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Saint Francis makes the third stop of its eight-game road swing when it visits regional rival Duquesne on Wednesday.  The Dukes – who are SFU's most-played non-conference opponent – hold a 23-10 advantage in the all-time series. 

Since the series resumed on an annual basis in 2006-07, the Dukes have won three of the four meetings.  Two of those Duquesne wins were by three points or fewer.

The last Red Flash win in the series came on Nov. 27, 2007 in Susan Robinson Fruchtl's first season on the Saint Francis bench.

Duquesne has won seven of its last eight contests, with Sunday's 80-59 loss to Vanderbilt snapping a seven-game winning streak.  Previously, the Dukes hadn't lost since a 69-58 setback at West Virginia on Nov. 17.

Saint Francis has struggled on the road this season, compiling a 1-5 record, albeit against tough competition.  Wednesday's contest is the Dukes' fourth at home, where they have racked up a 2-1 record.

The Red Flash will close out 2010 with a Dec. 28 trip to Syracuse.


Next up: SYRACUSE
The Red Flash will knock out the first half of their season-long eight-game road trip as they close out the 2010 side of the slate with a visit to Syracuse.  Saint Francis will be making its first-ever trip to the Carrier Dome as the Red Flash and Orange meet for the first time.  Syracuse was 8-0 entering Tuesday's opening game of the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout vs. Baylor.  The Orange takes on Clemson at 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday.


Lilley ranks among national leaders
Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park)'s 15 assists against Kent State tied for the most in an NCAA?DI game so far this season.  Her 6.4 helpers per contest also ranks fifth in the country.


Robinson Fruchtl notches 40th win
Saint Francis head coach Susan Robison Fruchtl earned her 40th career win with Nov. 28th's victory, 77-67, victory over Coppin State.  Looking ahead, Robison Fruchtl needs 14 wins to pass her predecessor Jill Poe (2003-07) in career wins.  Poe went 57-62 in her four seasons at the helm.


WILLIAMS?EARNS?SECOND ROOKIE-OF-THE-WEEK AWARD
For the second time in three weeks, freshman Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) has been named the Northeast Conference Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week.  Williams becomes SFU's first two-time Rookie of the Week since Beth Swink earned three nods during the 2001-02 campaign.

Williams poured in 22 points as the Red Flash ended a 12-day hiatus by posting a 67-55 road win over Howard.  The freshman from Altoona went 10-for-16 shooting from the field in what was her first career start. Williams also pulled down four rebounds and made a steal against the Bison. 

In the starting lineup again at No. 7 West Virginia, Williams tallied seven points, three rebounds, and a pair of steals.  She averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per contest during the two-game swing through the nation's capital and West Virginia.


ROOKIE?WILLIAMS?HEATING?UP
In a two-game span, freshman Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) improved from Saint Francis' seventh-leading scorer to its fourth, improving her points per game from 3.4 to 8.3.  Williams was averaging only 15.7 minutes per contest following Dec. 1's win over Pittsburgh and has averaged 31.5 minutes in the two games since.  Williams kicked off her current tear with 29 points vs. Kent State and 22 points on Thursday at Howard.


Leach fills 'closer' role
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) enters today's contest as the NEC's leading scorer, averaging 17.0 points per contest.  The majority of her work, however, comes in the second period when she averages 11.0 points and shoots 12-for-24 (50.0%) from long range.  Leach is SFU's third-leading scorer in the first half, averaging 6.0 points and shooting only 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.  On average, Leach scores 6.0 points in the final 10 minutes of a game.


Daly gunning for 1,000
Senior Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) is a strong candidate to become Saint Francis' 20th 1,000-point scorer.  The 5-11 guard enters today's game with 922 career points.  After scoring only 75 points as a freshman in 2007-08, Daly averaged just over 360 points per season as a sophomore and junior.