LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball prepares for a matchup with in-state foe Duquesne on Saturday at 5 p.m. The game will mark the 14th matchup between the programs since 2006.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Jada Dapaa continues to pace the Northeast Conference with 8.75 rebounds per game.
» Kaitlyn Maxwell produced her third game of the season with 15-plus points after she scored 15 at Toledo.  
» Diajha Allen remains firmly in the NEC top-10 in assists with 3.38 per game.
» Freshman Layla Laws continues to carve out a larger role after she played a season-high 15:21 against Toledo.
» Despite their record, the Red Flash hold a positive rebounding margin, narrowly outrebounding their opponent 35.4 to 35.3 per game.  
 
Scouting Duquesne
The Dukes enter Saturday's game with a 4-6 record that included a three-game winning streak at the end of November. Duquesne is 0-3 against teams Saint Francis also played, with losses against Longwood, Temple and Kent State. Against a 7-1 Kent State, Megan McConnell had a game-tying three-point shot opportunity with 11 seconds remaining that was missed before an eventual 71-66 loss. Guard Fatou Pouye leads the Dukes with 14.3 points per game and Libby Bazelak has 5.8 rebounds per game. McConnell, a freshman, ranks top-five in the Atlantic 10 with 2.4 steals per game. Duquesne was selected to finish ninth out of 14 schools in the A-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Last Time Out
The Red Flash lost their second game of the season to a Mid-American Conference opponent when they fell 86-33 at Toledo. Saint Francis scored just 11 points in the first half before they ended with 33. Kaitlyn Maxwell scored 15 of the 33 points, with 13 of them in the third quarter. She finished the game 6-of-10 shooting and accounted for 45 percent of Saint Francis' offense. Freshman Layla Laws saw a season-high 15:21 minutes played and tied her career-high with four points. Toledo's Nan Garcia had a game-high 20 points and Sophia Wiard ended with a double-double behind 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
All-Time vs. Duquesne
The Dukes hold a 12-1 advantage over the Red Flash since the program's inaugural meeting in 2006. Saint Francis won the second matchup in 2007 in overtime, 66-54, before Duquesne put together its current 11-game winning streak. During the streak, four games were decided by less than five points, which included a 72-69 overtime game in 2019. The Red Flash have never won on the road against Duquesne.
 
Melendez Rounds Out the Red Flash Coaching Staff
Tayra Melendez was hired as an assistant coach to round out head coach Keila Whittington's coaching staff. Melendez is part of the Puerto Rican National Team since 2014 and was one of 12 players selected to represent Puerto Rico at the summer 2020 Olympics. She played professionally in the PR-Baloncesto Superior Nacional Femenino, where she was a two-time league champion, two-time Defensive Player of the League and one-time Finals MVP. Melendez joins the Red Flash after she spent two seasons with Bryant as the director of operations.
 
Dapaa Named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer
Jada Dapaa earned the first weekly honor for the Red Flash this season when she was selected as an NEC Prime Performer on Dec. 6. The senior grabbed 26 rebounds in two games against La Salle and Bucknell and recorded a double-double against La Salle. The selection was the second weekly honor of Dapaa's career, her first a Prime Performer selection on Feb. 8, 2021. 
 
Red Flash Picked Third in NEC Preseason Poll
Saint Francis was picked to finish third in the 2021-22 NEC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. The Red Flash trail Mount St. Mary's, unanimously selected to win the conference, and Wagner. Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson rounded out the top-five voting. Mount St. Mary's won the NEC in 2020-21 after defeating Wagner, 70-38.
 
Dapaa, McLemore Named Team Captains
Seniors Jada Dapaa and Jordan McLemore were named captains, selected by their teammates. Both will serve as captain for the first time, McLemore serving her captaincy in her first season with the Red Flash. "We opened up voting this year to our players," said head coach Keila Whittington. "She [McLemore] earned that respect from the work she put in during the summer."
 
2021-22 Non-Conference Schedule Highlighted by Two Power Five Opponents
The Red Flash non-conference schedule features marquee matchups against Georgia and West Virginia. Georgia finished the 2020-21 season ranked 10th, while West Virginia finished 17th in the Associated Press Poll. MAC opponents Toledo and Kent State and AAC opponent Temple join the group of notable non-conference opponents.
 
Taylor Returns to Saint Francis as Assistant Coach
Former Red Flash forward Brooklyn Taylor rejoined the program as an assistant coach in May 2021. She previously spent the past three seasons with Akron and two seasons at Mercer after her 2016 graduation from Saint Francis. As a player, Taylor appeared in 70 games across four seasons with the Red Flash.
 
Brown Named to Red Flash Coaching Staff
Assistant coach Erika Brown joined the Red Flash staff in May 2021 after previously coaching at Harcum College, Stony Brook and Florida International. During her time with Stony Brook in 2019-20, she assisted a team that went 28-3 and won the America East Championship. They were poised for a NCAA Tournament run before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a player at Delaware, Brown ranked 10th in program history with 1,402 career points.
 
The Red Flash Return Two Starters, Three Others with Saint Francis Starting Experience
Kaitlyn Maxwell and Lili Benzel return after starting 22 and 18 games, respectively. Jenna Mastellone (six), Jada Dapaa (three) and Sam Miller (one) also bring starting experience to the 2021-22 season. Benzel, Mastellone and Dapaa all averaged more than 22 minutes per game. Dapaa led the team with 8.6 rebounds-per-game, which ranked second in the NEC. Benzel had an NEC-leading 48 made three-point shots and team-leading 36.1 percent from three. She has a chance to reach the Saint Francis top-10 rankings in just three seasons with the team. Mastellone's 105-career appearances with Saint Francis is 47 more than second-most on the team (Dapaa, 58). Maxwell and Miller will fill larger roles with three key departures after averaging 18.6 and 15.8 minutes-per-game, respectively.
 
Five Newcomers Added
The Red Flash welcomed five new members, one transfer, Jordan McLemore, and four freshman, Layla Laws, Maria McConnell, Adison Novosel and Nyla Rozier. McLemore, a senior, comes from Hartford where she was fifth in the America East with 95 assists in 2019-20. The four freshman all stand 5-foot-11 or taller and have two forwards and two guards. McConnell grew up in Nanty Glo, Pa. and played basketball at Blacklick Valley, 20 minutes away from Saint Francis.
 
Next
The Red Flash have an eight-day break before they visit No. 21 Georgia and Jacksonville State in their final two non-conference games of the season.