WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Yanessa Boyd and Julianna Gibson led two defensive stands in the final three seconds to help Saint Francis hold on for a 50-48 win against Wagner in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's basketball action on Saturday.
>> Boyd had the defensive assignment with the Red Flash up one point and altered the layup attempt by the Seahawks. Gibson was pushed to the floor on the rebound attempt, went down, and made 1 of 2 from the free throw line. The junior then knocked the ensuing inbounds pass out of bounds at midcourt with 2.4 seconds left, and then she blocked a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the waning seconds, with Boyd coming down with the rebound to secure the victory.
>> Natalie Johnson, who scored the final four points for Saint Francis before Gibson's free throw, led the Red Flash with 16 points. Marissa Shelton chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.
>> Saint Francis improved to 5-2 in NEC play with the victory.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Red Flash led for the majority of the afternoon but needed to rally to tie the game twice in the fourth quarter before Johnson gave the Loretto program the lead for good. Alary Bell kissed the ball off the glass to tie the game at 43 with 3:10 left and again at 45 with 2:24 left. Johnson, who had the assist on Bell's second basket, then gave Saint Francis the lead it would not relinquish on a pullup jumper with 89 seconds left, which was precisely the same time Boyd registered the go-ahead steal and layup in the 51-47 win against Wagner on Monday. 

Johnson then made two free throws with 45 seconds left to extend the lead to 49-46. Wagner scored in the lane with 39 seconds to trim the margin to 49-48, and then a Red Flash turnover gave the Seahawks a chance to win the game. However, the Saint Francis defense led by Boyd and Gibson denied the opportunity to preserve the victory. 

FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 7-4 in the first quarter, Saint Francis used a 14-4 run to take an 18-11 lead going into the second quarter. Johnson registered four points in this stretch to power the run. 

After Wagner grabbed a 20-18 lead with 6:18 left in the second quarter, the Red Flash closed the frame on a 12-2 run to go into the locker room with a 30-22 lead. Johnson scored four points in the run, including reclaiming the lead with 5:34 remaining. Airah Lavy drained a triple to cap the run at the end of both the first and second quarters.

Saint Francis scored the final five points of the third quarter to restore the lead to end a quarter for the third time in the game. Wagner grabbed its largest lead at 38-34 with 2:23 left in the frame before Shelton knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining before Harris Robinson made an acrobatic layup with 13 seconds on the clock for a 39-38 edge after 30 minutes.

FLASH NUGGETS
Johnson averaged 14.5 points per game in the two games over the weekend after registering 13 points at LIU on Thursday and 16 points on Saturday in Staten Island. Johnson's point total at Wagner is the second highest of her career after she posted a career-best 20 points at CCSU on January 2. The junior continues to succeed more on the road than at home, with her ninth 10+ point game this season and the eighth on the road. It is also the third time she has scored double figures in consecutive games, and all three times have been in back-to-back road games.

Shelton notched her fifth 10+ point game in her last five games, and it was the second time in her career that she had reached the total away from Loretto. The junior has seven double-figure point games this season and nine in her career. Shelton is averaging 10.0 points per game in her last six tilts. 

Bell registered four points and six rebounds against the Seahawks after grabbing a career-high 13 boards against the Seahawks on Monday. Giselle Eke added a career-high five caroms.

Saint Francis improved to 5-3 for the ninth time in program history and the first time since the 2021-22 season. The Red Flash also opened NEC play with five wins in the first eight games in 1989-90, 1991-92, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2015-16. The team is 3-1 at home and 2-2 on the road in league play.

NEXT UP FOR FLASH
Saint Francis will have 12 days off before completing its three-game road trip at Le Moyne on February 6. Game time is 6 p.m. The long layoff is due to NEC women's basketball teams not playing any games on January 30 and the Red Flash having its first of two byes on February 1.