LIVE STATS - VIDEO STREAM - AUDIO STREAM

GAME NOTES

LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 27, 2013) – The Saint Francis University women's basketball team looks to end its four-game home stand Monday on a positive note against in-state rival Robert Morris at 7 p.m. in DeGol Arena.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Saint Francis Red Flash (10-8, 5-2 NEC) vs.
Robert Morris Colonials (4-14, 3-4 NEC)
Where: DeGol Arena – Loretto, Pa.
When: Monday | 7 p.m.
ALL-TIME: Saint Francis 37-20
LAST TIME: RMU 92, SFU 82 – March 3, 2012
 
BROADCAST INFO:
Video Web Stream – NECFrontRow.com
Audiostream: ESPNWilliamsport.com
Broadcasters: Joe Vesnesky (play-by-play) and Bernie Jubeck (color)
  
SETTING THE STAGE
Saint Francis looks to end its four-game home stand on a positive note Monday against in-state conference rival Robert Morris. SFU opened NEC play 4-0 before falling to both Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac but the Flash rebounded with a big home win against Wagner Saturday. Robert Morris got a big win Saturday against Mount St. Mary's ending a four-game losing skid for the Colonials. RMU opened conference play with wins against CCSU and Bryant but then went winless until Saturday. The Colonials come into Monday's meeting with a 4-14 record and a mark of 1-9 on the road. The Red Flash boast a 5-3 record at home this season and led the all-time series 37-20. The last time the two teams met Robert Morris knocked off SFU 92-82 in the first round of the NEC Tournament last season. SFU enters Monday's meeting ranked second in the league in scoring offense while RMU ranks ninth in scoring offense. The contest will also be a showdown between NEC Player of the Year candidates, SFU's Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and RMU's Artemis Spanou.
 
Williams looks to continue her strong 2012-13 season Monday against Robert Morris. Williams enters the meeting with the in-state conference rival Colonials leading the NEC in scoring and ranking as one of four players in the NEC averaging a double-double. Williams also comes into Monday's meeting ranked second in the NEC in steals and first in conference action in thefts. Nickia Gibbs (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) sits second on the Flash in scoring average with a mark of 11.2 points a game. Shene Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) stands second on the team in rebounding averaging 6.6 per game and enters Monday fourth on the team in scoring. Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk)  comes off a season-high four steal performance Saturday and sits second on the team in 3-point makes with 28 connections.
 
Robert Morris started the season with 10 consecutive losses before closing non-conference action with a win on the road against Kent State. Since the slow start, RMU has a 4-4 record led by Spanou, who ranks first in the nation in rebounding. Spanou comes to Loretto averaging 18.6 points a game and 14.4-rebounds a contest. The forward also leads the Colonials in assists with 52 and steals with 40. Lou Mataly sits second on RMU in scoring averaging 10.2 points a contest. Mataly also stands as the top 3-point threat for the Colonials with 44 makes and a 37.3 3-point field goal percentage. Ashley Ravelli also shoots well from 3-point range with 36 makes and a 36.0 3-point field goal percentage.      
 
“STEAL” ER NATION
Three players in the state of Pennsylvania entered the week ranked in the top five nationally in steals per game. Jocelyn Floyd of Duquesne, Alex Bentley of Penn State and Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) of the Red Flash all sit in the top five nationally in steals per game. Floyd leads the nation in steals per game while Williams ranks first in the nation in steals per game by a forward. Williams boasts 68-total thefts on the season and needs 37-more steals to match Maureen Logan's single-season school record. Williams racked up 89 total steals last season and the junior is tied for sixth in career steals at SFU.  
 
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.
 
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 also hit the 200-career steal mark. The junior now ranks as just the third player in school history to total 1,000-points, 600-rebounds and 200 steals in her career joining Beth Swink and Jess Zinobile. Williams currently ranks 15th all-time at SFU in scoring (1,144), 12th in rebounding (671) and 6th in steals (203). Williams is not the only current SFU student-athlete in the 1,000-point club, as Brittany Lilley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) sits 19th on the all-time scoring list with 1,075-points. Lilley also sits eighth in SFU history in assists with 352.
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 – The Red Flash have used just one starting line-up this season.
 
5 – Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) tallied a career-high five assists Saturday against Wagner, prior to Saturday she had not tallied more than two assists in a game.
 
7 – Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) enters Monday with a streak of seven consecutive double-doubles.
 
10 – Rebecca Keegan (Jessup, Pa./Valley View) missed matching a season-high in points Saturday by just one, as she racked up 10 points against Wagner.
 
26 – Williams currently holds a streak of 26 consecutive games with a steal and the junior forward has tallied a steal in every game this season.
 
31 – Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) has tallied a point in 31 consecutive games for the Red Flash.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Francis returns to the road with a pair of games in Brooklyn. The Flash take on LIU Brooklyn Feb. 2 before meeting St. Francis Brooklyn Feb. 4.