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LORETTO, Pa. (Feb. 2, 2015) – In yet another game that came right down to the wire, Saint Francis U fell short against Bryant, 73-71, on Monday evening in Loretto.

The Red Flash had a chance with less than a second to go, but Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh)'s shot missed to the right and the Bulldogs escaped with their second straight win against SFU inside DeGol Arena. What got us to that point however was very exciting as SFU trailed by six with 1:09 to go.

Aisha Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy) buried a 3-pointer and the SFU defense forced a missed lay-up by Bryant, which meant the Flash had possession down by three. Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) then converted on a tough lay-up to force a Bulldogs timeout.

It was Hayward again who nailed one of her five triples with six seconds to go to tie the game at 71. A blocking foul was called against Cydney Smith (Port Tobacco, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) with just over a second to play resulting in two made free throws from the Bulldogs. Hayward finished with 30 points to lead all scorers and shot 71% from downtown. It was her sixth time reaching the 30-point plateau in 2014-15.

"Missed free throws and Bryant's offensive rebounding hurt us bad tonight. We fought hard until the end and Aisha [Brock] and Alexa [Hayward] made some big shots for us down the stretch," SFU head coach Joe Haigh said.

SFU struggled from the charity stripe, shooting just 14-of-24 from the line. Saint Francis forced 28 turnovers in the game, with 14 coming from the Bulldogs in each half of play. Bryant however out-rebounded the Flash, 53-37, which included 17 offensive boards. The game went back and forth many times as there were 13 tied scores and 14 lead changes.

SFU started out well in the opening half as they held Bryant to only one point for the first four minutes of play. The Bulldogs quickly erased the deficit after an 11-3 run and led 14-8 at the 12:13 mark. The Red Flash led by six after an Adila Gathers (Buffalo, N.Y./Tapestry Charter) lay-up with two minutes left. Bryant followed by closing the gap to just two at the break, SFU led 30-28 at halftime.

Neither team scored for over two minutes to begin the second half and neither squad held more than a two-point advantage until Bryant went up by four with under eight to play.

Brock finished with 14 for SFU as her and Hayward were the only two in double-figures for the Flash. Shaqeia Stokes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) posted five points and five rebounds off the bench in her first game back after missing four games due to an injury.

Saint Francis makes the first of two treks to New York to play LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.

"We have eight games left in Northeast Conference play and we have to have a plan to win most of them," Haigh continued.