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FAIRFIELD, CT- Saint Francis will tip off the 2017-18 Northeast Conference season this weekend with a pair of road games that starts with a marquee matchup at Sacred Heart on Friday afternoon with a 1 p.m. tip-off.

This is the second-straight season that the Red Flash and the Pioneers have met in Connecticut on the opening weekend of conference play. Last season, Sacred Heart walked away with a 73-63 victory at the Pitt Center, marking the fifth-straight time the Pioneers have defended their home court in this matchup.

ABOUT THE RED FLASH
The NEC's pre-season conference favorite, the Red Flash come into the start of conference play at 5-7 overall. Saint Francis comes into NEC play the conference leader in several categories on both sides of the ball. Head coach Joe Haigh's up-tempo style has the Red Flash 12 points per game clear of the next closest conference foe in terms of scoring offense as SFU averaged nearly 78 points per game in the non-con. This year's squad has also hit the glass hard, leading the NEC with nearly 41 rebounds per game. Friday's match-up will pit the Red Flash's top-ranked offensive rebounding versus Sacred Heart's top-ranked defensive rebounding team. The Red Flash have grabbed an offensive rebound 33 percent of the time through 12 games, good for second in the NEC. That's due in large part to Kyasia Duling (Zanesville, Ohio/New Albany (Duquesne)) who leading the NEC with nearly four offensive boards per game and Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)), who is fourth in the NEC with just under three offensive boards per game. The Red Flash defense has done a great job getting out into transition, leading the NEC in blocks at nearly five per game, in turnovers forced at 21 per game, and is second in steals at nearly 11 per game. The Red Flash will try to use their pressure to turn over a Pioneer team that turns it over just 13 times per game, tops in the Northeast Conference. Saint Francis may look to fuel their transition game via the block and defensive rebounding as Sacred Heart is last in the NEC with just 8 offensive rebounds per game. That pressure will also have to key on Erin Storck, who has stepped up this season to average nearly 15 points per game to lead the team and is fourth in the NEC and tops on the Pioneers from distance, connecting on 43 percent of her tries.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart was picked fourth in the Northeast Conference and comes into Friday's match up at 4-7 overall. The Pioneers sport the league's second-best scoring offense at nearly 66 points per game. They've done so with a balanced offense that features four players averaging double figures. Forward Katherine Haines has been a difference maker, averaging a double double this season, but she's started just four games. Guard Candace Leatherwood has scored in double figures in her last three games while dishing out over five assists in each contest, she's averaging nearly 15 points and 5 assists in eight games this season. This is an offense that averages just 60 shot attempts per game, compared to nearly 75 for the Red Flash. They have done an efficient job scoring, making nearly 40 percent of their shots on the season, good for fourth in the NEC.

FOLLOW ALONG
All Northeast Conference games are streamed on NEC Front Row. Sacred Heart will also provide live stats for the games. You can also follow the Red Flash on Twitter for live updates.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Flash are right back at it on Sunday at Fairleigh Dickinson, tip time is Sunday at 2 p.m.