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LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 11, 2011) – The Saint Francis University women's basketball team took nearly 10 minutes to shake off its offseason rust and came all the way back in the second half, but Duquesne was able to hang on for a, 74-70, win at DeGol Arena on Friday evening.

The Red Flash found itself down by 19 just over six minutes into the game – thanks mostly to a 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the Duke's Alex Gensler during that span – before climbing back into the game.

Sophomore Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and junior Rhonda Watts (Alabaster, Ala./Thompson) poured in 13 and 11 points, respectively, in the opening period to pull the Flash to within five at the 4:17 mark.  The Dukes held a 45-36 edge at the intermission after an Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) layup was taken off the board after an official replay.

“You eliminate the first 10 minutes or so and we came to play after that,” said SFU head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl, who fell to 1-4 against Duquesne.  “You just cannot get yourself in that big of a hole.”

“I think our kids showed a lot of character, a lot of guts, a lot of heart to come back and to actually take a lead.  I learned a lot as a coach (about our team).”

Saint Francis came out on fire in the second half, behind hot shooting from Watts, Williams and Hayward.  Back-to-back three-pointers by Hayward capped a half-opening 15-to-3 run that gave the Flash its first lead of the night, 51-48, with 12:35 to play.

The Dukes and Flash traded shots and leads for the next six minutes before a Wumi Agunbiade layup gave Duquesne the lead and Gensler hit a decisive three with 4:27 on the clock.  SFU twice pulled within two but could get no closer as its oldest intersectional rival came away with the win.

An opening night crowd of 1,052 had plenty to cheer about with four Saint Francis players hitting double-digit scoring totals.  Williams led the Flash with 22, Watts threw in 17, while Hayward and senior Sarah Thorn (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) scored 15 and 12, respectively.  Playing in her first collegiate contest, Hayward hit 5-of-7 from three-point range.

Gensler led both squads with 33.

Saint Francis returns to action on Tuesday when it visits Pittsburgh for a 7 p.m. contest.