LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball concludes their trip to Connecticut with a 2 p.m. tip-off against Sacred Heart on Sunday, Jan. 23 on ESPN3.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Saint Francis won its fourth straight game on Friday with a 69-59 win over Central Connecticut. The Red Flash have a higher field goal percentage than their opponent in all-four wins.
» Lili Benzel set a new career-high with 25 points and nine converted field goals in the win. She has two-straight games with more than 20 points and double-digits in three of the past four games. She raised her season points per game average from 6.2 to 8.4 over that stretch.
» Jada Dapaa ranks 22nd in the NCAA Division I with her 10.7 rebounds per game. She has 13 double-digit rebound games this season. She dished out a career-high nine assists against Central Connecticut and fell one short of a double-double.
» Jenna Mastellone scored 19 points against Central Connecticut, her third-highest output this season and eighth double-digit point game. She is 13th in the Northeast Conference with 10.8 points per game and fifth with a 47.5 field goal percentage.
» Saint Francis remains one of only three teams in the NEC with a positive rebounding margin with a plus-3.0. Fairleigh Dickinson leads with a plus-4.4 and Bryant is second with a plus-3.7.
 
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers enter Sunday's matchup with a 4-3 conference and 5-7 overall record. Two conference wins, against LIU and Central Connecticut, were via forfeits due to COVID protocols and are not reflected in the team's overall record, per NCAA policy. Sacred Heart has on-court victories over Bryant with a season-high 80 points and over Central Connecticut. The Pioneers' losses are to Wagner, Fairleigh Dickinson and Mount St. Mary's, all teams in first or tied for second in the conference. Sonia Smith and Adrianne Hagood average 12.7 and 12.3 points per game, respectively, and rank in the NEC top-10. Smith ranks fifth in the conference with 4.3 assists per game and has two NEC Player of the Week honors this season. Hagood is top-10 in three-point field goals made and has one NEC Player of the Week honor. Nikki Johnson has a team-high 1.4 steals per game. Sacred Heart has never had a sub-.500 record in conference play since head coach Jessica Mannetti took over before the 2013-14 season.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis won its fourth straight game with a 69-59 victory over Central Connecticut. The Blue Devils led 15-9 after the first before the Red Flash took a narrow 31-29 lead into halftime behind 11 points from Lili Benzel in the second quarter. Towards the end of the third quarter, Saint Francis opened up a 49-39 lead and took an eight-point, 51-43, lead into the fourth quarter. The Red Flash led by between six and 12 points for the entirety of the fourth quarter before the final buzzer. Benzel scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Jenna Mastellone added 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Jada Dapaa recorded her 13th double-digit rebound game this season with 15 and fell one assist short of a double-double with a career-high nine. Ashley Berube and Forever Toppin led the Blue Devils with 15 points each.
 
All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
The Pioneers hold a 26-18 all-time advantage over the Red Flash. Saint Francis enters Sunday's game with a win in the last matchup 72-67 in overtime. Both 2020-21 games between the programs went to overtime, as the teams split the matchups. In the last game, Jada Dapaa led current Red Flash players with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Sacred Heart's Adrianne Hagood led the team with a career-high 31 points. Sacred Heart had a matchup-long six-game winning streak between 2014-17 and Saint Francis had its longest winning streak, five games, between 2002-05.  
 
Around the NEC
Fairleigh Dickinson jumped to a two-game lead over the rest of the NEC at 6-1 with its 72-62 win over St. Francis Brooklyn. Five teams, Wagner, St. Francis Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, Sacred Heart and Saint Francis, are all tied for second with a 4-3 record. Wagner dropped its third straight game with a 53-50 loss to 2-5 LIU. Saint Francis won its fourth straight game with a 69-59 win over Central Connecticut and Mount St. Mary's won its third straight game with a 60-51 win over Sacred Heart. Bryant moved to 3-4 after a defeat of Merrimack, 73-67. The Warriors dropped their fifth straight game and they are yet to win an on-court conference game after their two wins came via forfeit.
 
Mastellone Earned Second Northeast Conference Prime Performer
Guard Jenna Mastellone earned her second Northeast Conference Prime Performer selection of the season on Jan. 19. She scored a career-high 29 points in Saint Francis' 70-62 win over Merrimack, the most scored by a Red Flash player since Karson Swogger's 29 points against St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 11, 2019 – a 53-game span. At the time of her selection, Mastellone ranked 11th in the NEC with a 45.5 shooting percentage and 13th with 10.3 points per game.
 
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 freshmen, 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 freshmen 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 returns home against Wagner on Thursday, Jan. 27 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.