FULL PREGAME RELEASE (pdf)
Saint Francis opens a difficult stretch run to the 2011-12 regular season on Saturday when it visits first place Sacred Heart for a 3 p.m. game.
A Red Flash win would give fifth-year head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl her 50th career Northeast Conference victory, but also exercise ghosts that predate her tenure in Loretto. Not since the 2004-05 season has SFU defeated the Pioneers in Fairfield.
Both squads have won seven of their last 10 games. SFU won its past two contests to clinch its fourth consecutive winning record at home and its 17th double-digit conference win total in 19 seasons.
Sacred Heart suffered a split against the NEC's Brooklyn contingent last week, surviving a scare at St. Francis College before dropping a, 74-68, decision at LIU Brooklyn on Monday.
The Pioneers hold an 12-8 edge in the all-time series against the Flash, including last season's contest in Fairfield, Conn. SFU claimed the teams' only matchup two seasons ago, 77-64. Saint Francis has managed only two wins in the teams' last 10 meetings.
Next up for the Red Flash is a Monday trip to Quinnipiac. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
