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Saint Francis welcomes Bucknell to DeGol Arena on Sunday afternoon to tipoff a season-long four-game homestand.  The Red Flash enters the contest on the heels of its first win of the year – an, 80-79, triumph over Akron – while the Bison are looking to right the ship after a 1-5 start.

Bucknell has dropped five straight contests since opening its season with a win against Saint Peter's on Nov. 11.  Most recently, the Bison fell short in a, 61-55, decision at Niagara on Friday.  Four of BU's five losses have been by six points or fewer.

In a series that dates back to the 1984 season, the Bison hold a sizeable 12-5 edge, including the teams' last two meetings in 2007 and 2008.  The series has been a toss up since the 1990-91 renewal, with each teams winning five matchups.

Saint Francis welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson to Loretto on Dec. 3, as it opens up Northeast Conference play.  The Red Flash took two of three meetings from the Knights a season ago.


DOOGAN TURNING IT ON
With 25 points through four games, junior Kelley Doogan (Claymont, Del./Ursuline Academy) has already surpassed her
scoring total of 23 from a season ago.  On Nov. 22 against Akron, the Claymont, Del. native responded to her first collegiate start by dropping a career-high 14 points.

RED FLASH PICKED TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE
The Northeast Conference Women's Basketball coaches have given Saint Francis University the moniker of NEC preseason favorite.  The two-time defending NEC champion Red Flash garnered four first-place nods in the poll of the conference's 12 head coaches.   Not since the 2004-05 season has the coaches' preseason favorite gone on to capture the NEC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field.  Saint Francis was actually the last Preseason No. 1 to go all the way when it won the last of its nine titles over a 10-season span (1996-2005).

WATTS MAKES STRONG SFU DEBUT
After sitting out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Rhonda Watts (Alabaster, Ala./Thompson) made an immediate impact in her first game for the Flash, throwing down 16 points against Duquesne.  Two games later she earned her first collegiate start.  Watts played her first two seasons at Virginia Commonwealth.  Prior to that,  she left Thompson High School as its all-time leading scorer with 1,757 points.  During her career, the Warriors won 72 games and two 6A Area Titles.  Watts averaged 17.4 ppg as a senior shot 94 percent from the free-throw line.

FREE THROW SHOOTING TRENDING UPWARD
After shooting just under 65 percent from the free throw line a season ago, the Red Flash has seen a notable improvement in the early goings of 2011-12.  SFU shot 89.5% (17-of-19) from the stripe against Akron on Nov. 22, besting its high-water mark from 2010-11 [88.2 % (15-of-17) at Toledo].