LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball is set to face Mount St. Mary's for the first time this season, on the road, with a 2 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Jan. 29.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Lili Benzel is now top-10 in program history with her 131 made three-point field goals in her career. She made one three-point shot in the second quarter against Wagner to move her into the top-10.
» Despite only six rebounds against Wagner, Jada Dapaa still ranks 18th in the NCA Division I with 11.1 rebounds per game. Her 598 career rebounds put her tied for 15th in program history.
» Jenna Mastellone has a team-leading 11.1 points per game. She ranks fourth in the Northeast Conference with a 48.1 shooting percentage and seventh with 14.6 points per game since the start of conference play.
» As a team, the Red Flash lead the NEC with a plus-6.3 rebounding margin since the start of conference play.
 
Scouting Mount St. Mary's
The Mountaineers enter Saturday's game with a 5-4 conference and 7-9 overall record. They saw a four-game winning streak snapped on Thursday with a 64-56 home loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, who leads the Northeast Conference with an 8-1 conference record. Kendall Bresee is second in the NEC with 15.3 points per game, tied for second with 7.6 rebounds per game and third with 4.6 assists per game. She has two NEC Player of the Week honors this season, most recently on Jan. 9. Michaela Harrison averages 11.6 points per game, 10th in the NEC, and 2.3 made three-point field goals per game, third in the NEC. Against Merrimack on Jan. 17, Harrison set Mount St. Mary's all-time record for three-point shots made in a career with 238. Aryna Taylor is the Mountaineers' third leading scorer with 9.6 points per game, though she has not played since a Dec. 18 matchup against Maryland Eastern Shore.
 
Last Time Out
The Red Flash saw their five-game winning streak end with a 63-39 loss at home to Wagner. The Seahawks jumped out to a quick 12-3 lead behind three different scorers and held a 15-7 lead to end the first. Wagner exploded in the second quarter and took a 40-18 lead at the half. Unable to cut into the deficit, Saint Francis trailed 53-28 after three quarters before its eventual 24-point loss. Lili Benzel entered Saint Francis' top-10 all-time rankings with the 131st made three-point shot of her career. Aaliyah Moore tied Jada Dapaa with a team-high six rebounds in just 17:23 minutes played. Sam Miller went 3-of-5 shooting to produce her eighth game above 50-percent this season. Wagner's Kem Nwabudu had a game-high 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
 
All-Time vs. Mount St. Mary's
Saint Francis holds a 38-33 all-time advantage over Mount St. Mary's, though the Mountaineers are riding a current four-game winning streak. During the streak, Saint Francis' smallest margin of defeat was an 11-point loss, 66-55, in 2020. Prior to the streak, the Red Flash won 17-of-20 meetings between 2008-19. Both teams have the same matchup-high of 97 points, set by Saint Francis in 2017 and Mount St. Mary's in 2014. In the last matchup, Jada Dapaa led current Red Flash players with nine points and nine rebounds, while Aryna Taylor had 19 points and Kendall Bresee had 15 to lead current Mountaineers' players. Mount St. Mary's is the only conference opponent Saint Francis has not played in the 2021-22 season.
 
Around the NEC
Fairleigh Dickinson remains atop the Northeast Conference standings with an 8-1 record after a 64-56 statement victory over Mount St. Mary's on ESPNU. St. Francis Brooklyn's dominant 63-37 win over Sacred Heart moved the Terriers into sole possession of second place at 6-3. With Wagner's second defeat of Saint Francis this season, 63-39, both teams moved to 5-4 in a third-place tie with Mount St. Mary's. Merrimack moved to 4-5, tied with Sacred Heart, after a dominant 92-55 win over Bryant, their second straight victory. LIU defeated Central Connecticut 74-67 and is tied with Bryant at 3-6. The Blue Devils sit alone in last place with a 2-7 record.
 
Dapaa, Mastellone Earn Third Northeast Conference Prime Performer Honors
Forward Jada Dapaa and guard Jenna Mastellone both earned their third Northeast Conference Prime Performer selection on Jan. 25. Dapaa grabbed 38 rebounds in two victories over Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart. Her 23 rebounds at Sacred Heart are one shy of tying a single-game program record and tied for the most by a player in the NCAA Division I this season. Mastellone had 20 points against Sacred Heart and 19 against Central Connecticut. She had 20 or more points in three of her first seven games to start conference play.
 
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 is set to open the month of February with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Bryant on Thursday, Feb. 3.