Â
| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
0 |
Yanessa Boyd |
5-9 |
So. |
8.2 |
3.2 |
35.0 |
At least three assists in three of last four |
| G |
4 |
Marissa Shelton |
5-8 |
Jr. |
5.9 |
1.9 |
32.4 |
Averaging 13.5 pppg in last two games |
| G |
10 |
Ineivi Plata |
5-3 |
Fr. |
3.9 |
3.4 |
33.8 |
Nine assists in last two games |
| F |
12 |
Julianna Gibson |
6-2 |
Jr. |
4.9 |
2.7 |
50.0 |
Posted 10 points vs FDU |
| F |
23 Â Â Â |
Marina Artero |
5-11 |
So. |
1.4 |
4.0 |
26.8 |
Matched career high with 11 boards against Le Moyne |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
1 |
Kameryn Dorsey |
5-6 |
So. |
7.0 |
5.0 |
60.0 |
Out for season due to an injury |
| F |
3 |
Jade Campbell |
6-0 |
Jr. |
7.5 |
5.6 |
47.0 |
Leads the team in rebounding |
| G |
5 |
Natalie Johnson |
5-8 |
Jr. |
8.3 |
1.8 |
48.7 |
Paces team in scoring |
| G |
11 |
Harris Robinson |
5-8Â Â Â Â |
Sr. |
3.1 |
2.5 |
32.3 |
Has a season-high eight points three times this season |
| G |
20 |
Airah Lavy |
5-10 |
Fr. |
6.3 |
1.4 |
33.7 |
Scored 14 points against Le Moyne |
| GÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
Fr. |
1.5 |
0.4 |
25.0 |
Notched career-high four points vs Le Moyne |
| G |
24Â Â Â Â |
Destini Ward |
5-8 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Team captain in 2024-25 |
| F |
32 |
Fanta Daffe |
5-10 |
Sr. |
0.0 |
0.6 |
0.0 |
Grabbed two rebounds against Le Moyne |
| F |
33 |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
Fr. |
2.1 |
2.1 |
30.6 |
Leads the team in blocks |
| F |
34 |
Alary Bell |
6-2 |
So. |
6.2 |
4.0 |
61.4 |
TNotched career-high seven caroms vs. Le Moyne |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. LIUÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saturday's game between Saint Francis and LIU marks the 78th season in the all-time series dating back to the 1985-86 season. The Red Flash leads the series 55-22 and holds a 31-7 advantage at DeGol Arena. Saint Francis has won six of the last eight in the matchup
• This will be a battle of head coaches who came into the league at the same time. Saint Francis head coach
Keila Whittington and LIU head coach
Rene Hayes both started in the NEC in 2019-20. Whittington holds a 6-4 edge in the series.
• The following three teams on the Red Flash schedule will complete its season series in 26 days with: Le Moyne, LIU, and Wagner. Le Moyne is like the chocolate cookie part of the Oreo Cookie, and LIU and Wagner are the white icing middle. After hosting the Dolphins, the Red Flash will face LIU on January 18 and Wagner two days later in Loretto and then will head up to New York to battle LIU (January 18) and Wagner (January 20), with five days separating the two games against each team. It is almost reminiscent of the old NEC Rivalry Week from 2009-11.
• The Red Flash are in the midst of a pair of four-game homestands with the three-game road trip sandwiched in between; Bruce Nolan from Bruce Almighty might say, "That's how the cookie crumbles." It is the first time in program history the team will have two four-game homestands in the same season. The team has hosted four consecutive games in league play six times and had two five-game homestands in 1995-96 and 1999-00, and won all five games both times. It is the third time under Whittington that the Red Flash has recorded a four-game homestand (2019-20, 2022-23). The squad has won three of four in a four-game homestand thrice (2004-05, 2010-11, and 2019-20) and split the four games in 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2022-23. Saint Francis has never had a losing record in a four-game NEC homestand.
• Saint Francis is 2-2 in NEC play, coming into play on Saturday for the ninth time in team history. With a win against the Sharks, the Red Flash would be 3-2 after five league games for the sixth time in team history, joining the 1990-91, 1998-99, 2009-10, 2011-12, and 2018-19 squads. The previous five times, Saint Francis finished with a winning league record and won the NEC title in 1998-99 and 2009-10
• After being on the road for 32 days, the team will complete its NEC home schedule of eight games in 42 days from January 9-February 20, straight at DeGol Arena. The Red Flash will continue its homestand against the Empire State next week when LIU and Wagner come to DeGol Arena. Saint Francis has won the last five games against the Empire State at home in NEC play.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Even NEC record at 3-2 for the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2018-19
• Register its first winning streak since defeating LIU at home on February 3, 2024 and Wagner on February 15 on the road
• Notch its first winning streak at home since defeating St. Francis Brooklyn on February 16, 2023 and LIU two days later
• Win its six straight game in Loretto against a team from New York
• Improve to 2-1 on homestand
ABOUT THE SHARKS
• LIU comes into the contest 4-13 overall and 1-3 in NEC play after falling 61-50 to Stonehill on January 11.
• Saint Francis and the Sharks have played three common opponents in league play. The Red Flash lost to Stonehill (73-59) on January 4. The Red Flash defeated CCSU (79-63) on January 2 and Le Moyne (73-41) on January 11. The Sharks defeated Le Moyne (59-48) on January 2 and lost at CCSU (52-48) on January 9. Both teams also beat Delaware State in non-conference play.
•
Sirviva Legions paced LIU against Stonehill with 18 points, while
Brianna Mead added 12 points.
•
Legions leads the team with 13.4 points per game, 42 assists, and 27 steals.
Janessa Williams is second on the team with 11.1 points per game and powers the squad with 6.9 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME WE MET
• The two teams split the season series last year with each team winning on its home floor.
• Kendall Carruthers paced the Red Flash with 19 points in a 61-56 win against LIU on February 3 in Loretto. Julianna Gibson added 12 points and 11 rebounds, Marissa Shelton had 11 points, and Harris Robinson grabbed 10 boards. Amaya Dowdy powered the Sharks with 25 points and 16 rebounds in the meeting in Loretto.Â
• Despite 30 points from Carruthers, LIU defeated Saint Francis 72-64 in Brooklyn on January 19, 2024. Mariah Elohim (17 points), Dowdy (13 points, 10 rebounds), and Emaia O'Brien (12 points) also had double figures for the Sharks in the first meeting of 2023-24.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis defeated Le Moyne 73-41 on January 11 in DeGol Arena.
•
Freshman
Airah Lavy paced the Red Flash with 14 points, while junior
Marissa Shelton added 12 points, and sophomore
Marina Artero matched her career-high with 11 boards in the win against the Dolphins.
•
It was the first win at DeGol Arena for Saint Francis this season, and the Red Flash improved to 2-2 in league play.Â
PRIMED TO BE A PERFORMER
• Junior Marissa Shelton was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for January 6-12. The junior averaged 13.5 points per game in the week and registered a career-high 15 points against FDU on January 9 and 12 points in a 73-41 win against Le Moyne on January 11. The NEC On The Run Podcast will also feature the junior with host Craig D'Amico.
• Shelton became the fifth player to be selected as an NEC Prime Performer, joining Yanessa Boyd, Jade Campbell, Natalie Johnson, and Airah Lavy. Campbell is the only player to receive the recognition twice for December 2-8 and December 30-January 5. Campbell posted 17 points and 19 rebounds in a win against Delaware State on December 5 and then tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds against CCSU on January 2 to help her earn those distinctions. Lavy was the first player honored for November 18-24 thanks to a career-high 19 points and the game-winning 3-pointer against Robert Morris on November 20. Boyd followed with a 20-point effort at Duquesne on December 1 to earn Prime Performer for November 25-December 1. Along with Campbell last week, Johnson had a pair of 10+ point games, including a career-high 20 points against the Blue Devils to earn Prime Performer with Campbell.
TRENDING UP
• At first glance, it looks like junior
Julianna Gibson loves to play in NEC home openers in the last two seasons after posting 15 points against Wagner on January 6, 2024, and 10 points against FDU on January 9, 2025. Still, it could be more than that after adding in her 12-point, 11-rebound game against LIU on February 3, 2024, also in Loretto. The Colts Neck, N.J., native is averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in three games against the New York-New Jersey teams when the games are in Pennsylvania. She also shoots 18-for-36 (50 percent) from the field in those games. "You don't realize this is good; this doesn't happen often in your life. We can work this stuff out," is a quote from the movie Garden State. Most of the time, playing in your home state makes a player produce more, but what doesn't often happen in life is that she has 12 points total in games at FDU, LIU, and Wagner.
• Junior
Marissa Shelton has scored double figures in back-to-back games for the second time in her career; both instances happened in Loretto. She has never scored double figures in three straight games. It will also be the first time the Red Flash has played more than two straight at DeGol Arena in a row. Shelton averaged 13.5 points per game in her last two games and has registered double figures three times in her previous six games. Shelton is from South Bend, Indiana, and she will be playing Wagner on Monday while Notre Dame plays Ohio State. Not sure who she will be rooting for, check out the NEC On The Run Podcast!
• Freshman
Airah Lavy has reached double figures five times in her career. She has hit at least three baskets from behind the arc each of those times. In the five games she has posted double figures, she has gone 23-for-39 from the floor (58.9 percent) and 21-for-38 (55.2 percent) from behind the arc. In the rest of the games, Lavy is 8-for-53 from the field and 8-for-36 from 3-point land. She has registered back-to-back 10+ point games twice this season.
• Sophomore
Marina Artero has done some of everything for Saint Francis this season. The sophomore has grabbed at least five rebounds six times this season, including matching a career-high 11 caroms in her last game against Le Moyne. Artero has also had 10 games with at least two assists, six games with three helpers, and twice has dished out six helpers in a game.
• Maybe you feel like Gilligan, and instead of a three-hour tour, we have a three-team tour of mascots around the sea with the Le Moyne Dolphins, LIU Sharks, and Wagner Seahawks. Maybe we should Just Go With It, go to Hawaii, swim with Dolphins, and take acting lessons from the real Dolph Lundgren.
