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The Red Flash return to the building in which they claimed their league-record 10th Northeast Conference Championship when they visit Long Island for a 7 p.m. contest on Tuesday. 

Long Island – the preseason favorite to supplant Saint Francis as conference champion – is 8-4 and is in the midst of a four-game winning streak.  The Blackbirds have played one conference game to date, a 62-50 home setback against Robert Morris on Dec. 5.

Saint Francis and LIU have engaged two common opponents thus far this season.  Both fell by sizeable margins to Syracuse, while the Red Flash managed to defeat Howard, 67-55, at team that defeated the Blackbirds, 59-51, a few days earlier.

Two days after opening their NEC schedule with a win over St. Francis (N.Y.), the Red Flash look to both even their record at 7-7 and start their league schedule 2-0 for only the second time since the 2005-06 season.  SFU previously accomplished the feat in 2008-09.

The Flash have won four of the last five meetings with the Blackbirds and have not lost to LIU in Brooklyn since Feb. 23, 2008.


Next up: WAGNER
Saint Francis will play the seventh installment of its ongoing eight-game road trip – and its fourth-straight game in the state of New York – on Saturday when it visits Wagner.  The Red Flash hold a sizeable 34-20 advantage in the all-time series, including 15 of the last 17, but have swept the season series from the Seahawks only once over the past three years.  Wagner was 7-5 heading into Monday's game at Sacred Heart.


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 13 wins to catch her predecessor Jill Poe (2003-07) in career wins.  Poe went 57-62 in her four seasons at the helm.


ROOKIE?WILLIAMS?HEATING?UP
Over the past six 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 13.0 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 16.0 points per contest.  The majority of her work, however, comes in the second period when she averages 10 points and shoots 14-for-27 (51.9%) from long range.  Leach is SFU's third-leading scorer in the first half, averaging six points and shooting only 37.5 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 967 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.


SFU COMING?AROUND?AT?THE?LINE
The Red Flash struggled from the free throw line early this season, converting on only 157 of 244 opportunities through 12 contests (64.3%).  Saint Francis has, however, shown a modest improvement over the past four games, converting at a 70.4 percent (57-for-81) clip.  Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) is currently SFU's strongest option from the line with an 86.8 percentage (46-of-53) on the season.


FIVE?non-conference WINS?TIES?MODERN?MARKS
SFU wrapped up its non-conference slate with a 5-7.  Dec. 16's victory at Howard – Saint Francis' fourth in a row – tied the program record for consecutive non-conference wins since the program joined the Division I ranks in 1985-86. The school mark of five-straight non-conference wins was set during the 1974-75 season.  Five is also SFU's most wins since joining the ECAC Meto Conference (now the NEC) in 1986-87