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Saint Francis looks to finish off a season sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson after winning a nail-biter against the Knights back on Jan. 15.  The Red Flash needed overtime to earn a 73-70 win over FDU at DeGol Arena. 

The Knights have struggled since their first meeting with the Red Flash 10 games ago.  Since the close loss in Loretto, Fairleigh Dickinson has won only two of nine games and is currently on a two-game slide.  FDU was 10-5 overall and 3-1 in NEC play entering the game 17 meeting.

The Red Flash, on the other hand, have won seven of their past nine and enter Saturday's meeting with a legitimate shot at a 20-win season and the program's first regular season league title since the 2004-05 campaign.

Saint Francis is also looking to extend its current winning streak to six games.

The Flash are 29-18 all-time against the Knights, who enter the weekend's action in eighth place in the NEC with a 5-9 record.  SFU won 20 of 22 meetings between 1993 and 2006 but since then, FDU has taken five of nine decisions.  Susan Robinson Fruchtl's Flash are 4-3 against the Knights.


NEXT UP: MONMOUTH
Saint Francis faces a tough draw on Monday when it visits 17-8 Monmouth for a 7 p.m. game.  Monmouth is currently 9-5 in NEC play, and is the only team to defeat the Red Flash in Loretto this season.  The Hawks and Flash have tangled 51 times with Monmouth holding a one-game edge.  Susan Robinson Fruchtl is 3-4 against Monmouth, with SFU's most recent victory coming in quarterfinal round of last season's NEC Tournament.


RED FLASH NEC'S RPI LEADER
The NCAA released its first official RPI rankings on Jan. 2 where the Red Flash debuted at 132.  However, after rolling to an 12-2 record in Northeast Conference play, Saint Francis is currently ranked 88th.  The NEC's next highest RPI belongs to Sacred Heart (128).


'Game of the Week' on tap at Monmouth
The Red Flash's match up at Monmouth on February 21 will be the NEC's Women's Basketball Game of the Week on NortheastConference.TV. Pack Network will produce the live video webcast.  Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.


Leach named to Capital One Academic All-District® Team
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) has been named to 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-District II® Women's Basketball First Team.  Leach will now advance to the national Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot. An elementary/special education major, Leach has compiled a 3.55 GPA during her academic career. A student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 to be eligible for nomination to the All-District ballot. CoSIDA's District II is comprised of Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.


LILLEY RANKS AMONG NATION'S LEADERS
Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park)'s 15 assists against Kent State tied for the second-most in an NCAA?Division I game so far this season.  As of Feb. 10, her 5.4 helpers per contest also ranked 22nd in the country and leads the Northeast Conference.


ROBINSON FRUCHTL NOTCHES 50th WIN
Saint Francis head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl earned her 50th career win with Jan. 24th's victory, 72-60, victory over St. Francis (N.Y.).  Looking ahead, Robinson Fruchtl needs two wins to catch her predecessor Jill Poe (2003-07) in career wins.  Poe went 57-62 in her four seasons at the helm.


FRESHMAN WILLIAMS HEATING UP
Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) has averaged 10.6 points per game since exploding for 29 points against Kent State on Dec. 4.  After joining the starting lineup a game later in place of injured Shené Fleming, Williams scored 22 points at Howard and also had a strong outing at Duquesne, scoring 13.  She has two double-doubles this season with the most recent coming vs. RMU on Feb. 12 (18 pts/10 reb).  With 158 boards, she is currenly SFU's no. two rebounder.


DEEP THREATS LEACH, DALY PACE POTENT PERIMETER OFFENSE
As of Friday's NCAA Statistical report, the Flash can stake claim to the country's 40th-best three-point field goal percentage.  Shooting a collective 35.2 percent (160-for-455), Saint Francis is paced from long range by the NEC's three-point leader Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity).  Daly is shooting 38.8 percent (62-for-160) from the arc.  Senior Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace), who converts at a 43.2 percent (48-for-111) clip, is close behind.


SFU'S STRUGGLES AT THE LINE CONTINUE
The Red Flash have struggled from the free throw line this season, converting on only 322 of 508 (62.8%) opportunities through 25 contests.  Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) is currently SFU's strongest option from the line, converting 87 of 101 attempts (86.1 percent) on the season.  Saint Francis' best FT shooter, however, may be Rhonda Watts (Alabaster, Ala./Thompson) who shot 94 percent from the foul line in high school.  Watts is sitting out the 2010-11 campaign after transferring from VCU.


LEACH MOVES INTO SEVENTH SPOT ON SFU SCORING LIST
Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) earned more than a championship in last season's NEC title game at Long Island.  The 5-10 guard also became the 19th Red Flash player to break the 1,000-point barrier with her first bucket of the game.  With 1,484 career points, she currently ranks seventh on the SFU all-time scoring list and is in line to become the school's seventh 1,500-point scorer.