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Saint Francis opens its 2010-11 Northeast Conference schedule with a Jan. 2 trip to Brooklyn and a date with the St. Francis Terriers.

The Red Flash have struggled on the road early this season, albeit against stiff competition.  SFU is 1-7 as a visiting team, with its only win away from the Stokes Center coming as the home team in a neutral site game against Iona on Nov. 20.

Playing the fifth game in a season-long eight-game road swing, the Flash are currently on a three game skid.  SFU's past three opponents, however, have a combined record of 32-4 and two of which are currently nationally ranked.

The Terriers have struggled to a 2-9 record thus far this season, including a 72-36 home loss to Robert Morris on Dec. 2.  St. Francis College snapped a three-game skid on New Year's Eve by defeating Stony Brook, 57-57, at the Pope Center.

The Red Flash hold a 35-13 stranglehold on the all-time series, including four-straight wins against the Terriers.  SFU has won 25 of the last 30 meetings with its New York rival. 
Saint Francis has not lost to an NEC team in New York since the 2008-09 season.

Next up: LONG?ISLAND
The Red Flash return to the scene of their league-record 10th NEC Championship on Tuesday, Jan. 4, when they visit the Long Island Blackbirds.  LIU – the preseason favorite to supplant Saint Francis as conference champions – is 8-4 and are in the midst of a four-game winning streak.  The Flash have won four of the last five meetings with the Blackbirds and have not lost to LIU in Brooklyn since Jan. 13, 2007.


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.  As of Dec. 19, her 6.4 helpers per contest also ranked 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
Over the past five games, freshman Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) has begun to emerge as one of SFU's key players.  The Red Flash rookie has averaged 14.6 points per game since exploding for 29 points against Kent State on Dec. 4.  After joining the starting lineup a game later, Williams scored 22 points at Howard and also had a strong outing at Duquesne, scoring 13.


Leach fills 'closer' role
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) enters today's contest as the NEC's leading scorer, averaging 16.6 points per contest.  The majority of her work, however, comes in the second period when she averages 10 points and shoots 14-for-26 (53.8%) from long range.  Leach is SFU's number-two scorer in the first half, averaging just over six points and shooting only 36.7 percent from beyond the arc.  On average, Leach scores nearly five 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 949 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.


OLIVER?JOINS?THE FOLD
The Red Flash added freshman walk-on Lorraine Oliver (Philadelphia, Pa./Cheltenham) prior to SFU's Dec. 28 game at Syracuse.  A Philadelphi native, Oliver played for scholastically for Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa.  The Panthers went 28-4 last season, advancing to the PIAA Class AAAA Quarterfinal round.