WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> On a day that Saint Francis honored the rich Saint Francis women's basketball tradition, the 2025-26 iteration of the Red Flash played right down to the final minute before New Haven prevailed with a 61-60 win in NEC women's basketball action on Saturday. 
>> Zaiha Minnis paced the Red Flash with a career-high 15 points, while Sonia Sato posted her first career double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
>> This season marks the 30th Anniversary of the start of the dynasty, during which the Red Flash won nine of 10 NEC titles from 1995 to 2005. Stacy Alexander (1992-96), Mary Markey (1994-98), and Beth Swink (2001-05), three of the pillars of this era, had their jerseys retired in a pregame ceremony, joining Jess Zinobile (1996-00), who had her jersey retired in 2019. This 10-year period saw the Red Flash post 144 NEC regular-season wins, and the team currently sits at 399.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Sato tied the game at 57 with a layup with 2:42 left in the game. The Chargers took the lead for good with 33 seconds left and then sealed the win with two free throws with nine seconds on the clock.

Minnis hit a trey with two seconds left to cut the margin to 61-60, but New Haven was able to inbound the ball and run the clock out to preserve the win.

After Sato tied the game, the Red Flash committed two turnovers and went 0-for-2 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free throw line before New Haven took the lead, and then missed a layup after the Chargers took the lead with the chance to tie the game.

FLASH MOMENTS
Saint Francis used an 11-2 run to end the first quarter to take a 19-15 lead after 10 minutes. Cassandra Hawthorne had six points, and Sato had five in the spurt.

The Red Flash started the second quarter on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead at 28-17 with 6:44 left in the half. Five different players scored in this surge.

FLASH NUGGETS
Minnis registered her first 10+ point game with Saint Francis and seventh of her career. It was her first double-figure point game since she had 11 points at Drexel on January 5, 2024, with Hampton. The 15 points matched her career-best performance she posted at Merrimack on January 21, 2023, with Hartford.

Sato hauled in double figures in rebounds for the first time in her career, with the most rebounds by a Saint Francis player this season, the most since the first three games of the year. She is the second player to register 10 rebounds or a double-double this season, joining Shelby Ricks. 

Hawthorne finished with nine points, while Ricks tallied eight points and six rebounds after she had 18 points against Chicago State on Thursday. 

In addition, at halftime, Saint Francis announced the 2003-04 team will be inducted into the 2026 Saint Francis Athletics Hall of Fame in July. The 2003-04 team was the first of four NEC teams to go undefeated in the regular season. The team ranked 13th  thanks to her 14 boards. The graduate student just missed a double-double against Wagner on January 8, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sato registered double figures in consecutive games for the first time in NCAA Division I history in scoring and 99th in scoring defense. Saint Francis played No. 6 Purdue in the NCAA Tournament and lost 78-59, the smallest point differential for the Red Flash against a Top-10 team and in the NCAA Championships. Swink and Nikki Shrift, two of the members of that team, were recognized during the halftime announcement.
  
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Saint Francis returns to action at home against Chicago State. Game time is 7 p.m. Read Full Article