EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Saint Francis women's basketball team fell to Michigan State by a 77-44 margin in the season opener on Friday. Eight different Red Flash players recorded points as 12 saw playing time.

The Spartans scored the first points of the game and held onto the advantage until the final buzzer. Redshirt junior Lili Benzel led the Saint Francis scoring with 10 points.
 
Saint Francis 44, Michigan State 77
Records: Saint Francis (0-1), Michigan State (1-0)
Location: The Breslin Center (East Lansing, Michigan)
 
KEY MOMENTS

• The Spartans ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run, including a buzzer beater from behind the arc to take a double-digit lead into the second quarter. The Red Flash would get no closer than eight for the remainder of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams went back and forth through the first six minutes of the game as Saint Francis trailed by just two points with four minutes remaining in the first quarter following five-straight points on the floor by Swogger.
• Seven points in the first quarter from Swogger saw the Red Flash down by three with two minutes to play before a 7-0 run by the Spartans closed the quarter.
• The Spartans put together runs of five, five and seven during the second quarter as MSU outscored SFU 18-8 in the second frame. The Spartans held a 42-22 lead going into the locker room.
• Sam Miller scored six points during the third quarter but the Red Flash had just two more points total in the quarter as the Spartans extended the lead to 61-30 after three quarters of action.
• Scoring was close during the fourth quarter as MSU had the 16-14 edge and scoring concluded at 77-44 at the final buzzer.

STATS

• Redshirt junior Lili Benzel led the SFU offense with 10 points, going 4-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-5 from behind the arc.
• Sophomore Katie Dettwiller led all players with three blocks and led the SFU roster with five rebounds.
• Senior Karson Swogger led the team with four assists, tying for second among all players.
• SFU out-rebounded Michigan State 32-30.
• MSU went 8-of-15 from three-point range and 29-of-60 from the floor.
• SFU was 3-of-16 from three-point range and 17-of-47 from the floor but were 6-of-11 from the floor in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES

• Sophomore Katie Dettwiller recorded her fifth career game with three or more blocks as she had three – all in the first half of play.
• Diajha Allen, Kaitlyn Maxwell and Christina Nichols all made their collegiate debuts.
• Allen and Nichols each recorded their first collegiate points in the fourth quarter.
• Benzel reached double figures for her eighth time in a Red Flash uniform.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis travels to its second Big 10 team to open the 2020-21 schedule as the Red Flash face Penn State on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Follow Saint Francis Women's Basketball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash program.
 
To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.