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LORETTO, Pa. (March 5, 2011) – A fresh Saint Francis women's basketball squad got off to a quick start offensively and played solid defense en route to a, 72-59, Northeast Conference Quarterfinal win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon at DeGol Arena.

“I think, going into this game, it really helped to be on spring break, to be honest with you,” said Red Flash head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. “It gave us a much-needed rest. After gutting it out last weekend and getting the top seed, I think our legs were a little heavy.”

The rejuvenated Red Flash seemed to get better as the game wore on, extending an 11-point halftime edge to a game-high 18 points with 6:41 to play in regulation.

SFU was led by junior point guard Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) who poured in a career-high 24 points and nabbed a game-high four steals for a Flash defense that caused 27 turnovers on the night.

“We came in fired up,” said Lilley. “We knew we split wins with them during the season. We weren't going to let them come in here and take a win on our court. We just took it to them and gave them all we had.”

Fairleigh Dickinson was frigid from the floor, converting on 20-of-65 attempts (30.8 percent) – including just 24.1 percent from 3-point range – as they struggled to gather momentum against an effective Saint Francis zone.

Saint Francis, on the other hand, executed efficiently on offense, firing at a 44.2 percent (23-of-52) clip.

“We shot very well in the first half – 50 percent,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “We kind of cooled off in the second, but I still think we got a lot of good shots.”

In addition to Lilley, Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, Ohio/Miami Trace) was the only other SFU player to score in double-figures. Her 16 points, however, were historic as the senior passed Stacy Alexander to climb into fifth place on the SFU career scoring list. Leach ended the game with 1,571 points.

Fairleigh Dickinson drew first blood in the contest with a Danielle Pankey 3-pointer, but SFU answered with a 20-to-5 run to jump out to a 12-point lead by the 12:45 mark. Lilley contributed eight points during run and scored 12 points in the first 12 minutes of play en route to a period-best 13.

Saint Francis extended its lead to 26-13 less than five minutes later, however the Knights responded to cut their deficit to seven (26-19) on a Pankey layup with 4:44 to go until the half. Pankey finished with a team-high 16 points.

SFU once again established a double-digit advantage (29-19) on a pair of Lilley free-throws and ended up heading to the locker room with a 33-22 lead.

The Red Flash improved to 37-6 all-time in NEC Tournament play and clinched their seventh 20-win season in program history. The Flash last reached the 20-win mark in 2004-05

Saint Francis will welcome Central Connecticut State – a 54-49 winner over Sacred Heart – to DeGol Arena on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.