WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> With several members of the 2005 Northeast Conference Championship team in attendance, Saint Francis was looking for a little bit of that championship magic but fell 70-67 against CCSU in women's basketball action on Saturday.
>> The Red Flash had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line, but missed the front end of two charity tosses. After two drinks at the free throw line by the Blue Devils, Saint Francis had two attempts from behind the arc in the waning seconds, but could not convert.
>> Harris Robinson paced the Red Flash with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Fanta Daffe, the other senior on the team, had a rebound in five minutes with her first career start.
>> Airah Lavy had 17 points on the bench thanks to a 6-for-10 shooting afternoon and 5 of 8 from long distance. The freshman tied the game to force overtime and tied it again in the extra session.
>> Marissa Shelton registered 12 points and five rebounds.

TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
Lavy tied the game at 66 on a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in overtime. CCSU then retook the lead on two charity tosses with 30 ticks left in the extra session. There was another foul, but Saint Francis was on the line with a chance to tie, but only made the backend of two with 11 seconds left. The Blue Devils increased its lead to 70-67 on two more at the line, and two attempts at a game-tying basket did not fall in the final three seconds.

FLASH QUOTES
"I am just proud of Harris for pushing and fighting. She didn't play very much in the first year she was here. Last year, she became a key player off the bench for us; this year, she's one of our top six players. I am really proud of her work ethic, her effort, and her energy and the leadership piece where, where she's willing to do whatever it takes to for us to be successful." – head coach Keila Whittington on Harris Robinson

"I was just trying to work hard and earn my spot. And then last year, there were a couple of injuries, so I got my chance and stepped in to try to help the team. Last year, I got put on a scholarship, which was something I wanted to happen, but I never expected it. I'm honestly, really proud of how it's gone, just from seeing my transition from sophomore year to now." – Harris Robinson on her career

"Fanta has been a great kid who has come in to help in any way. She always has a smile on her face. Fanta wants to do the little things. She wants to help our team in any way. She's a great kid, and everybody loves her, so just really proud of her for we're doing whatever it takes to help us be successful." – Whittington on Fanta Daffe

FLASH MOMENTS
CCSU grabbed a 66-61 lead with 2:02 left in overtime before the Red Flash stormed back with five unanswered points to even the game at 66. Yanessa Boyd scored in the lane before assisting Lavy's triple with 58 seconds on the clock. 

Trailing 55-48 with 4:50 remaining in regulation, Saint Francis used an 11-4 to knot the game. Robinson started the surge with a 3-pointer before a Shelton layup and a Lavy 3-ball with 1:45 left gave the Red Flash a 56-55 edge. A traditional 3-point play by the Blue Devils gave the visitors the lead before Lavy was gravy from long distance with 29 seconds left to tie the game. 

Fueled by seven points by Shelton and all five of her rebounds, Saint Francis jumped out to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter. Lavy extended the lead to eight points on a triple in the second half with 5:40 left in the frame. 

FLASH NUGGETS
Robinson did not play for two years after being injured as a senior in high school and serving as a team manager for Florida Atlantic in her freshman year. She came to Loretto in her sophomore season as a walk-on and made the most of her opportunity to earn a scholarship at the end of last season for 2024-25. Coming into the game, Robinson did not register more than eight points or seven rebounds in a game this season but had two career 10+ games and a 10+ rebound game on her resume. One year to the day after registering a career-high at Wagner in points, Robinson eclipsed that total on Saturday and tied her career-best with 10 boards, which she also had against LIU on February 3, 2024.

The 17 points for Lavy are the third most of her career after a 19-point performance at Robert Morris on November 20 and 18 points against Chicago State on February 8. She had eight 10+ point games this season, seven coming on the weekend.

Shelton, who had a career-high 18 points against Stonehill on Thursday,  averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the two games. The junior has double figures in six of her last nine, nine times this season, and 11 times in her career. Nine of these performances have happened at DeGol Arena. 

Boyd stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Boyd came off the bench for the first time after starting the last 38 games.

Along with Daffe and Robinson, the Red Flash honored graduate assistants Richie McKercher and Marcus Thliveris, who will be graduating in May after working with the women's basketball team for the last two years.

Saint Francis won nine of 10 championships in the NEC from 1996-2005. This season marks the 20th anniversary of the last of that run. Sarah Bolten, Beth Swink, and Nikki Swift were seniors on that team and were in attendance for the game on Saturday. Swink averaged 22.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game to be named the NEC Player of the Year and tournament most valuable player, while Bolten registered her 1,000th point in that championship game. Jess Van Der Least, a member of the 2002, 2003, and 2004 title teams, and Janie Killian, a member of the 2010 Red Flash Championship team, also attended the game.

Saint Francis played in its second overtime game this season, marking the first time since the 2021-22 season the Red Flash played in multiple overtime games. The team is 24-16 all-time in extra session contests.

NEXT UP FOR FLASH
Saint Francis wraps up its home schedule against Mercyhurst on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.