Saint Francis University (2-9) at Butler University (9-3)
Date | Time	Sunday, December 15, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.
Location	Indianapolis, Ind. | Hinkle Fieldhouse
Television	Flosports ($)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Butler
Stats	Saint Francis | Butler | 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.	9.2	3.0	38.4	Scored 13 points in last game
G	10	Ineivi Plata	5-3	Fr.	3.7	3.3	29.8	Leads the team in assists and steals
G	11	Harris Robinson	5-8	Sr.	3.2	2.4	28.3	Tied season high with eight points at Delaware St
G	20	Airah Lavy	5-10	Fr.	6.8	1.3	34.3	Has two straight 10+ point games on the road
F	12	Julianna Gibson	6-2	Jr.	4.6	3.1	46.3	Tallied eight points and seven rebounds at Duquesne
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.	6.8	7.8	48.1	Career high 17 pts, 19 rebs vs. Delaware St.
G	4	Marissa Shelton	5-8	Jr.	4.8	2.4	27.3	Returns to her home state for first time in career
G	5	Natalie Johnson	5-8	Jr.	7.6	1.7	44.4	Career high 14 points vs Delaware St.
G	21	Gemma Walker	5-10	Fr.	1.7	0.7	18.2	Returned to action in the last two games
F	23	Marina Artero	5-11	So.	1.3	3.4	21.2	Leads the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio
G	24	Destini Ward	5-8	Jr.	---	---	---	Team captain in 2024-25
F	32	Fanta Daffe	5-10	Sr.	0.0	0.4	0.0	Playing her second season in Loretto
F	33	Giselle Eke	6-3	Fr.	2.0	1.9	31.8	Returns to her home state for first time
F	34	Alary Bell	6-2	So.	5.3	3.3	54.2	Second on team in steals

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

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• After a week off for final exams, Saint Francis returns to the hardwood with its first-ever trip to Butler University on Sunday.
• Hinkle Fieldhouse, the home of the Bulldogs, hosted one of the most famous basketball games ever with the "Milan Miracle" in 1954 when tiny Milan High School's basketball team defeated the much larger Muncie Central High School team. Milan player Bobby Plump made the last-minute score to win the game and went on to become a star player at Butler. The Milan team and the tournament win also inspired the fictional Hickory High School team in Hoosiers (1986). The final scenes of the movie's championship game was also filmed at the fieldhouse.
• If you are a Red Flash fan but do not have a special place in your heart for the movie Hoosiers, then you might remember Landon Moore's outstanding freshman year for Saint Francis men's basketball in 2022-23. Moore averaged 13.1 points per game and was well on his way to being the NEC Rookie of the Year before an injury forced him to miss the final 12 conference games of the year. Moore, a junior, is in his second season with the Bulldogs.
• Saint Francis is 3-30 against Big East teams in program history, but most of the games have come against the Old Big East. The Red Flash has only played Marquette and Xavier since the reformed Big East started in 2013. It will be the third game against the Big East for head coach Keila Whittington after battling Marquette and Xavier in 2022-23. The three wins for the Red Flash versus the Big East are against Pittsburgh, but only a 65-63 win was in the Oakland portion of Pittsburgh in 1997-98. The Red Flash faced UConn twice in the NCAA Tournament after winning the NEC Tournament in 1999 and 2002. The two teams also squared off in the 2018 NCAA Tournament before the Huskies returned to the Big East.
• Saint Francis heads back on the road for four games after the quick stop in Loretto against UMBC on December 8 and a week to take care of final exams. The team is in a stretch, having nine of 10 tilts on the road. The 1985-86 team had a comparable road trip when it recorded 10 of 11 games on the road. The 1988-89 team played nine of 11 on the road, the team also had eight of 10 games away from DeGol Arena in 1986-87 and 1998-99. Since the turn of the century, only the 2010-11 team had eight consecutive on the road with a three-game and a four-game homestand sandwiching the long road trip. In 2004-05, the Red Flash played seven of eight on the road.
• Saint Francis will wrap up non-conference play with its fourth and final Kid's Day Out Game at Rhode Island on December 20. The team will then have off for the Christmas holiday before opening NEC play in New England at CCSU (January 2) and Stonehill (January 4). The Red Flash does not return to DeGol Arena until Thursday, January 9.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win against a Big East team since defeating Pittsburgh in 1997-98
• Be the team's first win in the state of Indiana
• Be the team's third win of the season and the second consecutive win on the road
• Be the Red Flash's first non-conference winning streak on the road since defeating Old Dominion 79-68 on November 18, 2017 and Cincinnati 77-73 on November 27, 2017
 

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Butler comes into the contest 9-3 after falling 71-64 in double overtime to Wisconsin at home on Wednesday.
• Sydney Jaynes and Riley Makalusky paced the Bulldogs with 13 points apiece, while Jaynes had eight boards, and Makalusky grabbed six caroms.
• Caroline Strande leads Butler with 14.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Kilyn McGuff has a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game and is second to Strande with 10.3 points per game. Makalusky is averaging 9.0 points per game. 

LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis fell 61-45 against UMBC at home on December 8.
• Sophomore Yanessa Boyd paced the Red Flash with 13 points, while junior Marissa Shelton added eight points and a career-high six rebounds off the bench. 
 

PRIMED TO BE A PERFORMER
• Junior Jade Campbell was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for December 2-8. It was her first conference recognition of her career.
• Campbell averaged a double-double with 10.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, highlighted by her breakout performance in the Red Flash's 69-60 win against Delaware State on Thursday. The junior keyed an 11-2 run to close the third quarter with six points, including the final four points of the frame, to give the Red Flash the lead it would not relinquish. She then posted four points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal against UMBC on Sunday. The junior shot 40.0 percent from the floor (8-for-20) in the two games.
• It marks the third consecutive week a Saint Francis player has been named a Prime Performer for their first conference honor. Freshman Airah Lavy was selected for November 18-24 thanks to a career-high 19 points and the game-winning 3-pointer against Robert Morris on November 20. Sophomore Yanessa Boyd followed with a 20-point effort at Duquesne on December 1 to earn Prime Performer for November 25-December 1.

AGAINST THE HOOSIER STATE
• Saint Francis is looking for its first win in Indiana and will face a Power-5 team for the third time in the state.
• The Red Flash lost at Notre Dame during the 2007-08 and the 2012-13 seasons for the only two times before Sunday's game the team has played in the state of Indiana.
• Saint Francis also played Purdue in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, but that game was in Ames, Iowa, at the home of Iowa State University.
• Junior Marissa Shelton (South Bend) and freshman Giselle Eke (Fort Wayne) will return to their home state for the first time in their collegiate careers. Both players reside about two hours from Butler's campus.

TRENDING UP
• Sophomore Yanessa Boyd  is coming off her fifth 10+ point game of the season with her 13 points against UMBC on December 8. Her performance against UMBC was the most she has scored in a game at DeGol Arena in her career. Three of the five games she has posted double figures were against teams from her home state of Maryland. Boyd also likes to play west of Loretto in Pittsburgh, with a 14-point game at Pittsburgh and a career-high 20 points against Duquesne on December 1 on her resume.
• Junior Marissa Shelton posted eight points and a career-high six rebounds against UMBC. It was the fourth time this season the junior has registered eight points or more in a game, with a season-best 10 points against Canisius on November 15 at home. She returns to her home state with three career 10+ point games on her resume all at DeGol Arena. The nine points at Duquesne were the most points she has scored on the road in her career.
• Junior Jade Campbell registered four points, six rebounds, and two assists in her first game at DeGol Arena since February 18, 2023, against LIU. The junior, who missed all of 2023-24 and the first six games this season, recorded a career-high 17 points and 19 rebounds against Delaware State on December 5. It was the biggest eye-popping stat game since Aaliyah Moore registered 14 points and 20 rebounds at Merrimack on March 6, 2023. That was also Campbell's last game due to injury before her current four-game run in her return. Campbell narrowly missed becoming the third player under head coach Keila Whittington to post 20 rebounds in a game. Along with Moore's game at Merrimack, Jada Dapaa had three 20-rebound games in 2021-22. A 20-rebound game would also rank Top-10 in single-game program history.
• Junior Natalie Johnson and freshman Airah Lavy are coming off two straight double-figure games on the road. The duo has combined for nine double-figure performances this year with Johnson recording four of her five on the road and Lavy posting three of her four away from DeGol Arena. In addition, the duo has scored double figures in the same game three times with the Red Flash posting a 2-1 record when they turn that trick. Lavy is averaging 15.3 points per game in these three games, while Johnson is averaging 11.3 points per game. Lavy had a career-high 19 points against Robert Morris on November 20, and Johnson broke her career best with 14 points at Deleware State.
• For the second time this season, sophomore Marina Artero was held without an assist. The last time Artero did not have a helper, she returned her next game with a career-high tying six assists against Duquesne on December 1. The sophomore has three games with at least five assists in 2024-25 and has given out multiple helpers in eight of the nine games she records an assist.