Women's Basketball 1/17/2020 10:02:00 AM David Halstead

Red Flash continue home stand against Sacred Heart and Merrimack

Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis women's basketball (6-10, 4-1 NEC) continues its four-game home stand by hosting Sacred Heart (6-9, 3-1 NEC) on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. and Merrimack (10-6, 3-2 NEC) on Monday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m.

Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers opened NEC play with three straight wins before dropping its first conference game on Monday. Sacred Heart picked up victories over Merrimack, Wagner, and Central Connecticut State. SHU is coming off a 65-60 defeat at Fairleigh Dickinson. The Pioneers are averaging 60.5 ppg, while allowing 67.0 ppg. Junior Adrianne Hagood paces the team in scoring with 15.9 ppg, while junior Jessica Woods leads the Pioneers in rebounding with 6.8 rpg.

Series History
Sacred Heart leads the all-time series history, 24-16. The Red Flash won the most recent meeting, 68-60, in the NEC tournament semifinals on March 14, 2019 in Fairfield, Conn.

Scouting Merrimack
In their first year in the Northeast Conference, the Warriors have already made a splash. Merrimack has the most overall victories in the league (10) and is riding a three-game winning streak heading into the weekend. The Warriors have defeated Bryant, CCSU and Mount St. Mary's the last three times out. Merrimack did open conference play with losses to Sacred Heart and Robert Morris. The Warriors are averaging a league-best 68.7 ppg, while allowing 60.0 ppg. Senior Denia Davis-Stewart is the reigning NEC Player of the Week and has earned the award three times this season. Davis-Stewart is the NEC's leading scorer and rebounder with 18.6 ppg and 13.8 rpg. Her 5.0 blocks per game rank second nationally in Division I basketball.

Series History
This will be the first all-time meeting between Saint Francis and Merrimack.

Miller's last second free throws seal win over Wagner
Freshman Sam Miller (Red Lion, PA/Dallastown) converted on two free throws with 5.6 seconds left and a defensive stand helped the Red Flash secure a 51-50 win over Wagner on Monday at DeGol Arena. Miller's two free throws were her only shot attempts of the game.

Thomas serving as model of consistency
Junior Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Wagner. Thomas scored in double-figures for the fifth straight game and seventh time in the past eight outings.

SFU with strong start to NEC play
The Red Flash are 4-1 in NEC play and sit in second place in the conference standings behind Robert Morris (4-0). Mount St. Mary's (3-1) and Sacred Heart (3-1) also have only one league loss.

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