BOX SCORE | POSTGAME MEDIA CONFERENCE | GAME PHOTOS | CELEBRATION PHOTOS
LORETTO, Pa. (March 13, 2011) – The Saint Francis University women's basketball team won its 11th Northeast Conference Championship at a raucous DeGol Arena on Sunday afternoon, 72-57, over Monmouth. But for all the tradition surrounding the Red Flash program, there was at least one first that took place in the 40-year-old arena.
“That's the first time I've ever heard of a Gatorade shower at a basketball game,” said SFU head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “But, they've waited a long time to do that. They earned it.”
Playing in their 14th-ever title game, the Red Flash used an efficient offense and a defense which caused 17 Monmouth turnovers to hold a comfortable advantage for much of the game. Saint Francis, on the other hand, committed a season-low nine turnovers and shot 44.6 (29-of-65) percent on the day.
SFU turned the ball over 25 times in the two regular season matchups between the teams, both Monmouth wins.
Pacing the Flash offense was Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) who scored 19 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds on her way to claiming tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
“It all started with Brittany,” said Robinson Fruchtl, who became the fourth coach in school history win back-to-back league titles. “She played a great tournament and is really growing as a point guard.”
“I thought we played extremely well from start to finish. We got the shots that we really worked on all week. Overall, it was just a tremendous effort.”
Saint Francis was deadly from the beyond the arc in the first half, converting on six of seven attempts (85.7 percent). Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) led the way from long range converting on all three of her attempts. She and Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) each tossed in a half-high nine points.
The Flash defense held the Hawks scoreless for the final 3:46 of the period while stretching their lead from five to a then game-high 12 points.
Back-to-back jumpers by Alysha Womack and Abby Martin to start the second half sparked a 10-to-2 Monmouth run that pulled the Hawks to within four with 14:46 to play. The Flash began the period hitting on just two of 16 attempts from the floor.
Saint Francis answered with a six minute 14-to-0 run that made the score 56-57. Six of those points came on Alexandra Williams layups. Williams led the SFU bench with 11 points and six rebounds.
Monmouth never seriously threatened after that.
Leach – a senior playing her final game in Loretto – tossed in 19 points and, in doing so, became the fifth player in program history to surpass the 1,600-point barrier. Daly – also a senior – chipped in 11 points.
Sophomore Shené Fleming (Dayton, Ohio, Chaminade-Julienne) pulled down a game- and career-high 13 rebounds on the night. The Red Flash out-rebounded the Hawks 41-to-32 on the afternoon.
With the league's automatic berth into the 2011 NCAA Tournament in hand, Saint Francis will learn its draw on Monday evening.
