HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Saint Francis women's basketball team (2-4) beat Fairleigh Dickinson (3-2) in the Northeast Conference opener on Tuesday by a 62-51 margin.

The Red Flash faced a seven-point deficit at halftime and rallied to tie the game at 46 by the end of the third quarter. Saint Francis dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Knights 16-5 and out-rebounding the home team 10-5, to earn the victory.
 
Saint Francis 62, Fairleigh Dickinson 51
Records: Saint Francis (2-4, 1-0 NEC), Fairleigh Dickinson (3-2, 0-1 NEC)
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
 

KEY MOMENTS
After coming back to tie the game in the third quarter, the Red Flash opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 53-46 lead with 8:21 to play and did not look back. Following a three-pointer from the Knights to cut the Red Flash's lead to four, Saint Francis scored the next nine points on the floor to secure the victory. The SFU defense forced FDU to shoot 15 percent in the final frame and the SFU offense came alive to shoot 54 percent.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Haley Thomas scored the first points on the floor for the fourth game in a row. Saint Francis led by as many as five points in the first quarter, 7-2 with 6:48 to play in the quarter, following a three-pointer by Lili Benzel.
 
SFU held a 9-8 lead midway through the opening quarter. FDU would make two three-pointers to tie the game and then take a 16-15 lead with 1:37 to play in the first quarter. This was the Knights' first lead of the game and a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the first half of play.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson scored the final basket to lead 18-15 after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
The Knights opened the second quarter with another three-pointer to stretch its lead to five points before back-to-back scores by the Red Flash cut the lead to 21-19 with nine minutes remaining before halftime.
 
FDU's fourth triple of the first half aided the home team in going on a 13-8 run to cap first-half scoring with a 34-27 lead. Karson Swogger, Jada Dapaa and Sam Miller scored down the stretch to end the half for SFU with Swogger and Dapaa leading the offense with six points apiece.
 
The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes coming out of the locker room as Benzel made two more three-pointers. The Red Flash scored nine-straight points on the floor to take its first lead since the first half, 46-43, with 1:20 to play in the quarter.
 
During the run, Swogger became the first SFU player to reach double figures as she tied the game at 43 before Jenna Mastellone took the lead with a three-pointer. Fairleigh Dickinson hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 46 after 30 minutes of play.
 
The Red Flash began the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, including a second three-pointer from Mastellone, to jump out to a 53-46 lead with 8:21 to play. After a triple from FDU, Saint Francis scored back-to-back baskets to force the Knights to take a timeout as the Red Flash led 57-49 with 6:23 on the game clock.
 
Saint Francis outscored Fairleigh Dickinson 16-5 in the entirety of the fourth quarter, as scoring was capped at 62-51. The SFU defense forced FDU to shoot just 2-of-13 during the final quarter of play as the Red Flash outrebounded the Knights 10-5 in the fourth.

STATS
After being outrebounded by Fairleigh Dickinson 22-11 in the first half, Saint Francis dominated on the boards 22-8 in the second half. SFU shot 56 percent during the second half of play, compared to FDU's 26 percent in the second half and 15 percent in the fourth quarter. The Red Flash had double the paint points that the Knights had, 36-18. FDU shot 50 percent (4-of-8) from long range during the first half of play while SFU shot 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from long range during the second half.
 
GAME NOTES

• Thomas scored the first points on the floor for the fourth-consecutive game, dating back to Dec. 2 against Duquesne.
• This is the 15^th-straight game that Benzel has made a three-pointer. The last game she did not convert from long range was Jan. 27, 2020 at LIU.
• Christina Nichols matched her career-high with four points.
• Dapaa reached double figures for the first time this season, totaling 10 points.
• The SFU defense did not allow a double-figure scorer for the first time this season. 

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.