WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Despite a career-high 24 points by Cassandra Hawthorne, Saint Francis ends the non-conference portion of the season with a loss at Fordham in women's basketball action on Sunday.
>> Aleah James added 16 points, and Shelby Ricks tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Flash.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Rams grabbed the lead that it would not relinquish 54 seconds into the game, but Saint Francis kept the game close for nearly the first 15 minutes of the game. After two free throws by James with 5:28 left in the second quarter, Fordham went on a 14-0 run and never looked back in an 86-61 victory. 

FLASH MOMENTS
Saint Francis went on an 11-6 run in the second part of the first quarter. Hawthorne hit two 3's in the spurt.

James and Ricks combined for seven points to power a 7-2 run to trim an 11-point deficit to 29-25 with 5:28 left in the second quarter. 

Hawthorne started the second half by outscoring Fordham by herself in the first three minutes and seven seconds, 8-6, thanks to a 3-pointer, a layup, and a traditional 3-point play. 

FLASH NUGGETS
Hawthorne became the third different player to reach 20 points in a game this season and the fourth time for the team. James has a pair of 20-point performances: 20 points vs. Robert Morris (November 13) and 22 points at Xavier (December 14). Sonia Sato posted 22 points against Carnegie Mellon for the other 20-point game this season. The 24 points were the most points scored this season and the most since Natalie Johnson scored 25 points at Chicago State on March 1, 2025. 

Playing about two hours from her hometown of Hartford, Conn., Hawthorne registered a career high in the Bronx. The graduate student had career highs of 12 points against La Salle on November 8 and Army West Point on November 22. Hawthorne tallied 17 points in her previous four games. The graduate student came into the game with five treys this season and six for her career before she hit five on Sunday, finishing her afternoon 9-for-14 shooting from the floor, 5 of 8 from behind the arc, and 1 of 1 from the free throw line. Hawthorne added five rebounds and two assists. It was the sixth time this season she has hauled in five boards, and the fourth-straight game she has handed out two assists. 

Ricks registered back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career, the third time this season, and the fourth time in her career that she has turned the trick. It marks the first time a Saint Francis player recorded two straight double-doubles since Aaliyah Moore against Wagner (February 25, 2023) and Merrimack (March 6, 2023). For the second time this season Ricks registered double figures in points in three straight game. She has six 10+ point games in a Red Flash uniform and 12 times in her career.

James, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, had several friends and family in the stands for the game. She reached double figures for the sixth time this season and the seventh time in her career. The graduate student has registered 16 points four times in 2025-26.

Bati Assefa also registered double-figure rebounds with 11 boards, marking the first time the Red Flash had two players with 10+ rebounds since Julianna Gibson (11 rebounds) and Harris Robinson (10 rebounds) each reached the mark against LIU on February 3, 2024. Assefa reached double figures in boards for the second time in three games after corralling 12 rebounds at Xavier.

Giselle Eke matched a career-high six rebounds and added a career-high three assists, along with two blocks. It is the fifth time in her career that she has registered two rejections in a tilt.

The Red Flash hit 10 3-pointers in a game for the second time this season, and the first since hitting the total in the season opener at Duquesne on November 3.

NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis has 12 days off to celebrate Christmas and New Year's and prepare for the 18-game league play. The Red Flash opens NEC play at Le Moyne on January 2. Game time is 6 p.m. Read Full Article