BOX SCORE

LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 27, 2011) – Saint Francis put in a solid all-around effort as it downed Bucknell, 70-53, in women's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at DeGol Arena.  The win was the second in as many games for the Red Flash, which upped its record to 2-3.

Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle), once again, stole the show for the Flash.  The sophomore clinched her fifth career double-double by the intermission en route to a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds.

As a team, the Red Flash shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor and showed a new aptitude for taking care of the ball, as evidenced by its 12 turnovers – or half of its average through the season's first four games.

Bucknell (1-6) struggled all day against the SFU defense and was held to 14 points in the first half.  The Bison committed two shot clock violations in the game's first four minutes and four on the night.

After a slow start by both squads, Saint Francis began to pull together offensively with three minutes to go in the first half.  With an 18-14 edge, Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) made a pair of free throws to kick off an 8-0 SFU run to end the period.

The 12-point, 26-14, advantage at the intermission also represented the largest lead of the season for the Red Flash.

Saint Francis held the Bison to 19 percent (4-of-21) shooting from the floor in the opening stanza, while shooting a modest 26.5 percent (9-of-34) on its own end.  Saint Francis did, however, manage to minimize the impact of its under-performing offense by limiting its first half turnovers to an impressive four.

The Flash took control of the game early in the second half, quickly pushing its lead to 20.  A 3-pointer by Hayward gave SFU its largest advantage of the night – 32 points – with 7:55 to play.

The huge lead gave Susan Robinson Fruchtl a chance to clear her bench, as all 14 active players on the Flash roster saw time.  All but three SFU players found their way onto the score sheet.

In addition to Williams, Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) also notched a double-digit scoring total with 10.  Hayward finished with nine.

Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday when it welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson to open Northeast Conference play.  The tip is set for 4 p.m.