Fairfield, Conn. – Saint Francis women's basketball (11-13, 9-4 NEC) completed the season sweep over Sacred Heart (8-15, 5-7 NEC) with a 48-39 win on Monday at the Pitt Center. Lili Benzel (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle (Shippensburg)) scored a season-high 13 points, while Jada Dapaa (Potomac, MD/Holy Child) pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds.

Both teams started slow offensively as Sacred Heart held a 6-4 lead with 4:16 to play in the first quarter. Haley Thomas' (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) layup with 30 seconds to go made the Pioneers' lead 8-6 at the end of the first stanza.

A Benzel three-pointer sparked a 12-0 Red Flash run to start the second period. Benzel had eight of SFU's 12 points in the stretch, including another trifecta to put the Red Flash ahead 16-8 with 5:04 left. Sacred Heart responded to pull within 19-14 with 1:40 remaining. A Phee Allen (Newport News, VA/Woodside) layup with 58 seconds to go gave Saint Francis a 21-14 halftime advantage.

The Pioneers used a quick start to the second half to pull within 23-21 with 6:30 left in the third quarter. SFU then went on a 9-0 run that was capped off with a Swogger jumper to give the Red Flash a 32-21 lead with 2:53 remaining. Saint Francis led 35-26 at the end of the third frame.

Sacred Heart continued to chip away at the lead, cutting the margin to 37-31 with 6:05 to play. Back-to-back Red Flash field goals, including a Dapaa layup extended the lead to 41-31 with 3:49 remaining. Swogger's triple with 53 seconds to go put the SFU ahead 44-31 and the Red Flash sealed the win from the free throw line.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis shot 18-of-47 (38.3%) from the floor, including 4-of-19 (21.1%) from three-point range.
• The Red Flash won the battle on the boards with a 43-35 rebounding advantage.
• SFU scored 22 points in the paint, while Sacred Heart had 18 points inside.
• Saint Francis had 13 points off turnovers and 13 fast break points.
• The Red Flash scored 20 points off the bench, while the Pioneers' reserves had only 11 points.

Notes

• Saint Francis improves to 18-24 in the all-time series history and has won three straight games over the Pioneers.
• SFU has won three of its past four games.
• Benzel's 13 points was the most she has scored in a Red Flash uniform. The redshirt sophomore's career-high 14 points came in her freshman season at Shippensburg.
• Dapaa's 16 rebounds was the most boards for an SFU player since Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) also recorded 16 rebounds on Feb. 13, 2017.
• Katie Dettwiller (Portsmouth, Ohio/Notre Dame) tied her career-high with three blocks.
• Saint Francis remains in third place in the NEC standings behind Robert Morris (12-0) and Mount St. Mary's (9-2).

Up Next
SFU returns to action for a key matchup at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1 p.m.