WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis put up a valiant effort against La Salle before falling 84-73 in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday.
>> All five Red Flash starters reached double figures after Shelby Ricks (15 points), Sonia Sato (14 points), Aleah James (14 points), Cassandra Hawthorne (12 points), and Makyiah Ward (11 points) recorded double figures.
>> Sato and Hawthorne established new career-highs, while Ricks posted her best game in a Saint Francis uniform.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Explorers took the lead and would not relinquish it five seconds into the game, but the Red Flash made a late push to make La Salle sweat.
Saint Francis cut the margin to three points for the fourth time in the fourth quarter on a James layup with 4:35 left. The Explorers closed the game on a 14-6 run to seal their third win in the series.
FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 47-33 with 8:03 left in the third quarter, the Red Flash went on a 26-15 run to make it a 62-59 deficit with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter. Sato had seven points, while James and Ricks each had five points in the spurt. The Loretto starters had all but one point in this span.
La Salle reclaimed a seven-point lead only to see Ward and Ricks answer with baskets of their own to cut the margin to 68-65 at the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded baskets one more time before the Explorers' decisive run, with James scoring in the lane at 4:35 left in the game.
The Red Flash scored five unanswered points in the first quarter on a Sato 3-pointer at 5:27 and a Ward basket in the paint 29 seconds later.
James' triple at 8:01 and a Hawthorne basket in the paint at 7:13 highlighted another five-point swing by Saint Francis in the second quarter.
FLASH NUGGETS
Ricks, who had six points and eight rebounds in her first game with the Red Flash, posted her second-most points in her career. The graduate student had career highs of 20 points against Bluefield State on February 15, 2025, and 15 points against Livingstone on February 27, 2025. It was her seventh 10+ point game of her career.
Sato notched her second career double-figure performance with both of them coming in a Saint Francis uniform. The graduate student had 13 points at Duquesne on Monday, then added one more on Saturday to set a new standard.
James paced the team with a career-high 17 points against the Dukes and is averaging 15.5 points per game in her first two games at Saint Francis, and has three double-figure point games in her career. The graduate student notched a career-high eight assists against the Explorers, posting her second career five-assist game.
Hawthorne recorded her first 10+ point game with her 12 points on Saturday and missed her first career double-double by two boards. The eight rebounds matched the career-high she set at Duquesne on Monday.
Ward also matched her career best with 11 points and five rebounds for the second-straight game. She also added a new standard in assists with four. In her first two collegiate games, the freshman is averaging 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 5.0 steals.
Bati Assefa made her Saint Francis debut, playing 11 minutes with a point, two rebounds, and an assist.
The Red Flash had all five starters reach double figures in a game for the first time since December 16, 2016 against UMES.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis begins a four-game homestand on Thursday when the team makes its 2025-26 DeGol Arena debut against Robert Morris. Game time is 7 p.m.
