WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis University Women's Basketball concluded their 2024-25 regular season with an 80-65 win over Mercyhurst on Thursday night.

>> Marissa Shelton and Natalie Johnson shared the night's scoring crown with 20 points apiece. Ineivi Plata added 18 points of her own in the win.

>> Johnson and Julianna Gibson tied for the team lead in rebounds with six each. Plata added four steals and three rebounds to her statline on the night.

>> Bailey Kuhns led the way offensively for Mercyhurst with 17 points.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
After ending the first quarter behind, Saint Francis outscored the Lakers 20-10 in the second quarter to enter the intermission with a six-point advantage.

The Red Flash built upon their strong second quarter by outscoring Mercyhurst 19-12 in the third period to take control of the game.

FLASH MOMENTS
Shelton started her night with a layup as the shot clock expired to cut the Saint Francis deficit to three points. Later in the period, the South Bend, Ind. native hit a three to bring the Red Flash within one of Mercyhurst and increase her point tally to seven in the opening quarter.

With Saint Francis down 22-18 early in the second quarter, Plata made a layup and then intercepted the following inbound pass, creating an easy layup to draw the Red Flash even with the Lakers at 22 in just a four second span.

Plata registered a steal on a Mercyhurst inbound in the final seconds of the half and earned herself two free throws to extend the Red Flash lead to six entering halftime.

From the final two free throws of the half until the 4:44 mark of the third quarter, the Red Flash embarked on a 15-5 run to take a 51-37 lead midway through the period.

Saint Francis took a 10-point lead with 5:45 in fourth quarter thanks to a pair of Shelton free throws and maintained that double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest.

Over a stretch of four minutes in the later stages of the fourth quarter, the Red Flash sealed the game with a 19-8 run.

FLASH NUGGETS
Saint Francis went a perfect 19 of 19 from the free throw line in the contest.

The 80 points scored by the Red Flash was the highest total all season. The Red Flash also set season highs in steals (11) and free throws made.

Plata's four steals were the most by any Saint Francis player in a game this season.

Shelton and Plata set season highs for themselves in points with 20 and 18 respectively.

Johnson notched her fourth 20-plus point game of the season against the Lakers.

NEXT UP FOR FLASH
The Red Flash will prepare for their Northeast Conference matchup with Le Moyne on Mar. 10.