Turkey Tipoff: Saint Francis University at Iona University | Saint Francis University vs the University of Illinois-Chicago/University of Maine
Date | Time	Friday, November 28, 2025, 12 p.m. | Saturday, November 29, 2025, 12/2:30 p.m.
Location	New Rochelle, N.Y. | Hynes Athletic Cenrer
Television	Friday: ESPN+ (David Resnick, play-by-play, Edona Thaqi, color analyst)
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Iona | Ill-Chicago | Maine
Stats	Saint Francis | Iona | Ill-Chicago | Maine | NEC
Social Media	@RedFlashWBB  |@RedFlashWBB | Facebook

 

Saint Francis Probable Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	1	Makyiah Ward	5-4	Fr.	5.3	4.0	43.8	1 of 2 players to start every game
F	4	Sonia Sato	6-0	Gr.	12.0	4.2	36.4	Career-high 22 points against CMU
G	11	Bati Assefa	5-9	Sr.	5.6	2.8	52.6	Career-high 15 points vs Lafayette
G	12	Sajol Thornhill	5-7	So.	1.8	1.3	16.7	Made first Saint Francis start against Army
F	15	Cassandra Hawthorne	5-11	Gr.	7.4	5.6	46.2	Matched career high with 12 points against Army
Top Players Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	0	Aleah James	5-7	Gr.	12.3	4.3	39.4	Leads team in scoring
G	3	Desire Short	5-9	Jr.	---	---	---	Did not play in first six games
G	5	Kash Holmes	5-9	Jr.	---	---	---	Did not play in first six tilts
F	10	Zaiha Minnis	5-11	Sr.	3.8	1.2	31.8	Season-high eight points against Lafayette
G	21	Gemma Walker	5-10	So.	2.0	3.0	0.0	Made her season debut against Army
F	23	Shelby Ricks	5-9	Gr.	10.7	5.8	35.0	Leads team in rebounding
G	33	Giselle Eke	6-3	So.	3.3	3.0	35.7	Matched career-high six points vs Lafayette

SELECT GAME NOTES FOR TURKEY TIPOFF (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Friday's game between Saint Francis and Iona marks the fourth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1985-86 season. The two teams met for the first time on November 29, 1985, nearly 40 years ago to the day.
• The Gaels lead the series 2-1 with a pair of victories in New Rochelle, while the only Red Flash win in the series was a 77-69 decision on November 19, 2010, in the Preseason WNIT in Harrisonburg, Va.
• Iona defeated Saint Francis 64-47 on November 29, 1986, and again 99-94 on November 27, 1987, in the Empire State.
• The Red Flash is 6-16 all-time against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, including 3-11 away from home. Saint Francis has played all 13 teams currently in the league, but has not played Marist, Manhattan, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Rider, or Sacred Heart in a non-conference game since they left the NEC for the MAAC.
• Saint Francis will play either Illinois-Chicago or Maine on Saturday.
• It would be the first meeting against Illinois-Chicago in team history, and would be the first time the Red Flash would meet a team from the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Saint Francis just missed playing a MVC school with a 69-56 loss at Loyola-Chicago, but the Ramblers left for the Atlantic 10 that season. Valparaiso joined the MVC in 2017, well after Saint Francis lost 99-89 to the Beacons on December 5, 1992, at the Lady Bonnies Classic.
• It would be the second meeting against Maine if the two teams tangle on Saturday after the Black Bears defeated the Red Flash 71-62 on November 26, 1999, on their home floor.
• While Saint Francis has little experience playing the MVC, the Red Flash is 4-11 against the America East, and 1-6 against current members (1-2 vs. Vermont, 0-2 vs UMBC, and 0-2 vs NJIT). The Loretto program is also 2-1 against Canisius, 1-1 against Hartford, 0-2 vs. Delaware, and 0-1 against Niagara while they were associated with the conference. Current America East members Bryant and UMBC were also once associated with the NEC.
• Saint Francis is looking for its first win in an in-season tournament since defeating Wright State 98-81 on December 21, 2012, at the Wright State Tournament and its first in-game win in the first game of a tournament since a 63-61 victory against Stetson on December 28, 2009, in the Stetson Tournament. That tournament was also the last time the Loretto program won both games of an in-season tournament after defeating American 60-57 on the next day. In addition, the Stetson Tournament is the only time in team history that the squad won both games of a tournament on the road. However, Saint Francis did take both games of its home Red Flash Classic in 1994-95.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Give head coach Chynna Bozeman her first career victory
• Be the team's first in-season tournament win since 2012, ending a 12-game in-season tournament losing streak
• Be the team's second straight win against Iona
• Be the squad's second win against Maine or its first win against Illinois-Chicago on Saturday
• Be first Red Flash non-conference win in the state of New York

ABOUT THE GAELS
• Iona comes into the contest 3-2 after defeating Wagner 63-57 on Monday.
• Isabellah Middleton paced the Gaels with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Ella Fajardo and Chloe Vasquez each had 10 points.
• Middleton leads the team with 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Zoey Ward is averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and Vasquez is third with 10.0 points per game.
• Iona head coach Angelika Szumilo has a long history with the Red Flash. She was 3-3 against Saint Francis as the head coach with FDU (2019-23). As an assistant under Stephanie Gaitley, who replaced Szumilo at FDU when she came to Iona, Saint Francis was 7-6 against the tandem: 3-2 against Monmouth and 4-4 against LIU, but the Red Flash did win the 2011 NEC Championship 72-57 against the Hawks. She was also 2-2 against the Loretto program as a player at LIU.

LAST TIME WE MET THE GAELS
• Samantha Leach and Allison Daly each had 20 points to power Saint Francis past Iona 77-69 on November 20, 2010, in the Preseason WNIT. Leach also had six assists and five rebounds, while Daly had six boards and six steals.
• Brittany Lilley added 18 points, seven assists and six caroms, while Shene Fleming also found double figures with 13 points. 
• Anda Ivkovic paced the Gaels with 22 points and eight rebounds. Marissa Flagg (16 points) and Tomica Bacic (12 points) also had double figures for Iona.

ABOUT THE FLAMES
• Illinois-Chicago comes into the tournament 3-3 after defeating Ball State 66-64 on Monday. 
• TuTu Clayton and Julia Coleman paced the Flames with 16 points, while Samantha Serrano (12 points) and Jessica • Carrothers (10 points) also found double figures.
• Carrothers leads the team with 17.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Coleman powers the squad in rebounding with 7.2 rebounds per game, along with 13.2 points per game, and Amelia Strong is third with 13.0 points per game

ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS
• Maine comes into the event 1-4 after falling 70-39 at Brown on Sunday. The Black Bears defeated Stonehill, a member of the NEC, 79-53 on November 17 for their lone win.
• Asta Blauenfeldt powered Maine with 10 points in her last game.
• Adrianna Smith fuels the team with 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Blauenfedt is second with 14.6 points per game. 

LAST TIME WE MET THE BLACK BEARS
• Despite 25 points from Jess Zinoble, Maine defeated Saint Francis 71-62 on November 26, 1999. 
• Jenn DeFlippo chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
• Jamie Cassidy paced the Black Bears with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while current Maine head coach Amy Vachon had 16 points and 10 assists. Kristen McCormick added 10 points. 

TRENDING UP
• Graduate student Sonia Sato has recorded double-figure points in four of her first six games and is averaging 11.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over her last three tilts. The graduate student registered her first career 20-point game with 22 points against Carnegie Mellon on November 18.
• Graduate student Cassandra Hawthorne has recorded at least five rebounds four times this season to go along with her first two 10+ point games with 12 points against La Salle on November 8 and again against Army West Point on November 22. Hawthorne has hauled in five rebounds per game when she plays over 10 minutes, averaging 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in those instances. 
• If graduate student Aleah James is not putting up double figures in points, she is stuffing the stat sheet in other areas. James tallied a career-high nine rebounds along with four assists and four assists against Lafayette on November 16 when she finished with five points, and five rebounds and three assists to go along with six points against Army West Point. The graduate student also has three games with at least 14 points including a career-high 20 points against Robert Morris on November 13. 

ON THE ROAD
• Saint Francis will play its first road game since November 8 and will venture out of the state of Pennsylvania for the first time this season after playing two Atlantic 10 teams from the Keystone State
• The Red Flash is averaging 66.5 points per game and allowing 86.5 points per game in those two games against Duquesne and La Salle. 
• Saint Francis has five players averaging double figures on the road: graduate student Aleah James (15.5 ppg.),graduate student Sonia Sato (13.5 ppg.), freshman Makyiah Ward (11.0 ppg.), graduate student Shelby Ricks (10.5 ppg.) and graduate student Cassandra Hawthorne (10.0 ppg.)
• The squad finished up its first non-conference four-game homestand since 1984-85 and averaged 54.8 points per game while allowing 69.3 points per game in that stertch.

ON THIS DATE (NOVEMBER 28)
• Saint Francis is 5-9 on this date, including 1-6 on the road and 0-2 on a neutral site.
• The Red Flash defeated Penn State 74-69 on this date in Loretto in 2006. Christie Ayers paced Saint Francis with 16 points, while Beth Halter (13 points) and Danielle Hibbard (10 points) also found double figures. It is the only Red Flash win against the Nittany Lions in nine games.

ON THIS DATE (NOVEMBER 29)
• Saint Francis is 2-4 on this date, including 0-3 on the road and 1-0 on a neutral site. 
• The Red Flash defeated Long Beach State 76-60  at the Tourneo de Basketbol in Cancun, Mexico. The Loretto program would finish that season 22-8 and 14-2 in NEC play on its way to its third of five-straight championships.