WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis Women's Basketball had three players score in double figures to help guide the team to a 63-54 win over LIU Saturday afternoon.

>> Airah Lavy (14), Marissa Shelton (13), and Julianna Gibson (12) each scored double digit points. It marks the second time in three games that the Red Flash had three players score 10 or more points, with the first time coming on Jan. 9 against FDU.

>> Gibson and Yanessa Boyd each led the Red Flash with six rebounds. Boyd also gained a career-high five assists, tied with Ineivi Plata for the most on the team.

>> It is the first time that women's basketball has won two straight games in Northeast Conference play since February 3-February 15 of the 2023-24 season when they beat LIU and Wagner.

TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
It was a tight back-and-forth game going into the third quarter. Saint Francis was up 30-28 in a half that featured five lead changes and four times when it was tied.

LIU went on a 5-2 run to open the third to go up 33-32 at the 8:14 mark. This would be the last time they would hold the lead as the Red Flash went on a 17-7 run to close the quarter with a 47-40 lead. The home team extended their advantage to as much as 56-44 with a little over five minutes left in the fourth and the lead would never get below seven.

FLASH QUOTES
"We're really proud of our team today for pushing through throughout the game," head coach Keila Whittington said about the effort of the team. "We knew this would be a tough matchup against LIU. They normally play us pretty tough. One of the keywords I had on the board before the game was toughness,"

"Looking at the 40 rebounds, that means we were going to work today and it's the little things we have to continue to do in order to win basketball games," Whittington added. "It's the little things and they become big things in the long run."

"We just look to find the open person," Plata said about the team's 16 assists on 23 field goals made. "We just have to attack and see who's open. It is important that we move the ball and find our shooters open because that makes it easier for them."

"I just came into the game with a lot of confidence," Lavy said about her hot shooting to start the game. "I knew they wouldn't be able to match up with me in transition. So I just ran my lane and Ineivi always finds me on the break. So, I give credit to her for always getting me involved."

FLASH MOMENTS
Lavy knocked down three-straight three pointers from the 4:24 to 2:03 marks in the first quarter to guide Saint Francis towards a 17-14 lead after the first 10 minutes.

The Red Flash went 8-for-16 from the field in the third quarter to give them their highest scoring output of any quarter with 19. Shelton had 11 of her 13 points in the third, including three three pointers.

Saint Francis's defense was stifling in the final quarter, holding LIU to 12 points and a 31.6% shooting percentage. The Sharks only made five field goals as the Red Flash held off any comeback from occurring. 

FLASH NUGGETS
The Red Flash defense held the Sharks' offense to an overall shooting percentage of 33.3. It is the second-lowest output of the season after holding Le Moyne to 28.6 percent in the previous game on the 11th. Marina Artero and Plata each got two steals.

Plata has now posted five assists in back-to-back games and is up to four total games with five or more assists.

Gibson's six rebounds marks the third time the junior forward has racked up five or more rebounds.

Alary Bell tallied a career-high two blocks. The sophomore forward now has three over the last two games.

Lavy's four three pointers marks the sixth time this season that the freshman has totaled three or more threes in a game. Shelton's three is the second time in three games the junior knocked down three three pointers after doing it versus FDU on Jan. 9. The two combined for all of the team's seven made three pointers.

NEXT UP FOR FLASH
The Red Flash will return to action on Monday, January 20 when they take on Wagner at DeGol Arena at 7:00 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN+ along with NEC Front Row.