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| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
14.0 |
4.8 |
40.4 |
Career-high 9 boards against Lafayette |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
6.5 |
4.0 |
50.0 |
Leads team with seven steals |
| C Â Â Â Â Â Â |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
10.3 |
3.8 |
33.3 |
Ranks third on the team in scoring |
| G |
11 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
6.0 |
2.0 |
77.8 |
Career-high 15 points on Sunday |
| F |
23Â Â Â |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
12.5 |
7.3 |
40.0 |
Posted 15 points, 10 rebounds on Sunday |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first four games |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first four tilts |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 Â Â |
Sr. |
4.8 |
1.3 |
41.2 |
Season-high eight points on Sunday |
| GÂ |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
1.3 |
1.3 |
10.0 |
Posted three rebounds and three assists vs Duquesne |
| G |
21 Â Â |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
So. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Appeared in 13 games last season |
| G |
33 Â Â |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
So. |
4.5 |
2.5 |
37.5 |
Matched career-high six points vs Lafayette |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. CARNEGIE MELLONÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Tuesday's game between Saint Francis and Carnegie Mellon marks the 11th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1979-80 season.
• The series is tied at five games apiece, but this will also mark the first time the two teams will meet since the Red Flash defeated the Tartans with a 77-37 decision on January 14, 1985.
• To put that in perspective, Saint Francis head coach
Chynna Bozeman was not born yet (1989), and Carnegie Mellon head coach
Kathy McConnell-Miller would have been a junior at Seton-La Salle High School, a year removed from helping her high school team, along with her sister, Susie, to the state title.
• Saint Francis joined the NEC for women's basketball in 1986-87, and while it was not a "red-letter year in the history of science," it signaled the end of playing non-Division I teams for the Red Flash for the most part. The squad played Indiana (Pa.) three times from 1986-89, Pitt-Johnstown in 2015-16, and Seton Hill twice from 2017-19.
• While the Saint Francis men's basketball team has played several Division III teams in recent history, including facing today's play-by-play announcer, Jack Ridenour, and his Chatham team at DeGol Arena on November 19, 2016, this marks the first time the women's basketball team will battle a Division III team since defeating Juniata 75-64 on February 10, 1986.
NOTE: Ridenour had two rebounds in seven minutes in that game.
• Playing an NCAA Division III team can be dangerous, just ask Pitt, whose women's team lost to Scranton on Sunday, 69-63. The Red Flash will travel to Pitt on December 18.
• Bozeman is looking for her first win as a head coach, and if she reaches the feat on Thursday, she would join Veronica Buzzard and Deb Polca to pick up her first win as a head coach against a non-Division I opponent. Both Buzzard and Polca defeated Mount Aloysius for their first win.
• Thursday is the fifth time the Red Flash will hold a Kids' Day Out/ Education Day game, inviting local schools from 2016-18 before bringing it back for the first time since COVID last season.
• The Tartans will be the opponent for the first time on this special day, while Canisius (2016, 2024) and Seton Hill (2017, 2018)
• The Red Flash won the last four Kid's Day Out games before falling to the Golden Griffins last year, 48-46 in front of a women's basketball record crowd of 1,400.
• The number of people coming will not reach last year's total, but could see upwards of 700 people at DeGol Arena, with Cambria Heights, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy, St. Michael's, Blacklick Valley, Holy Name, and Soaring Heights Altoona bringing students to the game.
• Saint Francis wraps up its homestand with Army on Saturday before heading to the Turkey Tipoff.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Give head coach Chynna Bozeman her first career victory
• Have Bozeman become the sixth head coach to win her first game in Loretto
• Be the team's first win against Carnegie Mellon since 1985-86
• Be the team's fifth win on Kid's Day
Â
ABOUT THE TARTANS
•  Carnegie Mellon comes into the contest 1-1 after falling 61-41 to No. 14 John Carroll on Friday. The Tartans finished last season 21-6 overall and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament second round. The game against Saint Francis counts as an exhibition game for Carnegie Mellon. Â
• Nicole Timko paced the Tartans in their last game with 10 points, while Savannah Gibbs had 11 rebounds. Timko had 13 points in a 53-50 win against Oberlin in the season opener, and Allie Heyer added 11 points.Â
• Timko leads the team with 11.5 points per game.Â
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis drops a 69-55 decision to Lafayette on Sunday.
• Bati Assefa registered a career-high 15 points, while Shelby Ricks notched her first Red Flash double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
TRENDING UP
• Senior Bati Assefa came into the game on Sunday against Lafayette with 67 career points after scoring 64 points at Chadron State last season and three points in her first two games with the Loretto program. Her previous career high was six points.Â
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks has posted double figures in points in her last three games, and her second game with at least 15 points. It was her ninth 10+ point game of her career. The graduate student also finished with 10 rebounds to notch her second career double-double after a 20-point, 13-rebound performance with Bowie State at Bluefield State on February 15, 2025. She is averaging 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in her last three contests.Â
• Graduate student Aleah James has gone to new heights in different categories in each game this season. The graduate student registered career highs in points against Duquesne on November 3 (17) and against Robert Morris on November 13 (20). She dished out a career-best eight assists at La Salle on November 8 and hauled in a career-high nine rebounds against Lafayette. She leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg.) and assists (17), while ranking third in rebounding (4.8 rpg.) and fourth in steals.
• Graduate student Sonia Sato missed double figures for the first time on Sunday against Lafayette. She had 13 points at Duquesne, a career-high 14 points at La Salle and 10 points and a season-high six rebounds against Robert Morris. The three 10+ point games were the first three of her career.
• Graduate student Zaiha Minnis had a season-high eight points and three rebounds, and sophomore Giselle Eke had a high of six points and four rebounds against Lafayette. The six points matched her career-high she set last year at Maryland on November 24, 2024.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 3-3 on this day, including 3-1 at DeGol Arena.
• Shane Fleming scored the game-winning basket with 31 seconds left to lift the Red Flash past Akron on this date in 2012. Alli Williams paced the team with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while Fleming had 13 points.
FUN FACTS
• Alexa Hayward had 15 assists in a loss to Buffalo on this date in 2014. The 15 helpers are second most in single-game history.
