LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball concludes their homestand on Monday, Jan. 17 for a 5 p.m. tip-off vs. Bryant on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Jenna Mastellone set a new career-high with 29 points against Merrimack. Her points were the most scored by a Red Flash player since Karson Swogger scored 29 against St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 11, 2019, a 53-game span.
» Jada Dapaa grabbed 15 or more rebounds for the fourth time in her career and has 11 double-digit rebound games this season. She ranks 31st in the NCAA Division I with 10.2 rebounds per game. She is one of 34 players in the country to average double-digits.
» The Red Flash had two players score 15 or more points in the same game for the second time this season when Kaitlyn Maxwell scored 15 to accompany Mastellone's 29.
» Aaliyah Moore grabbed six rebounds against Merrimack, her ninth game with at least five rebounds this season.
» Saint Francis shot a higher field goal percentage than their opponent for the second-straight game (both wins) and the third time this season.
 
Scouting Bryant
The Bulldogs enter Monday's contest with a 2-3 conference record and 4-12 overall. Bryant has conference wins over Central Connecticut, 60-53, and Fairleigh Dickinson, 69-57. The Bulldogs join the Red Flash as the only two NEC teams to play all-five scheduled games without a COVID-related cancellation so far. Brooke Bjelko leads the Bulldogs with a conference top-three 13.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. She was named the NEC's most recent Player of the Week after she scored a career-high 32 points against Fairleigh Dickinson. She is 19 points away from 1,000 for her career. Alana Perkins ranks 12th in the NEC with 11.3 points per game, though she has not played in the team's last three games. Mariona Planes Fortuny is fifth in the conference with 1.1 blocks per game and adds 8.8 points per game.  
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis won its second-straight game with a 70-62 victory over Merrimack after an 0-14 start to the campaign. The Red Flash grabbed their first lead of the game in the middle of the second quarter and after they took a 29-28 lead into halftime, they never looked back. After an 8-0 run to start the second half for Saint Francis, Merrimack cut the deficit to one point, 51-50 and 56-55, before the Red Flash eventually pulled away to win 70-62. Jenna Mastellone led the way with a career-high 29 points on 8-of-16 shooting and Kaitlyn Maxwell scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Maxwell added a season-high three steals and only committed one turnover. Jada Dapaa recorded her 11th double-digit rebound game of the season with 15. Four of Saint Francis' five starters played at least 32 minutes in the game. Merrimack's Teneisia Brown had a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds and Mayson Kimball added 15 points and eight rebounds.
 
All-Time vs. Bryant
The Red Flash hold a 15-9 advantage over the Bulldogs since the matchup's inaugural game on Jan. 31, 2009. Saint Francis has a currently six-game winning streak, three at home and three on the road, and have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. Prior to the surge by Saint Francis, Bryant won five-of-six games and scored more than 80 points in three of those games. Saint Francis scored a matchup-high 94 points on Feb. 26, 2018 and a matchup-low 52 on Jan. 7, 2012. In the program's last matchup, Lili Benzel led all returning Red Flash players with 18 points scored on 7-of-14 shooting.
 
Around the NEC
After Wagner, the final undefeated team in the Northeast Conference, lost to St. Francis Brooklyn, 62-55, the Seahawks are now tied with Fairleigh Dickinson atop the standings at 4-1. Two teams, St. Francis Brooklyn and Sacred Heart, sit at 3-2, while five teams are tied with a 2-3 record. The NEC's final winless team, LIU, defeated Central Connecticut 62-51 to earn its first victory of the season. For the second-straight day of games scheduled, all-five were played and only one of the past 15 games have been canceled due to COVID protocol.  
 
Dapaa Earned Second Northeast Conference Prime Performer
Forward Jada Dapaa earned her second Northeast Conference Prime Performer selection of the season on Jan. 10. She scored a career-high 17 points against St. Francis Brooklyn and grabbed a combined 24 rebounds against the Terriers and LIU. She grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists in the team's first win of the season 66-50 over LIU. The performance against St. Francis Brooklyn marked her third double-double of the season and seventh of her career.
 
Dapaa Achieved 500 Career Rebounds Milestone
Forward Jada Dapaa eclipsed the 500 career rebounds mark with her third-quarter board against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 31. She finished the game with one additional rebound that put her career total at 501. She will need 598 rebounds to enter Saint Francis' top-15 all-time rankings. At the time of her 500th board, she had a 9.5 rebounds per game average with 16 regular season games remaining, barring any cancellations.
 
Mastellone Named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer
Guard Jenna Mastellone earned the first weekly honor of her career when she was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer on Dec. 27. She recorded a game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting at Jacksonville State. The performance pushed her to 11th in the NEC with a 44.9 shooting percentage through non-conference play. Her six converted field goals were tied for her career-high that she set in 2020 against Merrimack.
 
The NEC Announces an Expansion of 2022 Tournament
The Northeast Conference announced a one-time expansion of the 2022 NEC Men's and Women's Tournament to include all-nine eligible teams on Dec. 23. The vote will maintain the league's current cancellation and forfeit policy. The policy is as follows:

• If a team is unable to compete due to COVID-19 related issues, the NEC contest will not be rescheduled and will be considered a forfeit. For purposes of conference regular season standings and tiebreakers, a forfeit will count as an NEC win for the team that was cleared to compete, and a loss for the team that could not compete.
• If two opponents are unable to compete due to COVID-19 issues, both teams shall be deemed to have forfeited and each team will be charged with a loss.
• As per NCAA policy, a COVID-19 related forfeit will not change a team's official won-lost record, nor will it impact statistics or coaching records.
• In the event of a forfeit during an NEC championship game, the bracket will not be modified and the team cleared to compete will advance

 
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. 
 
The Red Flash Welcome Five Players in 2022 Signing Class
Saint Francis adds five players, guards Katie Ambrose, Semaya Turner and Destini Ward and forwards Jade Campbell and Julianna Gibson, in the 2022 signing class. Ambose accumulated 1,222 points, 665 assists, 428 rebounds and 363 steals in her first three seasons. In 64 career games, Turner amassed 584 points, 501 rebounds, 119 steals and 99 blocks. Ward is a two-time Baltimore County All-Division Team selection. Campbell has over 700 points in her career and has a single-game high of 33 points and 23 rebounds. Lastly, Gibson scored 79 points and grabbed 79 rebounds in 13 games during her junior season.
 
"We found five players who will fill in the gaps, along with the players we have returning next season," said head coach Keila Whittington. "Each player brings passion and a love for the game, athleticism, and a desire to join a program that works hard to fight for and win championships."
 
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
Saint Francis hits the road for the first time in January with a visit to Central Connecticut on Friday, Jan. 21 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.