FULL PREGAME RELEASE (pdf)
The Red Flash open up the second half of the 2010-11 season by wrapping up their longest road swing of the season – an eight-game jaunt that began on Dec. 16 – when they visit Mount St. Mary's on Monday for a 7 p.m. contest.
The Mount is one of only two NEC schools against which Saint Francis trails in the all-time series: MSM holds a 26-24 edge in meetings which date back to the 1988 season. SFU, however, has won the last three meetings against the Mountaineers.
Mount St. Mary's enters Monday's action with a 3-11 (0-3) record, having lost two in a row. On Saturday, Robert Morris derailed the 1,000th game in Mountaineers' history, 74-56.
With a win, the Red Flash can match their season-long win streak (four), finish their 25-day road trip with a 5-3 record and improve to 4-0 in Northeast Conference play for the first time since the 2003-04 season when SFU went a perfect 18-0 in league action.
Senior guard
Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity), who is a native of Harrisburg, Pa., needs only 14 points to become Saint Francis' 20th 1,000-point scorer. Daly has averaged nearly 13 points per game this season.
NEXT UP: FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
The Red Flash play their first home game in 42 days on Saturday when it welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson for a 4 p.m. contest. Saint Francis is 28-18 all-time against the Knights in a series that dates back to the 1985-86 season. SFU won 20 of 22 meetings between 1993 and 2006 but since then, FDU has taken five of eight decisions. Susan Robinson Fruchtl's Flash are 3-3 against the Knights. FDU (9-5; 2-1) had a six-game winning streak snapped by Sacred Heart on Friday.
FLASH NEC'S EARLY RPI LEADER
The NCAA released its first official RPI rankings on Jan. 2 where the Red Flash debuted at 132. However, after Northeast Conference wins at St. Francis (N.Y.) and Long Island, Saint Francis has jumped well into the top 100. As of Jan. 8, RealTimeRPI.com projects the SFU's RPI as 91 and its strength of schedule at 90. The NEC's next highest RPI belongs to Sacred Heart (109) which, at 9-5, has played 110th toughest schedule in the nation.
DALY GUNNING FOR 1,000
Senior
Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) needs only 14 points to become Saint Francis' 20th 1,000-point scorer. The 5-11 guard enters today's game with 986 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.
LILLEY RANKS AMONG NATION'S 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 Jan. 6, her 6.1 helpers per contest also ranked 12th in the country.
ROBINSON FRUCHTL CHASING 50th 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 11 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 seven 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 12.0 points per game since exploding for 29 points against Kent State on Dec. 4. After joining the starting lineup a game later in place of injured Shené Fleming, Williams scored 22 points at Howard and also had a strong outing at Duquesne, scoring 13. She notched her first career double-digit rebounding night by grabbing 12 at Long Island on Jan. 4.
DEEP THREATS LEACH, DALY PACE POTENT OFFENSE
As of Thursday afternoon's NCAA Statistical report, the Flash can stake claim to the country's 21st-best three-point field goal percentage. Shooting a collective 36.8 percent (98-for-266), Saint Francis is paced from long range by the NEC's three-point leader
Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity). Daly is shooting 41.6 percent (42-for-101) from the arc. SFU's 3FG percentage leader is
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace), who converts at a 43.8 percent (32-for-73) clip.
SFU'S STRUGGLES AT THE LINE CONTINUE
The Red Flash have struggled from the free throw line this season, converting on only 176 of 277 (63.5%) opportunities through 15 contests.
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) is currently SFU's strongest option from the line with an 83.3 percentage (50-of-60) on the season.
FLASH WRAPPING UP SEASON-LONG ROAD TRIP
On Saturday, Dec. 4, Saint Francis played its most recent home game – a 101-92 win over previously unbeaten Kent State. Now, 37 days, eight games, five states and (most importantly) four wins later, the Red Flash wrap up their longest road trip of the season at Mount St. Mary's on Monday. With four wins already in hand, Saint Francis can finish no worse than .500 on the trip and its only three losses came to a pair of top-25 teams (WVU & Syracuse) and Duquesne, which has an RPI in the top-25.