LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 22. 2011) – Saturday afternoon's Saint Francis University women's basketball game at DeGol Arena followed a familiar script. A fast start, a sizable second-half lead erased and a dramatic finish.

This time, however, the shoe was on the other foot for the Red Flash as they rallied from 17 points down with 16 minutes to play to capture a 69-56 Northeast Conference win over preseason league favorite Long Island.

“Well, obviously, that was a great second half,” said Flash head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl, whose team outscored LIU 41-15 in the closing period. “I can't say enough about [our] effort. We played intelligent basketball.”

In the first half the Blackbird offense looked as if it couldn't miss, shooting 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the floor while building up a 41-28 halftime edge. The Flash shot 33.3 percent in the period.

Roles were drastically reversed after the intermission, with SFU shooting at a 59.3 percent (16-of-27) clip while holding the Blackbirds to only 14.8 percent from the floor.

“We played great defense,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “Holding them to 4-of-27 shooting [in the second half] is a tribute to the effort that our kids gave.”

The Flash trailed from the 17-minute mark of the first half until a Sarah Thorn (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) layup with just under 13 minutes to play sparked a game-ending 26 -7 run that sealed the comeback win.

Thorn scored all nine of her points – including a key 3-pointer – during the run.

Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) and Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) paced the Red Flash offense with 18 and 15 points, respectively. Alexandra Williams pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

With 13 points, Ashley Palmer was one of two Blackbirds to reach double-digit scoring totals.

With the win, Saint Francis improves to 11-8 (6-1 NEC) while the Blackbirds fall to 11-7 (3-4 NEC).

The Flash return to action on Monday when they host St. Francis (N.Y.) at 7 p.m.