Â
| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make collegiate debut against Duquesne |
| C Â Â Â Â Â Â |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| F |
15 |
Cassandra Hawthorne |
5-10 |
Gr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| F |
23Â Â Â |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 Â Â |
Sr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| G |
11 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against Duquesne |
| GÂ |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Will make her SFU debut against 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. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Led the team in blocks last season |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. DUQUESNEÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saint Francis begins its 58th season of Red Flash women's basketball and the first under head coach
Chynna Bozeman in 2025-26.
• The 58th season will begin with the only team on this year's schedule that was also on the first schedule for the Red Flash in women's basketball history, with a trip to Duquesne on Monday for the season opener.
• The Loretto program defeated the Dukes 49-34 on February 15, 1969, as part of a 7-3 inaugural season. The clash in 2025-26 marks the 45th meeting between the two schools since that first meeting, with Duquesne leading the series 34-10.
• The Dukes will be the first test for Saint Francis in a season for the second time in team history and the first since the 2011-12 campaign. It will also be the third time in the last four years that the Red Flash will open the season against a Western Pennsylvania team, after facing off against Robert Morris in the inaugural game in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
• The squad will start on the road for the 44th time in team history, seeking its first win to open a campaign since defeating Wisconsin 103-100 on November 13, 2016.
• Saint Francis will open a campaign against a fellow Keystone State member for the 23rd time in program history. The Red Flash is 8-14 in season openers against teams from Pennsylvania. The squad is looking to end a 10-game losing streak in the season opener against fellow members of the Commonwealth. The last win in a season opener against a Pennsylvania team was a 75-63 decision over Penn State Altoona on December 5, 1979. Â
• In another nod to that first season 58 years ago, Saint Francis will play its first six games in the Keystone State with two road games covering the two biggest cities in the state (Pittsburgh) and Philadelphia (Saturday at La Salle) before playing four games at home at De Gol Arena. In the first 10 seasons in program history, the Red Flash did not play a game outside of the Keystone State. The first time the squad left the Commonwealth for a contest was February 5, 1979, at Stuebenville (now Franciscan). In addition, the squad will play its first five games against teams from the state, with Robert Morris, Lafayette and Carnegie Mellon coming to town.
• Bozeman becomes the sixth head coach to open her Red Flash coaching career on the road (only Jenny Prezekwas, Myndi Hill, and Joe Haigh opened their time in Loretto at home).
• She will also look to become the third head coach to win their inaugural Saint Francis game, joining Veronica Bussard, Hill, and Haigh.
• Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday at La Salle. The squad will make its home debut against Robert Morris on November 13.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Start the season 1-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 at Wisconsin
• Give head coach Chynna Bozeman her first career victory
• Make Bozeman the fourth Red Flash head coach to win her inaugura game as head coach
• Be the seventh time the Red Flash has opened the season with a win (third time on the road)
• End a 13-game losing streak against Duquesne
• Be the first win at Duquesne since a 39-34 win on February 5, 1975
STATE OF THE FLASH
• Saint Francis returns two players from last year's team that finished 9-7 in the league and hosted an NEC postseason game for the first time since 2021.
• Sophomores Giselle Eke and Gemma Walker are the only two returners from last year's team. Eke led the team with 15 blocks last season.Â
• Graduate student Sonia Sato comes to Saint Francis with the most experience after playing three seasons at Presbyterian, playing in 85 games with 15 starts. The Blue Hose won the Southern Conference in her sophomore year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.Â
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks registered 165 points last season for NCAA Division II Bowie State. Ricks registered 20 points and 13 rebounds against Bluefield State on February 15.
• Graduate student Aleah James takes over as the team's point guard after playing 31 games with 10 starts at UMES. She ranked fourth on the Hawks with 43 assists.
• Head coach Chynna Bozeman is in her first season as the head coach of the women's basketball team after serving as an assistant coach last season.
ABOUT THE DUKES
• Duquesne is coming off a season where it went 21-13 and advanced to the Super 16 round of the WNIT.Â
• The Dukes' top three scorers from that team are no longer in the Steel City. MacKenzie Blackford is the team's top returning scorer with 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.Â
• Junior Dunja Zecevic (UTEP) and sophomores Harriet Ford (Omaha) and Maja Rohkohl (Gardner-Webb) transferred to Duquesne in the offseason.Â
• A surname that is familiar in the Red Flash circles is McConnell, with sophomore Kellie McConnell. The sophomore is in her second season with the Dukes and is the cousin of Saint Francis men's basketball head coach Luke McConnell.Â
STORIED HISTORY
• Saint Francis has the most NEC Tournament Championships in NEC history and the most NEC regular season wins.
• The Red Flash won its first NEC Tournament title 30 years ago with the 1995-96 NEC Tournament run. That season started a run of nine championships in 10 years. Saint Francis has won 12 NEC Tournament titles.
• Saint Francis has the most wins in NEC regular season history. With four wins, the Loretto program will become the first NEC women's basketball team to reach 400 victories.
ON THE ROAD
• Saint Francis finished 6-11 on the road last year, including 4-4 in non-conference play. Â
• Saint Francis won three of its last five games away from Loretto. The Red Flash averaged 53.2 points per game on the road, while allowing 69.6 points per game. The squad was 5-8 at home with a 5-3 mark in league play. Saint Francis averaged 56.8 points per game at DeGol Arena and allowed 60.9 points per game.Â
ON THIS DATE
• This marks the earliest the team has opened the season in program history, breaking last year's start date of November 4
• The Red Flash has also started on November 5 (2019-20), November 6 (2018-19, 2023-24), November 7 (2022-23), November 8 (2013-14) and November 9 (2007-08, 2012-13, 2021-22)
• The only win in the single digit days of November was a 69-61 win against Howard on November 9, 2012
FUN FACTS
• The Saint Francis football will be on the road for the first time since October 11 on November 22 when it wraps up its season at Stonehill after a four-game homestand. The Red Flash women's basketball team will be completing a four-game homestand on November 22
