Emmitsburg, Md. (Feb. 25, 2010)- For the 16th time this season, senior guard Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) was the spark plug for the Saint Francis women's basketball team, putting up 24 points to lead the Red Flash past Mount St. Mary's 68-53 in Emmitsburg, Md., on Thursday evening.
The win, which puts the Flash at 10-7 in the NEC and 13-14 overall, moves SFU into a three-way tie for fourth place with Monmouth and Bryant. Bryant cannot compete in the postseason, and the Hawks own the tiebreaker over the Flash after defeating them twice in the regular season.
The Red Flash will finish up the regular season on Saturday when the travel to Staten Island, N.Y., to take on the Seahawks of Wagner College. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) had 14 points on the afternoon, while Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) added in 11. Daly also led the rebounding effort with eight boards.
The Red Flash jumped out to a quick lead on a jumper by Leach and another by Quinessa Johnson (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) before the Mountaineers hit the free-throw line for their first point of the night with 17:35 left to go in the first half. Hassannah Oliver then scored for the Mount to cut the SFU lead to just one before sinking a three to give MSM its first lead of the night at 6-4. Cassie Cook put the Mount ahead by four, but Hodges and Leach sunk back-to-back threes to take a 10-8 lead with 11:42 remaining in the first half.
Cooke put up two more for the Mount, with Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) countering with her first points of the evening on a layup. Leach put up another layup before Gibbs was sent to the free throw line, going two-for-two as the Flash took a 16-10 lead halfway through the half.
Mary Dunn put up two in the paint before Lauren Howell sunk a three form the corner to cut the deficit to just a point. However, Janie Killian (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills) put up a layup and was fouled on the play. She made the ensuing free throw to put the score at 19-13 in favor of the Red Flash.
Howell hit her second three of the night before Hodges was sent to the free throw line, also going two-for-two as SFU shot 100 percent from the line in the first half. Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) added in a jumper off of a pass from Gibbs to put the lead at five. However, the Mount went on 12-2 run that included a three-point shot from Sydney Henderson to take a30-25 lead to end the first half.
The Mount got the ball to start the half and picked up the first two points on a jumper by Sandra Andresson. Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) struck back with a jumper of her own seconds later. Andresson added in two more points in the paint before Lilley hit a jumper to cut the Mount's lead to five with 17:09 left.
Andresson and Hodges traded three pointers to keep the Mount's lead at five. Leach hit the free-throw line for a point that was followed by a jumper form Johnson to cut the deficit to just two. Another three, this time from Selina Mann, put it back up to five, while a layup from Dunn stretched it back up to seven. A quick three-pointer from Hodges cut it back down to four just seconds later before a three from Daly cut it to just a point with 13:14 remaining in the game.
Leach put the Red Flash up by one on a layup, but a free-throw by Andresson tied it soon after. Hodges sunk a triple to give the Flash the 46-43 advantage less than thirty seconds later. Leach went two-for-two at the line, while Hodges added in two more point on a fast break to put SFU up by seven halfway through the final half.
Westbrooks kept the Mount in the game with a layup and was countered by Hodges' jumper in the paint soon after. Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) put up her first two points of the night. Hodges sunk another jumper as the Flash's lead hit double-digits for the first time.
Cooke put up two points to bring it back down to nine before Daly's three pointer shot it back up to 12. Westbrooks and Henderson combined for four points before Leach and Westbrooks traded points in the paint. Lilley earned a trip to the free-throw line, coming away with two points to keep the SFU lead at 10 with just over a minute left. Daly sunk another three-pointer before Hodges went two-for-two at the free-throw line as the Red Flash took the 68-53 victory.
Westbrooks was the line Mount player to finish in double-figures, putting up 10 points and eight rebounds. Andresson had eight, with Oliver and Henderson at seven each.
Saint Francis shot just over 50 percent in the second half to end the evening at 45.3 percent overall and 47 percent from beyond the arc. The Flash also showed big improvements at the free-throw line, going 100 percent in the first half before going 12-of-15 overall for 80 percent. While the Flash had 23 turnovers to MSM's 21, they were able to better capitalize on the Mount's miscues, scoring 25 points off of the miscues.
The SFU defense limited the Mount to 37.5 percent overall and 35.3 percent on three-pointers. They were just 5-of-10 at the free throw line.
