomore forward. “She's just learning how to read the defense and she did an excellent job of that tonight. Our players knew to get her the ball. I think that's key because that shows maturity and shows me that they've learned something on their own and that's what they need to do.”

On a night when effort was in no short supply on the Red Flash roster, junior guard Sarah Thorn (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) also stood out registering five assists to go along with a game- and career-best eight boards.

Daly was deadly from long-range in the contest. The senior nailed six three-pointers in the match with her fifth – which came at the 14:35 mark of the second half – giving the Red Flash a dominating 18-point lead.

The Flash led by over 10 points for most of the afternoon.

The Gaels were led by Anda Ivkovic's 22 points.

Both teams had struggled from the floor entering the contest, but SFU rebounded to fire at a 41.5 percent clip, which was about five points higher that their season average. Iona (0-3) notched an even 40 percent shooting night from the floor after shooting a combined .266 in their first two games.

Saint Francis will remain on the road as they travel to Delaware on Tuesday to take on the Blue Hens. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.