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LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 18, 2013) – The Saint Francis University women's basketball team opens a four-game home stand at DeGol Arena Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. tipoff against Sacred Heart.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Saint Francis Red Flash (9-6, 4-0 NEC) vs.
Sacred Heart Pioneers (9-7, 1-3 NEC)
Where: DeGol Arena – Loretto, Pa.
When: Saturday | 11:30 a.m.
ALL-TIME: Sacred Heart leads 13-8
LAST TIME: SFU 61, SHU 66 – Feb. 25, 2012
 
BROADCAST INFO:
Video Web Stream – www.ESPN3.com
WatchESPN Application
TV - ESPN Fullcourt
Broadcasters: Paul Dottino (play-by-play), Phyllis Mangina (color) and Dave Popkin (sideline)
 
Audiostream: ESPNWilliamsport.com
Broadcasters: Joe Vesnesky (play-by-play) and Bernie Jubeck (color)
 
MAKING THE GRADE
Highlighted by an impressive 35 perfect 4.0 grade-point-averages, 294 Saint Francis University student-athletes have been named to the Athletic Department's Fall 2012 Academic Honor Roll. Red Flash athletes must earn a GPA of 3.0 or high for inclusion on the list. Women's basketball placed two of the 35 perfect 4.0 GPA as both Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) and Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) earned unblemished grade point averages in the fall.
 
The department also recognized the 125 Red Flash who posted a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Saint Francis student-athletes stretched their string of semesters with a GPA of 3.0-or-higher to 28 – a run spanning 14 years. The Red Flash posted a collective 3.122 GPA for the fall semester. Men's golf was the top men's team with a cumulative GPA of 3.411, while field hockey led the way for the women with a GPA of 3.483. Women's swimming posted five perfect 4.0's on the list, the most of any sport.
 
ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
Things on top of the mountain have been good for the Red Flash this season against Northeast Conference foes. Entering the weekend, SFU owns a record of 23-9-2 against Northeast Conference foes in Loretto in all sports in the 2012-13 season. During the regular season both the women's soccer and field hockey teams went undefeated during the NEC regular season at home and football posted just one loss. Women's basketball has started the season well at home with a 2-0 record against NEC adversaries and an overall mark of 4-1 in Loretto.
 
STOP THIEF
Junior forward Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) leads the Red Flash this season in points, rebounds and steals. The Altoona, Pa. native ranks fourth in the nation in steals per game and sits first nationally in steals by a forward. Williams leads the NEC in steals per game in Northeast Conference play. The forward posted a NEC single game-high total this season of nine steals against FDU.
 
FOR THE RECORD
Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) has cracked several key career statistical plateaus this season including recording her 1,000th point and 600th rebound. Williams sits just four steals away from picking up her 200th career steal. Once she hits the 600-steal mark, the junior would become just the third player in the school history to total 1,000-points, 600-rebounds and 200 steals in her career joining Beth Swink and Jess Zinobile. Williams currently ranks 18th all-time at SFU in scoring (1,076), 12th in rebounding (632) and 9th in steals (194). Williams is not the only current SFU student-athlete in the 1,000-point club, as Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) sits 20th on the all-time scoring list with 1,061-points. 
 
SETTING THE STAGE
Saint Francis opens a four-game home stand Saturday with its first nationally televised game of the season. The Flash opens the home stand against the defending Northeast Conference Champion Sacred Heart. SFU posted a 5-6 record in non-conference play and started the NEC action with a perfect 4-0 record. The Flash posted home wins against Bryant and CCSU before going on the road last weekend and picking up wins against FDU and Monmouth. The Flash bring in the second highest scoring offense in NEC play averaging 69.8-points a game, while Sacred Heart ranks 12th in the NEC in scoring offense averaging just 52.5 a contest. The Pioneers also rank 12th in field goal percentage (32.4-percent), but the Flash sit third in NEC action in field goal percentage (41.0-percent). The Red Flash also sits second in 3-point percentage (39.2-percent) while also holding the top 3-point field goal defense in league play.        
 
Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle), through the first two weekends of NEC play, stands as the leading scorer in league action and second in overall scoring. Williams enters the weekend averaging 18.5 points a game and 10.5 rebounds. The junior has claimed a pair of College Madness NEC Player of the Week awards in the first two weeks of conference play. Since the start of conference action the Altoona, Pa. native has averaged 21.5 points a game, 11.8 rebounds and 5.5 steals a game. Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) sits second on the Flash in scoring averaging 12.1 points a contest and comes off one of her best weekends of the season. Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) stands as the top 3-point threat for the Flash with 27 3-point makes on the season and a 35.5 3-point percentage. Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) sits second on the team in rebounds averaging 6.5 a contest. The redshirt junior owns a pair of double-doubles on the season including one in her last home game against CCSU. Rebecca Keegan (Jessup, Pa./Valley View) stands as one of the key reserves for SFU averaging 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a game off the bench.
 
Sacred Heart posted an 8-4 record in non-conference action with wins against Boston College, Lehigh and Yale. Since entering conference play, the Pioneers have struggled and own a mark of 1-3 with their only win coming at home against LIU Brooklyn. Gabriel Washington leads the Pioneers in scoring averaging 16.1 points a contests and 4.2 rebounds a game. Morgan Merriman lies second on the team in both points and rebounds averaging 12.6 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest. Enjoli Bland leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.4 a game, but she only averages 2.9 points a game. Blair Koniszewski stands as the top 3-point threat for the Pioneers with 32 makes on the season and she also stands the top scorer off the bench for SHU. 
 
BESTED BY THE BENCH
The Red Flash has received some good performances from its bench so far this season and SFU enters the game with Sacred Heart averaging 14.6-points a game in bench scoring. The Flash have been feast or famine in defending opponents' benches. Three times this season, SFU has limited its opponents' benches to fewer than 10 points including a shutout of Howard's bench in the season opener. However, thrice this season SFU has allowed an opponents' bench to score more than 40. After allowing more than 40 points to both Wright State's and Notre Dame's bench the Flash have held their last four opponents' benches under 23 points. The Flash got a balanced showing from the bench against FDU with six-point showings from Rebecca Keegan (Jessup, Pa./Valley View) and Robin Perkins (Willingboro, N.J./Trenton Catholic). Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) also played strong in the FDU game logging 17 minutes with two points, four rebounds and two assists. The SFU bench only tallied six points at Monmouth.    
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
.259 - SFU leads the NEC in 3-point field goal defense by only allowing only 64 of 252. Against FDU, the Flash allowed just one 3-point make on 18 attempts by the Knights.
 
1 – Sacred Heart holds a 6-1 record at home this season, but enters the weekend with just one road win on the season. The sole road win of the season for SHU came at Lehigh Dec. 20.
 
3 – After being slow by a back injury for three games, Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) knocked down three 3-pointers against Monmouth.
 
6 – Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) needs just six steals to become the seventh player in school history to record 600 career rebounds.
 
10 - After making just one 3-pointer in her first five games, Brooklyn Taylor (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) has connected on 10 3-pointers in her seven games. 
 
11.67 – The Red Flash rank second in the NEC in steals per game averaging 11.67 swipes a contest. Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) ranks. Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) ranks fourth nationally in steals per game averaging 3.93. 
 
18 – Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) racked up an average of 18 points a game last weekend in New Jersey and posted a season-high 19 points against FDU.   
 
18 – Bonus – Since the start of the Northeast Conference play Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) has racked up 18 assists for a 4.5 assist per game average.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Francis will face Quinnipiac Monday at 7 p.m. in DeGol Arena in the second game of a four-game stand.