BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 19, 2011) – A late first half run by Saint Joseph's proved pivotal as it downed Saint Francis, 83-53, Monday night at Hagan Arena.  The Hawks ended the night's opening period with a 21-to-3 run and held off a second half charge as the Red Flash fell to 4-5 on the season.

Katie Kuester led Saint Joseph's four double-digit scorers with 16 points.  Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) led the Flash, offensively, with 20 points, with Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) chipping in 10.

The Red Flash experienced a recurrence of the lackluster shooting it experienced eight days earlier against Towson, misfiring on its first nine attempts from the field while hitting at 22 percent in the opening half.

Kelley Doogan (Claymont, Del./Ursuline Academy) opened the Saint Francis scoring at the 16:25 mark by connecting on a free throw.  Down, 16-3, Williams scored the first SFU field goal – a layup – nearly five minutes into the game.

The Hawks (6-4), meanwhile, scored on their first four possessions to open with an 11-0 run and stayed hot for the remainder of the period, converting at a 53 percent clip, including 6-of-10 from long range.

An Allison Smith (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) midrange jumper from the right side made the score, 21-12 – SFU's slimmest deficit since the game's opening minutes.  Moments later, with 5:55 to play until the intermission, Hayward added in a jumper to pull the Flash to within eight, before the Hawks went on their game-changing run to make the score 48-21 at the half.

The Saint Francis defense shined for much of the second half, while the offense tallied the first six points of the second half to spark a 15-to-4 run.

It took the Flash just over 11 minutes to equal its first half scoring total, but it held Saint Joseph's to only nine points during that same span.  It wasn't until the 7:42 mark that the Hawks managed to reach double digits.

The SJU offense did break through in the final minutes of the second half to ice the Flash comeback attempt.  Saint Francis shot 39 percent in the half to up its percentage to 30 on the evening, but it was 1-of-12 from behind the arc.

The Flash battled the entire night, as evidenced by its 48-to-41 edge on the boards.  However, its 22 turnovers (which led to 26 SJU points) and 11 missed free throws proved too much to overcome.

Saint Francis returns to action on Wednesday when it visits Coppin State for a 6 p.m. contest.