FULL PREGAME RELEASE (pdf)

Saint Francis welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson to DeGol Arena on Saturday for the opening round of the 2011 Northeast Conference Championship Tournament.

The Red Flash – who have never met the Knights in postseason play – have won 11 of 12 games in Loretto this season and are currently riding a seven-game hot streak on their home floor.  FDU enters the quarterfinal matchup on the heels of back-to-back losses and have struggled to a 5-11 record away from Hackensack on the season.

The Knights and Flash split their regular season meetings in what were both tight contests.  Saint Francis prevailed in the year's first meeting on Jan. 15 but needed overtime to take a 73-70 game in the Stokes Center.  In Hackensack, FDU redeemed itself with a 62-58 win over the Red Flash on Feb. 19.

Saint Francis is eying its first 20-win season since the 2004-05 season.  The Red Flash are 36-6 all-time in Northeast Conference Tournament play and have won five of six league tournament games under the tutelage of NEC Coach of the Year Susan Robinson Fruchtl.

An SFU win could also tie the program record for home wins in a season.


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 14-4 record in Northeast Conference play, Saint Francis is currently ranked 90th.  The NEC's next highest RPI belongs to Monmouth (95).


RED?FLASH?FANS OFFICIALLY THE?NEC'S BEST
Despite ranking among the smallest Division I institutions in the country, Saint Francis has outdrawn every other school in the Northeast Conference in terms of attendance.  A total of 7,753 fans have come through the turnstiles at home games this season (646/game).  The paid attendance has twice topped 1,000 fans this year – Dec. 1's date with Pittsburgh drew 1,237, while the Robert Morris game drew 1,214.


FLASH FARING WELL IN CLOSE GAMES
With the exception of Jan. 29th's three-point setback at Sacred Heart, the Red Flash have fared reasonably well in close games this season.  SFU is 3-1 in four games decided by three points or fewer and is 2-0 in two overtime tilts this season.


LILLEY AMONG NCAA ASSIST LEADERS, IN LINE TO SCORE 1,000th
Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park)'s 15 assists against Kent State tied for the third-most in an NCAA?Division I game so far this season.  As of March 3, her 5.2 helpers per contest also ranked 30th in the country and led the Northeast Conference.  With 936 career points, the junior stands an excellent chance to become SFU's 21st millennial scorer.


ROBINSON FRUCHTL ADVANCES ON CAREER WINS LIST
Saint Francis head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl earned her 57th career victory with Feb. 28's triumph over Mount St. Mary's, catching up to her predecessor Jill Poe (2003-07) in career wins.  Poe went 57-62 in her four seasons at the helm.


ROOKIE WILLIAMS SHOWING 'FLASHES OF?GREATNESS'
Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) per coach Robinson Fruchtl has shown 'flashes of greatness' on several occasions throughout the year.  The freshman has averaged 10.5 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.  She has two double-doubles this season with the most recent coming vs. RMU on Feb. 12 (18 pts/10 reb).  With 174 boards, she is currenly SFU's no. two rebounder.


Leach IN?SIXTH SPOT ON SFU SCORING LIST
With 1,555 career points, Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) currently stands in sixth place on the SFU all-time scoring list.  Leach became the school's seventh 1,500-point scorer by tossing in 25 points at Fairleigh Dickinson (2/19/11).  The 5-10 guard also became the 19th Red Flash player to break the 1,000-point barrier with her first bucket of 2010 NEC title game at Long Island.


RED FLASH RAMPING UP HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
With an 11-1 record at DeGol Arena the Red Flash have clinched a winning record at home for the third consecutive season. Saint Francis compiled 8-5 records in Loretto in 2009-10 and 2008-09.  SFU is 31-21 at home under Susan Robinson Fruchtl and is 26-11 at DeGol Arena over the past three seasons.  SFU's record for home wins in a season is 12.


Magic Numbers
Move over, three.  The Red Flash are 12-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season.  Conversely, Saint Francis is winless (0-7) when being held to 60 points or fewer.  SFU is also 12-0 when outscoring an opponent in the paint and is (nonsensically) 4-0 against NEC competition when being outrebounded.


DALY CLIMBS TO 13th PLACE?ON?SCORING LIST
With 1,136 points, senior Allison Daly (Harrisburg, Pa./Trinity) currently ranks 14th on the Saint Francis career socring list.  By scoring an even 14 points in Jan. 10's 75-62 win over Mount St. Mary's, Daly became Saint Francis' 20th 1,000-point scorer.