FULL PREGAME RELEASE (pdf)

Saint Francis welcomes Towson to DeGol Arena on Saturday afternoon with a chance to put the finishing touches on a perfect four-game homestand.  The Red Flash enters the game on the heels of four consecutive wins, while the Tigers have won their last two games.

SFU opened its Northeast Conference slate on a high note last weekend, riding a pair of stellar defensive efforts to turn back Fairleigh Dickinson
and Monmouth.  The Flash offense is also beginning to hit its stride after scoring a season-high 82 points on Monday.  The combination of those factors has led to some lopsided Saint Francis wins – the squad's margin of victory over the past three games is north of 14 points.

The Tigers have also been on a roll as of late, coming up with five wins in its last six contests.  Towson edged Coppin State, 61-59, on the road on Wednesday.  Its only loss during that stretch was a, 92-31, setback at Connecticut on Nov. 30.

This is the second-straight season that SFU and Towson have locked horns.  Last year, the Tigers erased a double-digit first half deficit to down the Flash, 65-55.

SFU has an eight-day break for final exams before returning to action on Dec. 19 when it visits St. Joseph's for a 7 p.m. contest.


WILLIAMS EARNS SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD
For the second consecutive week, sophomore Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) has been named the Choice Hotels Northeast Conference Player of the Week.  The 6-0 forward followed up back-to-back 25-point performances by averaging a double-double last week in leading Saint Francis to a 2-0 start in NEC play.  Williams averaged 20.0 points and 10.5 rebounds during the Red Flash's two-game sweep of the NEC's Garden State contingent.  She shot 53 percent (15-of-28) from the field and logged six steals over the two-game sample.

OFFENSE FINDING CONSISTENCY AT HOME
Despite mixed results on the road, the Red Flash has turned in four of its more complete showings of the season at DeGol Arena en route to a 3-1 record on its home floor.  SFU is averaging over 72 PPG points in each of its first four home contests and has shot 40 percent or better from the floor in five of eight halves.

ALEXANDER TO BE HONORED IN PREGAME CEREMONY
Now in her 11th season with Towson, Coach Stacy Alexander holds a special place in Red Flash history.  In 1996, the Portage native was the leading scorer and a captain on the first of SFU's now-11 NEC Championship squads.  After a brief professional playing career, she returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach and helped lead the squad to back-to-back NEC titles and NCAA Tournament berths.  A three-time All-NEC performer and the 1994-95 NEC Player of the year, she ranks seventh on Saint Francis' career scoring list with 1,566 points and was inducted into the University's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.

2012-13 FRESHMAN CLASS UNVEILED
Susan Robinson Fruchtl announced on Dec. 8 that three future Red Flash student-athletes recently signed National Letters of Intent. Robin Perkins (Willingboro, Pa./Trenton Catholic Academy (N.J.)), Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) and Brooklyn Taylor (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) will all join the program for the 2012-13 campaign.  Perkins and Sparks are both ranked in the top 100, nationally, at their positions by ESPN.com, while at 6-0, Taylor will provide a large, versatile frame with a shooter's mentality.

GIBBS COMING ON
Junior Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) has stepped up for the Red Flash after stepping into the starting lineup in 2011-12.  The guard joins Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) the only two players to have started each game entering today's contest.  After entering the campaign with a career average of 3.6 PPG, she is averaging 11.7 PPG this season and has five double-digit scoring outputs.

TAKE IT TO OT
The Red Flash are 4-0 in extra frames over the past two seasons, including 1-0 in 2011-12.  Under Susan Robinson Fruchtl, SFU is 6-4 in overtime.  All-time, the Flash sports a 14-10 record in OT.  

SO FAR, NO 'SOPHOMORE SLUMP' FOR WILLIAMS
Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle), per coach Robinson Fruchtl, showed 'flashes of greatness' on several occasions throughout her rookie season.  As a freshman, she averaged over 10 points per game since exploding for 29 points against Kent State on Dec. 4, 2010 and finished the year with three double-doubles.  Through seven games in 2011-12, Williams has averaged 18.6 points per game to bring her career total up to 421.  Her game underneath has also improved, as she is averaging 8.9 boards per game – up from 6.2 a year ago.

HISTORIC GAME ON TAP
The Red Flash home game against Quinnipiac on Jan. 14, 2012 will be Saint Francis' 1,000th game in program history.

RED FLASH A 'TOUGH OUT' AT HOME
With an 14-1 record at DeGol Arena in 2010-11, the Red Flash set the program record for home wins in a season.  The previous high of 12 was set during the 1999-2000 season. Saint Francis compiled 8-5 records in Loretto in 2009-10 and 2008-09.  SFU is 36-22 at home under Susan Robinson Fruchtl and is 31-12 at DeGol Arena since the 2008-09 campaign.