BOX SCORE POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

LORETTO, Pa. (Feb. 17, 2014) – Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) flirted with a triple-double and tied her career-high with 40 points as she led the Saint Francis University women's basketball team to a 88-83 win over Central Connecticut State on Monday night inside the Stokes Athletic Center.

Williams also finished with 15 rebounds and six steals for the Red Flash (11-14, 9-5), who officially clinched an NEC tournament berth with the win. Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) added 17 points and a career-high eight assists. Jessica Babe posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils (9-14, 3-10).

"This was a big win for us, every time we play Central Connecticut we know it is going to be a very physical game," SFU head coach Joe Haigh.

Saint Francis trailed by eight early in the contest, but once it made its run to tie the game at 25, SFU never trailed again.

Aisha Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy) broke the tie with back-to-back triples and SFU eventually extended its lead to 14 with under a minute to play in the first period. The Frankies led 54-42 at the halftime break.

"Tonight we played closer to our style of basketball and we got more possessions," Haigh continued.

Central Connecticut battled back in the first portion of the second period, narrowing SFU's lead to just one with 11:05 to play. Saint Francis then embarked on a 15-3 run to give the Flash an 81-68 advantage with less than five minutes to play.

The Blue Devils again cut the deficit after a 13-3 run and trailed by just three with under a minute to play. Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) and Alli Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) each knocked down both of their free throw attempts to put the game away for the Red Flash.

Saint Francis won the rebounding battle, 46-44, and led the turnover situation by only committing 16 and forcing 18. CCSU held the significant advantage in bench scoring at 37-8.

Rebecca Keegan (Jessup, Pa./Valley View) added 12 points and four blocks for SFU.

Saint Francis hits the road for its final two away games of the regular season, the first stop at St. Francis Brooklyn for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday. The Terriers won the first meeting in Loretto on Feb. 10, 90-76.