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| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
0 |
Yanessa Boyd |
5-9 |
So. |
7.2 |
3.6 |
33.5 |
Had seven points, five rebounds, four assists on Saturday |
| G |
4 |
Marissa Shelton |
5-8 |
Jr. |
7.0 |
2.5 |
35.6 |
10+ points in 6 of 7 NEC home games |
| G |
10 |
Ineivi Plata |
5-3 |
Fr. |
5.0 |
3.3 |
36.5 |
Scored seven points against CCSU |
| F |
12 |
Julianna Gibson |
6-2 |
Jr. |
5.2 |
2.9 |
51.0 |
Notched 10 points and six rebounds at Le Moyne |
| F |
23 Â Â Â |
Marina Artero |
5-11 |
So. |
1.8 |
3.9 |
33.9 |
Nine games with 5+ rebounds |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
1 |
Kameryn Dorsey |
5-6 |
So. |
7.0 |
5.0 |
60.0 |
Out for season due to an injury |
| F |
3 |
Jade Campbell |
6-0 |
Jr. |
4.9 |
4.0 |
41.7 |
One career 10-point game at home |
| G |
5 |
Natalie Johnson |
5-8 |
Jr. |
8.7 |
2.3 |
45.0 |
Has two 10+ point games against Keystone teams |
| G |
11 |
Harris Robinson |
5-8Â Â Â Â |
Sr. |
4.2 |
2.8 |
40.6 |
First career double-double with 16 pts, 10 rebs vs. CCSU |
| G |
20 |
Airah Lavy |
5-10 |
Fr. |
6.9 |
1.1 |
35.4 |
Ranks 48th in Division I in 3-point percentage |
| GÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
Fr. |
1.1 |
0.3 |
23.5 |
Notched career-high four points vs Le Moyne at home |
| G |
24Â Â Â Â |
Destini Ward |
5-8 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Team captain in 2024-25 |
| F |
32 |
Fanta Daffe |
5-10 |
Sr. |
0.0 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
Made first careeer start against CCSU |
| F |
33 |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
Fr. |
1.5 |
2.4 |
26.8 |
Career-high six boards vs Stonehill |
| F |
34 |
Alary Bell |
6-2 |
So. |
4.8 |
4.4 |
50.0 |
Leads the team with 5.0 rpg in league play |
SAINT FRANCIS TIDBITS IN A FLASH VS. MERCYHURSTÂ (FULL GAMENOTES PDF)
• Thursday's game between Saint Francis and Mercyhurst marks the first meeting between the two teams in team history. The Red Flash is looking for its third-straight win against a first-year team in the NEC after defeating Stonehill (56-52, 2022-23) and Le Moyne (55-52, 2023-24) in the last two years. Dating back to when Merrimack joined the league in 2019-20, Saint Francis has played the new team at DeGol Arena for the first time in a series in three of the four times. Only the inaugural game against Stonehill was the first meeting on the road.
• "And they may not see each other for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time. But if there's love, dear... those are the ties that bind. And you'll have a family in your heart forever." - Mrs. Doubtfire from "Mrs. Doubtfire." Saint Francis will play a McConnell, a name with deep roots at Saint Francis, for the second time this season. Maria McConnell is a senior at Mercyhurst after playing her first two seasons in Loretto. Maria is the goddaughter of Red Flash men's basketball associate head coach
Luke McConnell. When Saint Francis played at Duquesne on December 1, the Red Flash faced Meghan and Kellie McConnell.
• Saint Francis is wrapping up its second four-game homestand of the season. It is the first time in program history the team will have two four-game homestands in the same season. The team has hosted four consecutive games in league play six times and had two five-game homestands in 1995-96 and 1999-00, and won all five games both times. It is the third time under head coach
Keila Whittington that the Red Flash has recorded a four-game homestand (2019-20, 2022-23). The squad has won three of four in a four-game homestand four times, including the first four-game homestand this season (2004-05, 2010-11, 2019-20, and 2024-25), and split the four games in 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2022-23. Saint Francis has never had a losing record in a four-game NEC homestand and will need a win on Thursday against Mercyhurst to keep that streak alive. The team started this four-game stretch with a 63-58 win against Chicago State on February 8 before falling to Stonehill on February 13 and CCSU in overtime on February 15.
• Saint Francis can clinch a home playoff game on Thursday with a win against Mercyhurst and losses by Le Moyne (vs. FDU, 6 pm) and Chicago State (vs. CCSU, 7 pm). The NEC Tournament Quarterfinals are on Monday, March 10. If the team clinches a home game, it would be the first time DeGol Arena would host an NEC Tournament postseason game since 2019-20 against Sacred Heart.
• Saint Francis will conclude the season with three on the road, traveling to FDU on Saturday, Chicago State on March 1, and Mercyhurst on March 6. The Red Flash will head on the road winners of its last two games away home thanks to a 50-48 win at Wagner on January 25 and a 66-60 overtime win against Le Moyne on February 6.Â
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Finish the home schedule 5-3 in NEC play
• Give the Red Flash at least a non-losing record in league play for the first time since 2020-21
• Win the first-ever matchup with Mercyhurst
• Notch the 396th win in NEC play in program history
• Improve to 8-5 in NEC playÂ
• Give the team 10 wins overall for the 26th time in team history and the first time since the 2020-21 campaign
ABOUT THE LAKERS
• Mercyhurst comes into the contest 9-15 overall and 6-7 in NEC play after falling 69-62 to Stonehill on February 15. The Lakers are 2-11 on the road, including 2-4 in NEC play away from Erie. Mercyhurst defeated Wagner and LIU on the road for its two road wins in 2024-25.
• Bailey Kuhns paced the Lakers with 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Skyhawks, while Allyson Ross (15 points) and Jenna Van Schaik (14 points) also found double figures.Â
• Kuhns leads the team and the NEC with 19.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Van Schaik is second with 14.3 points per game and powers the team in assists (70). Ross is the team leader in steals (40).
LAST TIME OUT
• CCSU edged Saint Francis 70-67 in overtime on Senior Day on February 15
• Senior
Harris Robinson registered 16 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. The point total was a career-high. Robinson had finished with precisely 10 boards for the second time in her career.
• Freshman
Airah Lavy led the Red Flash with 17 points, thanks to knocking down five triples. Junior
Marissa Shelton added 12 points.Â
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STATE OF THE NEC
• FDU leads the NEC with an 11-0 record. Stonehill sits in second place at 8-3, two games ahead of Saint Francis in the loss column and one game in the win column. The Skyhawks also swept the season series to hold the ultimate tiebreaker with the Flash. Two of the final five games for Stonehill are against Top-4 teams, FDU (February 27) and CCSU (February 22), but they also have two games against Wagner and a contest against Le Moyne to wrap up the regular season.
• CCSU is right behind Saint Francis at 6-5, a game back in the win column. After defeating the Red Flash in overtime, the Blue Devils would hold the tiebreaker with Saint Francis thanks to a 71-59 win against Stonehill on February 1. The only game for CCSU left against teams currently in the Top 4 is the rematch against Stonehill in Massachusetts on February 22.Â
• Just a reminder if you did not read the front page that Saint Francis can clinch a home game with a win against Mercyhurst on Thursday, coupled with a Le Moyne loss at FDU and a Chicago State loss against CCSU.
• If the playoffs started today, Chicago State would be the Red Flash's opponent in the NEC Quarterfinals.Â
• Le Moyne (4-7), Chicago State (4-8), Wagner (3-8), and LIU (3-9) are the bottom four teams, while Mercyhurst is 6-7 but ineligible for the tournament.
Remaining Schedule For:
• Le Moyne (three home, two away) - at FDU (2/20), LIU (2/22), CCSU (2/27), at Stonehill (3/1), FDU (3/6)
• Chicago State (two home, two away) - at CCSU (2/20), at Wagner (2/22), Mercyhurst (2/27), Saint Francis (3/1)
• Wagner (two home, three away) - at Stonehill (2/20), Chicago State (2/22), LIU (2/27), at CCSU (3/1), Stonehill (3/6)
• LIU (two home, two away) - at Le Moyne (2/22), at Wagner (2/27), FDU (3/1), CCSU (3/6)Â
TRENDING UP
• Senior Harris Robinson had one of those sports movie endings in a way on Senior Day on February 15. Almost every sports movie ends with a win thanks in part to "The Bad News Bears," so maybe this ending was like the first "Rocky," and the ending will be better for Thursday or a possible first-round home playoff game. Being honored before the game, Robinson then put on one of the best displays as a collegiate with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. She bested her career high of 13 points, which she set one year to the day of the game on Saturday. It was the second time she reached double figures in boards, but it was the first double-double of her career. The senior is averaging 10.0 points per game in her last three tilts.
• "Lazy, I want to be lazy. I long to be out in the sun with no work to be done." - Jim Hardy in "Holiday Inn." Freshman Airah Lavy continued her assault on a weekend, or is it when the sun is up, after 17 points against CCSU on Saturday? The freshman has registered double figures in all four-weekend games at home in conference play this year. She is averaging 15.8 points per game on the weekend in Loretto since January and shooting 52.8 percent (19-for-36) from the floor, 64.3 percent (18-for-28) from behind the arc and 100 percent (7-for-7) from the free throw line on the weekend. The freshman has registered eight 10+ point games this weekend, seven of which have been on the weekend. The only game not on the weekend was her career-high 19 points at Robert Morris on November 20. In each game, she hit double figures. She hit at least three baskets from downtown, including three games with four made 3s and three with five. Lavy is also averaging 17.0 points per game against teams from the Keystone State, but this will be the first time she will face one at home.Â
• "What's the deal with homework? it's not like you're working on your home." - Jerry Seinfield in "The Abstinence" episode of "Seinfeld." Junior Marissa Shelton does not need to take shooting tips from George Costanza, as he tried to show Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter how to hit, but she must love homework because she has been almost unstoppable at home this season. While Lavy has been gravy for the Red Flash on the weekend, Shelton has posted her two best games at home during the work week after a career-high 18 points against Stonehill on February 13 and 15 points against FDU on January 8. The only time she did not register double figures at home in conference play was against Chicago State on February 8.Â
• Saint Francis is trying to get to 10 wins on the season for the third time under head coach Keila Whittington. The 2019-20 team won 11 games, and the 2020-21 squad won 14 games. It would be the team's 26th time in program history to win double figures in a single season.Â
• With a win, the Red Flash would also clinch its 27th non-losing NEC season. With two wins, the Red Flash would register its 25th season with a winning record in league play.
