LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball is set to host Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, Feb. 11 for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be Saint Francis' Think Pink game, where the Red Flash will unite fans to support breast cancer patients, survivors, thrivers and caregivers.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Jada Dapaa moved up to 12th in the NCAA Division I with 11.6 rebounds per game after her 16-rebound output at Merrimack. She recorded a career-high 19 points and three steals against the Warriors.
» Aaliyah Moore recorded back-to-back career-high outputs with nine rebounds against Bryant and Merrimack. Her eight points against Merrimack tied a career-high.
» Lili Benzel scored the 135th three-point field goal of her career at Merrimack, which moved her to ninth in program history.
» Jenna Mastellone continues to pace the Red Flash offense with 10.4 points per game and ranks eighth in the NEC with a 44.9 shooting percentage.
 
Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson
The Knights enter Friday's contest with an 11-1 conference and 14-8 overall record. Fairleigh Dickinson holds a three-game lead in first-place, with St. Francis Brooklyn the closest at 8-4. They are riding a current eight-game winning streak, their last loss on Jan. 8 at Bryant 69-57. Madison Stanley and Chloe Wilson lead the way with 13.4 and 13.3 points per game, respectively, both top-five in the NEC. Stanley is second in the conference with a 50.5 field goal percentage, 1.6 blocks per game and is fourth with 7.3 rebounds per game. Wilson's 46.9 field goal percentage ranks sixth and her 6.4 rebounds per game rank seventh in the NEC. Sophomore Devyn Scott has the most starts this season, 21, and leads the team with three assists per game. The Knights give up the fewest points per game in the conference, 57.5, and lead the conference with a plus-5.5 scoring margin.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis lost its third game in the past four with a 69-64 defeat at Merrimack. The Red Flash fell into a quick 16-1 hole and were down 27-12 after the first quarter. Merrimack took a 36-16 lead midway through the second quarter before they entered halftime up 36-22. Merrimack took a 10-point, 48-38 lead into the fourth quarter before Saint Francis rallied to cut the deficit to 56-54 with 4:42 remaining. The Warriors responded with five points and took a 59-54 lead and maintained at least a three-point lead for the remainder of the game. Jada Dapaa recorded her fifth double-double of the season with a career-high 19 points and added 16 rebounds. Jordan McLemore, 11, and Jenna Mastellone, 10, each scored double-digits. Merrimack's Kate Mager had a game-high 20 points and Jayme DeCesare recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
All-Time vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Saint Francis holds a 46-24 advantage over Fairleigh Dickinson since the first matchup during the 1985-86 season. The Red Flash won 15-of-18 games between 2010-19 before Fairleigh Dickinson broke through to win two of the past four matchups between the programs. The Knights defeated the Red Flash 65-47 in a New Year's Eve showdown this season. Jenna Mastellone led the game with a then-career-high 23 points and Madison Stanley led the Knights with 18 points. Stanley recorded a career-high six blocks, which were the most by a Fairleigh Dickinson player since 2015.
 
Around the NEC
Fairleigh Dickinson holds a three-game lead in first place with an 11-1 record and are riding an eight-game winning streak. St. Francis Brooklyn has sole possession of second-place with an 8-4 record. Wagner and Mount St. Mary's are tied at 7-5 after both have won two straight games. Merrimack and Saint Francis are tied at 6-6 after the Warriors won two straight and the Red Flash lost two straight. LIU is 5-7, while Sacred Heart has lost six straight games and dropped to a 4-8 tie with Bryant. Central Connecticut is at the bottom of the standings with a 2-10 record after eight straight losses.
 
Dapaa Named Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the Fourth Time
Forward Jada Dapaa earned her fourth Northeast Conference Prime Performer selection of the season on Feb. 7. She scored a career-high 19 points and added 16 rebounds at Merrimack to record her fifth double-double of the season. She also tied her career-high with three steals, which ties the most in a single-game by a Red Flash player this season.
 
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 has its final road trip of the season starting on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. against LIU.