LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 5, 2015) – A large run in the first half and Aisha Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy)'s 24 point explosion led the Saint Francis U women's basketball team over Robert Morris, 71-68, on Monday evening to give SFU its first Northeast Conference win of the season.

The Red Flash (2-11, 1-1) was trailing 13-10 with 13:10 to play in the opening half before embarking on a 20-4 run. The burst put SFU up 13 and they never would surrender the lead to the Colonials (3-10, 1-1) for the remainder of the game. Brock tied a career-high with 24 points as she shot 4-of-5 from three-point land to go along with seven rebounds.

"We needed that win very much. It was a great team effort for us," said SFU head coach Joe Haigh.

Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk), the nation's fifth leading scorer, finished with 12 points mainly because of the free throw line as she connected on 6-of-8. Hayward picked up two early fouls and was forced to play just four minutes in the opening half. Rochelle Reece (Ajax, Ontario, Canada/Pickering) knocked in two step-back triples during SFU's run along with Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) hitting a triple and the Flash finished 8-of-14 from downtown in half one. Saint Francis led 40-27 at the break.

"We had Alexa [Hayward] pick up two early fouls so for our team to respond like that is huge for us," Haigh continued.

Coming out of halftime, Robert Morris erased the lead to single digits about five minutes in after a lay-up from Anna Niki Stamolamprou. The Red Flash defense held RMU's leading scorer to just five field goal attempts.

Saint Francis extended its lead to as much as 16 at the 7:10 mark, before the Colonials went on a 22-9 run to make it uncomfortably close. Free throw shooting was essential for the Flash down the stretch and they shot 22 attempts from the charity stripe in the second period.

RMU trailed by just nine with 4:07 to play then neither team hit a basket for almost two minutes. SFU's lead then dwindled to just three points with 1:36 to play and the Colonials started fouling. Adila Gathers (Buffalo, N.Y./Tapestry Charter) made one of two free throw attempts and Hope Phillips (Marlton, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) did the same, which put SFU up 69-64 with less than 30 seconds to play.

Hayward knocked in two more free throws in the final 15 seconds and the Flash defense stood its ground on RMU's last attempt to tie the game.

Shaqeia Stokes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) finished with 15 points and five rebounds and went 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

Reece posted eight points to tie her career-high, while Cydney Smith (Port Tobacco, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) posted five points, eight rebounds, and three blocks off the bench. Phillips grabbed six rebounds for the FlashThe Red Flash hits the road on Saturday as it plays at Sacred Heart, tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.