Saint Francis University (2-10) at Rhode Island University (4-8)
Date | Time	Friday, December 20, 2024 | 11:00 a.m.
Location	Kingston, R.I. | Thomas A. Ryan Center
Television	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Rhode Island
Stats	Saint Francis | Rhode Island | 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.	8.7	2.9	37.4	Scored 13 points vs. UMBC
G	10	Ineivi Plata	5-3	Fr.	3.8	3.3	31.4	Leads the team in assists and steals
G	11	Harris Robinson	5-8	Sr.	3.1	2.5	28.0	Tied season high with eight points at Delaware St
G	20	Airah Lavy	5-10	Fr.	6.5	1.2	32.9	Has 2 10+ game in last three tilts
F	12	Julianna Gibson	6-2	Jr.	4.6	3.0	45.7	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.	6.0	7.0	43.3	Career high 17 pts, 19 rebs vs. Delaware St.
G	4	Marissa Shelton	5-8	Jr.	5.3	2.2	28.9	First career 10+ point game on road at Butler
G	5	Natalie Johnson	5-8	Jr.	7.2	1.9	43.0	Career high 14 points vs Delaware St.
G	21	Gemma Walker	5-10	Fr.	2.0	0.8	21.4	Played in four games
F	23	Marina Artero	5-11	So.	1.2	3.2	20.6	Ranks second on team in assists
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.	2.1	2.0	27.7	Leads the team in blocks
F	34	Alary Bell	6-2	So.	5.3	3.3	54.2	Second on team in steals

SELECT GAME NOTES VS. RHODE ISLAND (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH

• Saint Francis wraps up its non-conference schedule with Friday morning's first-ever meeting against Rhode Island.
"• While it will be the first time the two teams will square off, Rhode Island head coach Tami Reiss faced the Red Flash as a student-athlete at the University of Virginia on December 19, 1990. Reiss registered 17 points and eight assists in a win for the Cavaliers. Virginia was the No. 1 ranked team at the time, and it was the first time in team history that Saint Francis played a ranked team.
• The Red Flash has not requested associate status in the Atlantic-10 despite playing its third Atlantic-10 team in the last 23 days. The tour through the conference began on November 27 at Saint Joseph's and Duquesne on December 1 in back-to-back affairs.
• It is the first time since 1993-94 Saint Francis will play three Atlantic-10 opponents in the same year. That season, the Red Flash opened the season at home with Dayton, St. Bonaventure at home, and then traveled to Duquesne in the first week. The 1991-92 team opened the slate with UMass and George Mason in the Red Flash Classic and hosted Duquesne. The 1985-85 Flash also played three games against the Atlantic-10 but played a home-and-home with Duquesne and traveled to George Mason.
• Saint Francis is 6-54 all-time against the Atlantic-10 and 2-29 on the road. It will be the eighth time head coach Keila Whittington will battle an Atlantic-10 team.
• The game on Friday will also be the fourth Kid's Day Out Game the Loretto team will participate in 2024-25. The squad also played on the road for Kid's Day Out at Coppin State (November 12) and Delaware State (December 5) and hosted the educational day for the first time since 2019 against Canisius on November 15.
• While the 2024 calendar year is ending as far as competitions with this game at Rhode Island, Saint Francis is in a stretch of playing nine of its 10 games on the road. The team had five straight on the road from November 20-December 5  before returning home to host UMBC on December 8. After final exams, the Red Flash traveled to Butler on December 15 and after this game at Rhode Island will play its first two conference games 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 returns to action in the New Year and opens NEC play at CCSU on January 2.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first non-conference win in the state of Rhode Island in program history
• Be the team's second-straight Kid's Day Out win after defeating Delaware State 69-60 on December 5
• Be the team's third win of the season
• End the non-conference slate with a win for the first time since the 2004-05 season and the eighth time since the 1989-90 season

ABOUT THE RAMS
• Rhode Island will be playing its first contest in nine days and comes into the contest 4-8 after falling to Princeton 66-54 for its fifth consecutive loss on December 11.
• The Rams are 2-0 against the Northeast Conference thanks to a 68-45 win against Stonehill on November 4 and a 76-51 victory against Le Moyne on November 10.
• Hawa Komara paced Rhode Island with 13 points and eight rebounds against the Tigers. Sophia Vital added 11 points.
• Honey Kaur leads the team with 10.6 points per game. Anaelle Dutat powers the team in rebounding (8.4 rpg.) and steals (28), while Vital powers the team in assists (43). 

LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis dropped a 95-38 decision at Butler on Sunday.
• Junior Marissa Shelton notched double figures for the first time on the road with 11 points. The junior, who hails from South Bend, Ind., was visiting her home state for the first time in her collegiate career.
 

AGAINST LITTLE RHODY
• It will be the second non-conference game for Saint Francis in Rhode Island and the first since January 31, 2009, against Bryant.
• The Bulldogs would join the Northeast Conference for the 2009-10 season, but each conference team played Bryant once as a non-conference game in the 2008-09 season.
• Friday's game at Rhode Island will be the first non-conference game in the state since the 2009 tilt against the Bulldogs was in Loretto.
• Saint Francis was 16-10 against Bryant from 2009-22. Head coach Keila Whittington was 5-1 against the Bulldogs, including 3-1 in Smithfield.
• The Red Flash will return to New England to open NEC play at CCSU in Connecticut on January 2 and Stonehill in Massachusetts on January 4.

TRENDING UP
• Junior Marissa Shelton registered double figures for the first time in her career with 11 points at Butler on December 15. The junior had three 10+ point games at DeGol Arena before reaching the mark in her home state. It was the second time she has posted double figures in points this season after recording 10 points against Canisius in the team's home Kid's Day Out Game on November 15.
• With this being the fourth Kid's Day Out Game the Red Flash has participated in, junior Natalie Johnson must love playing at 11 a.m. because she has averaged 10.7 points per game in the previous three games. She is averaging 13.0 points per game in the last two morning games, including posting a career-high 14 points at Delaware State on December 5.
• Sophomore Yanessa Boyd is almost averaging double-digits in morning games with 9.3 points per game. The sophomore had double figures in her first two Kid's Day Out Games.  If the trend continues, Boyd is also due for a 10+ point game after alternating 10+ point games and single digit games in her last six games. She is averaging 14.3 points per game the last three times she has reached double figures, while she is averaging 5.0 points the last three times she has been held to single digits, including the three points she posted at Butler.
• After being held without an assist against Canisius, freshman Ineivi Plata has recorded at least one assist in her last eight games, with multiple assists seven times and a career-high nine dimes against Duquesne on December 1. During this stretch, she also has three games with four helpers. The freshman has also recorded a steal in 10 of the 12 games, including four consecutive games. The freshman leads the team with 36 assists and 12 steals.
• Saint Francis is looking to end non-conference play with a win for the first time since the 2004-05 season when the Red Flash defeated Toledo 82-79 on December 30, 2004. The squad has finished non-conference play a win only seven times since 1989-90.