LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 18, 2014) – A slow start to the second half plagued the Saint Francis U women's basketball team as it suffered a setback to the University at Buffalo, 88-80, on Tuesday evening inside DeGol Arena.

The Red Flash (0-2) trailed by just two at halftime, but went 3:38 without a field goal in the early stages of the second period. After SFU battled back to within three points they were again held scoreless for over four minutes midway through half two and the Bulls (1-1) capitalized with a 10-0 run.

The Bulls extended its lead to as much as 17 in the second period, but Saint Francis managed a late comeback scoring nine points over the final 2:30 to get the deficit down to single digits. Buffalo held the advantage in rebounding by a large margin, 69-46.

"Buffalo is a very physical team and they are strong inside, they won the rebounding battle and we didn't match their physicality tonight," said SFU head coach Joe Haigh.

Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) struggled to get into a shooting rhythm, but still managed to put up 24 points and she dished out a career-high 15 assists, which ranks second all-time in a single game at Saint Francis. Freshman Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) reached double-figures for the second straight game as the rookie notched 13 points.

It was a back-and-forth game for nearly 10 minutes of play in the opening half before the Red Flash went on a 9-0 run sparked by a Kamari Talley (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) lay-in. UB followed suit with a 9-0 run of its own and retook the lead 30-28 with 7:22 to go in the first frame.

Corissa Archer (Clermont, Fla./East Ridge) made a lay-up off a beautiful pass from Brooklyn Taylor (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) to regain the lead for SFU with five minutes remaining in half one. Shaqeia Stokes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) ended up with three "and-1" opportunities for the Flash, with two of them coming in the first period, shifting momentum both times.

Mackenzie Loesing, who led all scorers with 26 points, converted a lay-up and foul shot to give Buffalo the 45-43 halftime advantage.

Stokes finished with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Archer added 10 points and four rebounds. Wynn posted five steals in the game.

Saint Francis hosts East Tennessee State on Friday for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Red Flash won the meeting last season in Johnson City, 92-79.