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| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
17.0 |
1.0 |
37.5 |
Scored a career-high 17 points against Duquesne |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
11.0 |
5.0 |
80.0 |
Notched 11 points in collegiate debut |
| C Â Â Â Â Â Â |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
13.0 |
2.0 |
26.7 |
Had career-high 13 points against Duquesne |
| F |
15 |
Cassandra Hawthorne |
5-10 |
Gr. |
8.0 |
9.0 |
37.5 |
Recorded team-high nine boards against Duquesne |
| F |
23Â Â Â |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
6.0 |
8.0 |
16.7 |
Tallied six points, eight rebounds on Monday |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play against Duquesne |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play against Duquesne |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 Â Â |
Sr. |
5.0 |
1.0 |
50.0 |
Had five points off the bench against Dukes |
| G |
11 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play against Duquesne |
| GÂ |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
0.0 |
3.0 |
0.0 |
Posted three rebounds and three assists in SFU debut |
| 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. LA SALLEÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• After beginning the season in Pittsburgh against Duquesne, Saint Francis heads east to the City of Brotherly Love to square off with La Salle for the third time in program history.
• The Explorers have won both meetings in the series, but this marks the first meeting since December 4, 2021, in Loretto.
• This marks the second-straight season and the second time in program history the Red Flash has made the Steel City-Philadelphia trek. Last season, it was Philadelphia (Saint Joseph's, November 27, 2024) to Pittsburgh (Duquesne, December 1, 2024).
• "There's one thing I want you to do for me... Win," Adrian from Rocky II. Saint Francis is looking for its first win in Philadelphia after playing La Salle (0-1), Penn (0-1), Temple (0-1), and Saint Joseph's (0-2) in the City of the Brotherly Love.
• Saint Francis plays its second consecutive Atlantic 10 team after opening the season at Duquesne on Monday. The Red Flash will also play at Fordham to end the non-conference slate on December 21. It is the second-straight year the Loretto program has played three Atlantic 10 teams after facing Saint Joseph's, Duquesne, and Rhode Island last season.
• Former Saint Francis head coaches Veronica Bussard, Myndi Hill, and Joe Haigh each coached their first game as the Saint Francis head coach. With a win on Saturday at La Salle, head coach
Chynna Bozeman can become the third head coach to pick up her first win with the Red Flash in her second game, joining Jenny Przekwas, Jill Poe, and Susan Frutchl Robinson. Przekwas' first win was against George Mason, a current member of the Atlantic-10, but the Patriots were associated wth the CAA at the time of her first victory in 1991.
• 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 state teams, with Robert Morris, Lafayette, and Carnegie Mellon coming to town.
• After Saturday's game, Saint Francis returns home to start a four-game homestand on Thursday against Robert Morris. It is the first non-conference four-game homestand since 1984-85. The Colonials also started the four-game stretch that season just like in 2025-26. While this is just the second time the Loretto program has hosted four in a row in non-conference play, Saint Francis has had 11 four-game homestands in NEC action, although twice those spans included two NEC games and two non-conference tilts.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win against La Salle
• Give head coach Chynna Bozeman her first career victory
• Be the team's first win in the City of Brotherly love in six tries
• Be the first win against an Atlantic 10 team since the Red Flash defeated Duquesne in 2007-08
• Even the Red Flash's record to 1-1 on the season and reach that mark for the first time the 2016-17 season
• Return home to make its DeGol Arena debut on a high note
ABOUT THE EXPLORERS
• La Salle comes into the contest 1-0 after defeating Loyola University of Maryland 71-59 on Thursday.
• Aryss Macktoon paced the Explorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Greyhounds. Ashleigh Connor added 20 points, and Kiara Williams posted 12 points and seven boards.
• Macktoon ranked second on the Explorers last season with 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. O'Connor fueled La Salle with 10.8 points per game, while Williams made her collegiate debut on Thursday after redshirting last season at Pitt.Â
• Head coach Mountain MacGillivray is 2-0 as a head coach against Saint Francis and 4-3 when he was an assistant coach at Quinnipiac when the Bobcats were in the NEC, including defeating the Red Flash in the 2013 NEC Championship Game.Â
LAST TIME WE MET
• La Salle closed the final 15 minutes of the game on a 34-23 run to come from behind for a 64-59 win in Loretto on December 4, 2021.
• Jenna Mastellone paced the Red Flash with 17 points, while Lilli Benzel had 12 points, and Jada Dapaa tallied 12 points and 14 rebounds.Â
• Kayla Spruill powered the Explorers with 18 points, while Claire Jacobs posted 15 points.
LAST TIME OUT
• Duquesne defeated Saint Francis in the women's basketball opener for both teams on Monday.
• Aleah James (17 points), Sonia Sato (13 points), and Makyiah Ward (11 points) each had career-highs in their Red Flash debut.
• The game marked the head coaching debut for Chynna Bozeman.
TRENDING UP
• Graduate student Aleah James posted a career-high 17 points in her Red Flash debut against Duquesne on Monday. It was the second time in her career she reached double figures with UMES at N.C. Central on January 11, 2025. Both of her 10+ point games have come on the road.
• Graduate student Sonia Sato registered her first career 10+ point game with her 13-point performance against the Dukes. The graduate student's previous career high was nine points, which she achieved twice at Presbyterian.
• Freshman Makyiah Ward made the most of her collegiate debut, hitting her first four collegiate shots, including three from long distance, before missing her final shot. The freshman stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block.Â
• Graduate student Cassandra Hawthorne also had a career afternoon, finishing with new career highs in points (eight) and rebounds (nine). The graduate student registered six points three times in her career before joining the Red Flash, which was her previous standard.
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks also made her Saint Francis debut, finishing with six points and eight rebounds. Senior Zaiha Minnis (five points) and sophomore Sajol Thornhill also made their Saint Francis debuts in the games.
• All seven players who played for Saint Francis against Duquesne made their Saint Francis debut.
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 THIS DATE
• This marks the second time in team history the Red Flash will play on November 8 after opening the 2013-14 campaign with a 117-77 loss at No. 13 Penn State. Alexa Hayward had 20 points for Saint Francis, while Alli Williams added 14 points. Williams would go on to score a then program-record 811 points that season.
