Saint Francis University (1-5) at #11 Maryland  (5-0)
Date | Time	Sunday, November 24, 2024 | 12:00 p.m.
Location	College Park, Md. | XFinity Center
Television	Big10+
Live Stats	Sidearm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Maryland
Stats	Saint Francis | Maryland | Northeast Conference
Social Media	@RedFlashWBB  | #WIN | #BIB | Instagram | Facebook

 

Saint Francis Probable Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	0	Yanessa Boyd	5-9	So.	7.7	3.0	36.8	Leads the team in scoring
G	4	Marissa Shelton	5-8	Jr.	4.5	1.8	34.6	Looking for her first 10+ point game on the road
G	10	Ineivi Plata	5-3	Fr.	4.2	4.0	31.0	Leads team with seven steals
F	12	Julianna Gibson	6-2	Jr.	5.5	3.2	42.3	Matched career high with 15 points at RMU
F	23	Marina Artero	5-11	So.	1.3	4.0	18.4	Dished out multiple assists four times this season
Top Players Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	1	Kameryn Dorsey	5-6	So.	7.0	5.0	60.0	Posted a team-high five rebounds against NJIT
F	3	Jade Campbell	6-0	Jr.	---	---	---	Recorded three 10+ rebound games as a freshman
G	5	Natalie Johnson	5-8	Jr.	7.5	1.5	47.6	Scored 10+ points three times this year
G	11	Harris Robinson	5-8	Sr.	2.8	2.0	33.3	Earned a scholarship after last season
G	20	Airah Lavy	5-10	Fr.	7.0	1.5	44.8	Averaging 17.5 ppg in last two games
G	21	Gemma Walker	5-10	Fr.	3.0	0.0	50.0	Made collegiate debut against NJIT
G	24	Destini Ward	5-8	Jr.	---	---	---	Team captain in 2024-25
F	32	Fanta Daffe	5-10	Sr.	0.0	0.3	0.0	Playing her second season in Loretto
F	33	Giselle Eke	6-3	Fr.	2.3	2.0	31.3	Posted three blocks in collegiate debut
F	34	Alary Bell	6-2	So.	5.3	3.3	54.2	Second on team in steals

SELECT GAME NOTES VS. MARYLAND (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Sunday's game between Saint Francis and Maryland marks the second meeting in the all-time series and the first in the regular season. The two teams tangled in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, with the Terps earning a 70-48 win in the Red Flash's 11 NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Maryland comes into the contest ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. It marks the 25th time in program history the Red Flash have faced a ranked opponent in the regular season and the third time under head coach Keila Whittington. Saint Francis also played #22 South Florida (November 24, 2019) and #25 Michigan (November 11, 2022) under Whittington, but this will mark Whittington's first battle with a Top-15 ranked opponent.
• Facing an 11th-ranked team in the country is the sixth highest-ranked team the Loretto team has faced in the regular season. The squad has also faced  #1 Virginia (December 19, 1990), #5 Notre Dame (December 31, 2012), #7 Penn State (December 18, 1994), #7 West Virginia (December 18, 2010), #10 Texas Tech (November 28, 1997) and #11 Colorado (November 28, 1994). The squad is looking for its first win against a ranked opponent.
• While the team has never beaten a ranked opponent, Saint Francis does hold a 2-19 record against the Big 10 Conference, including a 2-17 record in the regular season. It will be the first meeting against Maryland since the Terps joined the Big 10. The Red Flash defeated Penn State 74-69 on November 28, 2006, in Loretto, but also owns a 103-100 win at Wisconsin in the 2016-17 season opener on November 13, 2016. It will be Whittington's sixth game against a Big 10 opponent.
• Maryland becomes the fifth team of the 10 teams the Red Flash has played in the NCAA Tournament to square off in the regular season, joining Georgia, Iowa State, Old Dominion, and Ohio State.
• Saint Francis is 56-73 against teams from Maryland and 24-40 at home. In non-conference play, the Red Flash is 16-34 against the Old Line State. The bulk of the games against teams from Maryland were against Mount St. Mary's when the Mountaineers were a member of the Northeast Conference. Whittington is 3-14 against the state. Maryland concludes a stretch of playing teams from the Old Line state in 13 days. Saint Francis lost at Coppin State on November 12 to begin this stretch and fell to Loyola at home on November 17. UMBC will be the final Maryland team on the schedule when the Retrievers come to Loretto on December 8.
• The Red Flash is amid a season-long five-game road trip that will continue on Wednesday at Saint Joseph's.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's second win in the row to give the Red Flash its first winning streak of the season
• Be Saint Francis' third win against a Big 10 team and second on the road
• Be the team's first win against a ranked opponent in program history
• Be the team's first win against a team from the Old Line State this season

ABOUT THE TERPS
• Eleventh-ranked Maryland comes into the contest 5-0 after defeating Towson 98-63 on Sunday. The Terrapins also defeated UMBC (74-32) and Coppin State (70-47), two teams on the Saint Francis schedule this season.
• Kaylene Smikle paced the Terps with 21 points. Sarah Te-Biasu (13 points), Christina Dalce (13 points, 10 rebounds), Saylor Poffenberger (12 points), Allie Kubeck (11 points) and Shyanne Sellers (10 points) also found double figures against the Tigers.
• Smikle leads the team with 18.6 points per game, while Sellers (10.6 ppg.) and Dalce (10.4 ppg.) also average double figures. Dalce leads the team with 9.0 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME WE MET
• Maryland defeated Saint Francis 70-48 in the NCAA Tournament first round on March 20, 2011.
• Brittany Lilley and Nickia Gibbs each had 10 points for the Red Flash, while Alli Williams had eight points and 10 rebounds to wrap up her freshman season in Loretto. The Altoona native would go on to score over 2,000 points in her career. 
• Alyssa Thomas fueled the Terrapins with 16 points. Diandra Tchatchouang and Barrett Anjale chipped in 11 points each.

LAST TIME OUT
• Freshman Airah Lavy drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 27 seconds left off an assist by sophomore Marina Artero to give Saint Francis a 58-55 win at Robert Morris on Wednesday.
• Lavy finished the game with a career-high 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor, 5 of 7 from 3-point land and 2 of 2 at the foul line
• Junior Julianna Gibson matched her career high of 15 points, while junior Natalie Johnson returned to Moon Township for the first time in a Red Flash uniform and notched 10 points.
• It was Saint Francis' first win against the Colonials since the 2018 Northeast Conference Championship Game.

TRENDING UP
• Freshman Airah Lavy is averaging 17.5 points per game in her last game and has posted the two highest scoring outputs this season with 19 points at Robert Morris on November 20 and 16 points against Loyola on November 17. In those two games, Lavy is shooting 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the floor, 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from behind the arc and 100 percent (4-for-4) from the free throw line. Not bad after shooting 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from the floor and 20.0 percent (2-for-10) in her first four college games, with seven points coming into the game against Loyola.
• Junior Julianna Gibson matched her career-high 15 points against Robert Morris. The junior also had 15 points against Wagner on January 6. It was her fifth double-digit point game of her career and second on the road. The total against the Colonials is a new road career high for Gibson after she posted 14 points at UMBC on December 29, 2023. After posting 10 points in her first four games, the junior has recorded 23 points in her last two contests and is averaging 11.5 points per game in her last two tilts. She is looking to have 10+ points in consecutive games for the second time in her career.
• Junior Natalie Johnson, who played her first two seasons at Robert Morris, leads the team with three 10+ point games this season after posting 10 points at Robert Morris on Wednesday. The junior now has 10 double-figure point games in her career, thanks to seven 10+ games in a Colonials uniform last year. Johnson has posted double figures in every other game this season and is looking to have back-to-back 10+ games for the first time in a Red Flash uniform and the third time in her career.
• Sophomore Marina Artero continues to put up some impressive numbers in rebounds and assists this season. The sophomore grabbed eight rebounds for the first time this season and the second time against Robert Morris. It was the seventh time in her career she has hauled in at least eight boards in a game. Artero had three multiple-assist games last season for 19 assists. Through six games, the sophomore has 18 helpers and has recorded more than one assist in five of the six games.
• The Red Flash is looking for its first winning streak since defeating LIU 61-56 on February 3, 2024, and Wagner 76-60 on February 15. Saint Francis is looking to win two consecutive games on the road for the first time since defeating CCSU 69-59 on January 21, 2022, and Sacred Heart 69-66 in overtime on January 23, 2022. The squad is also looking for its first non-conference winning streak since defeating Old Dominion 79-68 on November 18, 2017, and Cincinnati 77-73 on November 27, 2017.