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Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball head coach Keila Whittington has announced her 2021-22 schedule. The slate includes 11 games at DeGol Arena and trips to West Virginia and Georgia.

"We have put together another challenging non-conference schedule," said Whittington. "We will play teams from 10 different conferences with various styles of play, and we are preparing our team for the competition. It is always tough to play more road games in the early season than at home, but learning to win on the road is always a part of the process." 

The Red Flash will open the third season under Whittington with its first-ever meeting with Temple on the road on November 9. It will be the third-straight season the squad will start the season on the road under Whittington.

Staying on the road for its first three games in 2021-22, Saint Francis will travel to Kent State on November 14 and West Virginia on November 16. The Red Flash have won the last three contests against Kent State to take a 3-1 edge in the all-time series. The Loretto team came away with 67-64 decision last season. The contest at West Virginia on November 16 marks the seventh meeting in the all-time series and the two will play in Morgantown, W. Va., and the first since the 2019-20 campaign.

Saint Francis will make its 2021-22 home debut on November 20 against Longwood. It will be the fourth meeting between the two programs with the Red Flash holding a 2-1 edge in the matchup. The team defeated the Lancers 91-88 in the last meeting in 2018-19.

After Thanksgiving, Saint Francis will conclude the holiday weekend at Coppin State on November 28. The Red Flash have won both contests in the series and it will be the first meeting since the 2011-12 campaign.

To kick off the month of December, the squad will head to Bucknell for the second meeting between the two teams in the last three years. It will be the first meeting in Lewisburg, Pa., after the Bison took the inaugural contest in 2018-19 at DeGol Arena.

Saint Francis returns home for its second non-conference home game with La Salle making its first trip to DeGol Arena on December 4. La Salle won the inaugural meeting between the two teams last year.

After the game against the Explorers, the Red Flash wrap up the month of December on the road with six games away from Loretto.

The road trip begins with the fifth meeting against Toledo on December 8 with Toledo leading series 3-1. Saint Francis then heads to Duquesne for the 41st meeting in the series. The Dukes won the last game in the series in 2019-20, 72-69 in overtime.

The Loretto program will conclude its non-conference slate at Georgia on December 19 and at Jacksonville State two days later on December 21. It will be the second trip to Georgia in program history and the first since 1995-96 while Saint Francis will be facing Jacksonville State for the first time.

Last season, the NEC played the two-game series at one location due to CoVID-19 meaning that Wagner, St. Francis Brooklyn, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson and Bryant will make their first trips to Loretto since 2019-20, and the Red Flash will travel to Sacred Heart and Long Island for the first time in two years. Merrimack will be making its first-ever trip to Loretto in 2021-22.

"Our hope is to gain some momentum with the non-conference competition that will lead us into the NEC slate beginning after Christmas," said Whittington. "It is always one game at a time for us, and we are getting ready for the battles."

Saint Francis opens the Northeast Conference slate on the road at Wagner (December 29) and Fairleigh Dickinson (December 31).

The squad then returns to DeGol Arena for five of its eight games in the month of January, including four-straight tilts to start the month. St. Francis Brooklyn (January 6), Long Island (January 8), Merrimack (January 15) and Bryant (January 17).

After the game at Bryant, the Red Flash will travel to Central Connecticut State (January 21) and Sacred Heart (January 23). The team returns home to host Wagner on January 27 before traveling to Mount St. Mary's (January 29), Bryant (February 3) and Merrimack (February 5).

Saint Francis returns home to host Fairleigh Dickinson on February 11 before heading out for its final road trip at Long Island (February 17) and St. Francis Brooklyn (February 19).

The Red Flash will return home for its final three games against Central Connecticut State (February 24), Sacred Heart (February 26) and Mount St. Mary's (March 3).

The NEC Tournament returns to its eight-team format in 2021-22 with the quarterfinals on March 7, semifinals on March 10 and championship game on March 13.

Saint Francis looks to advance to the NEC Tournament for the third-straight year under Whittington.

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