BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | POSTGAME QUOTES

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (March 20, 2011) – Saint Francis University head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl knew her team could ill-afford a slow start against the favored Maryland Terrapins. However, the four-seed Terrapins scored the game's first 13 points, led by 23 at halftime and cruised to an opening-round 70-48 victory over the Red Flash on Sunday.

“I think you have to have a quick start,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “We had some turnovers early that led to some points off our turnovers and in transition for them. We just did not get out to a quick enough start to give us enough momentum to stay with them in the first half.”

Senior Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) finally got the Red Flash on the board at the 15:06 mark. Maryland then upped its lead to 23-2 before Leach scored from 3-point range with 8:49 left in the half.

Prior to that basket, Saint Francis was 1 for 13 with 10 turnovers.

After going into the locker room down, 40-17, the Red Flash did manage to regain their footing the second half, outscoring Maryland, 31-30, in the period.

“Credit Saint Francis, a lot of heart, scrappiness and fight, I thought in the second half they never quit,” said Maryland coach Brenda Frese. “I think they continued to play extremely hard and did some great things.”

Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) and Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) each scored 10 for 13th-seed Saint Francis, the Northeast Conference champions. Along the way, Lilley became SFU's 21st 1,000-point scorer – and the first player in program history to surpass the milestone in an NCAA Tournament game.

Freshman Alexandra Williams wrapped up a solid rookie campaign with a game-high-tying 10 boards to go along with eight points.

Making the last of her 98 consecutive starts, Leach chipped in nine points to up her career total to 1,624. The NEC Player of the Year ended her career ranked fifth on the schools' all-time scoring list.

Alyssa Thomas scored 10 of her game-leading 16 points in the first half for the Terrapins (24-7).

The Terrapins finished with a 49-32 rebounding advantage, forced 24 turnovers and limited Saint Francis to 31 percent shooting from the floor.

The game marked the final game on the collegiate hardwood for seniors Leach and Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) and Robinson Fruchtl was quick to credit them for their role in turning a six-win team in 2007-08 into a back-to-back conference champion and NCAA tournament qualifier.

“The kids played hard, they had a great season,” said Robinson Fruchtl, who concluded her fourth season in Loretto. “I can't say enough about Alli and Sam, what they have meant to this program, going through six wins their first year together to 22 this year, two conference championships and two trips to the NCAA tournament.”

Lilley seconded her coach's comments: “We did keep fighting. We never gave up this entire game and that's kudos, especially to [Leach and Daly] as our leaders.”