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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University women's basketball heads on the road for the first time in conference play for a 1 p.m. tip-off at Central Connecticut on Saturday, Jan. 13.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
Destini Ward earned her first Northeast Conference Prime Performer selection behind 18.5 points per game in a 1-1 start to conference play for Saint Francis. She raised her season total to 10.1 points per game, which only trails Kendall Carruthers' 11.4. Ward also leads the Red Flash with 1.9 steals per game. Julianna Gibson and Marina Artero each lead Saint Francis overall with 4.7 rebounds per game followed by Ward's 4.3. Yanessa Boyd, however, leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game in conference play, followed by Carruthers' 6.5.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis fell to 1-1 in conference play after an 86-47 loss to reigning NEC Champion Sacred Heart. Both teams were tied at four just over four minutes into the game before Sacred Heart ended the first quarter on a 14-4 run and led 18-8. In the second, the Pioneers extended their lead to 24-14 at the half behind a 16-6 advantage in the quarter. Sacred Heart opened its lead to 64-32 at the end of the third quarter before leading by as many as 42 points in the fourth before earning a 39-point victory.
 
Scouting Central Connecticut
The Blue Devils enter Saturday's game 3-11 overall and 1-0 in conference play after a 71-59 victory over Stonehill. Samora Watson leads the way with 17.0 points per game followed by Belle Lanpher's 13.2. Both players rank top-five in the conference for overall points per game. Meghan Kenefick and Watson are tied for the team lead with 5.8 rebounds per game, which is top-10 in the NEC. Lanpher's 3.4 assists per game are tied for fourth in the NEC and her 2.1 steals per game rank fifth. As a team, Central Connecticut is second in the conference with 57.1 points per game but allows the third-most points at 71.1.
 
All-Time vs. Central Connecticut
Saint Francis owns a 37-15 all-time advantage over Central Connecticut since the first meeting in 1998, which includes a 15-9 record on the road. The Red Flash defeated the Blue Devils 63-57 in the last matchup after Central Connecticut won the two meetings prior. Saint Francis had a matchup-long 13-game winning streak between 1998-05.
 
Around the NEC
Sacred Heart is atop the NEC standings with a 2-0 conference record, followed by 1-0 Central Connecticut and Le Moyne. Le Moyne's victory over FDU was in its inaugural conference game as a member of the NEC. FDU, LIU, Saint Francis and Wagner all sit even at 1-1, while Merrimack and Stonehill are 0-2. Stonehill is still seeking its first victory of the season at 0-15 overall.
 
Next
Saint Francis continues its road trip on Monday, Jan. 15 at FDU for a 2 p.m. tip-off.