Women's Basketball 11/4/2019 12:27:00 PM David Halstead

Red Flash open 2019-20 season at Virginia Tech Tuesday night

Blacksburg, Va. – Saint Francis women's basketball tips off the 2019-20 campaign at Virginia Tech on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Scouting Virginia Tech
The Hokies were picked 10th in the 2019-20 ACC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Virginia Tech advanced to the third round of the WNIT last season before falling to James Madison, 70-66 on March 28, 2019.

Graduate transfer Taja Cole was named to the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award watch list for the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Cole averaged 11 points, 5.3 rebounds and an SEC-best 7 assists a season ago in 2018-19 at Georgia.

Head coach Kenny Brooks has two daughters on the team in senior Kendyl Brooks and redshirt freshman Chloe Brooks. It was announced that Kendyl will miss the 2019-20 season as she recovers from a hip injury. Kendyl was the team's lone four-year player
and ranks fourth all-time at Virginia Tech in 3-point field goals with 160 and has averaged 5.0 points per game over her career.

Series History
Saint Francis is 0-1 in the all-time series history against Virginia Tech. The only previous meeting between the teams came on Dec. 12, 2004 when the Hokies defeated the Red Flash 77-62 in Blacksburg, Va.

Whittington era begins
First-year head coach Keila Whittington will make her head coaching debut on Tuesday after serving as a long-time assistant at multiple stops, including most recently at Marist.

SFU in season openers
The Red Flash have struggled in season openers over the past two years against some of the nation's top-tier programs. Saint Francis fell to Big Ten opponent Rutgers 96-52 to tip off the 2018-19 campaign. The Red Flash dropped its 2017-18 season-opener to Toledo 74-66 in the Preseason WNIT. Saint Francis did pull off an upset in the 2016-17 lid-lifter in a 103-100 win over Wisconsin.

Thomas looks to build off strong sophomore season
Junior Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) will be expected to carry a heavy load for the Red Flash this season. The NEC All-Conference third-team selection emerged as a starter in mid-December and became an integral part to the team's success. Thomas is the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder with 9.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Swogger returns with swagger
Junior Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) will be relied upon to play many minutes this season. Swogger is the only returning player to have started in all 33 games last season. The Bellwood, Pa. native averaged 9.3 points and a team-high 2.9 assists per game.

Sabino poised for stellar senior campaign
Redshirt senior Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) returns as one of only two seniors on the squad. The Rumson, N.J. native played two seasons at New Hampshire before transferring to Saint Francis and sitting out the 2017-18 season. Sabino is one of the team's defensive stalwarts and the second returning leader in steals from last season with 41.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Karson Swogger: G; 5' 8"; Junior; Nursing

#13 Sam Sabino: G; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; Master of Business Administration

#15 Haley Thomas: G/F; 5' 11"; Junior; Marketing

Players Mentioned

#3 Karson Swogger
: 5' 8"; Junior; Nursing
: G

#13 Sam Sabino
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; Master of Business Administration
: G

#15 Haley Thomas
: 5' 11"; Junior; Marketing
: G/F

Players Mentioned

#3 Karson Swogger

#13 Sam Sabino

#15 Haley Thomas

Players Mentioned

#3 Karson Swogger

#13 Sam Sabino

#15 Haley Thomas