| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
4.6 |
3.4 |
39.0 |
Career-high eight rebounds at CCSU |
| F Â Â Â Â Â Â |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
9.4 |
4.7 |
35.3 |
15 points against Chicago State on Thursday |
| G |
21 Â Â |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
So. |
7.3 |
2.8 |
34.1 |
17 points against Chicago State on Thursday |
| F |
23Â Â Â |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
11.5 |
6.6 |
39.9 |
Averaging 15.1 ppg after being held to single digits |
| G |
24 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
4.6 |
5.1 |
33.3 |
Changed her number to 24 |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
11.3 |
3.7 |
37.7 |
11 points against Chicago State on Thursday |
| GÂ |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
15.4 |
Hit first SFU 3-pointer at Stonehill |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first 20 tilts |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 Â Â |
Sr. |
4.4 |
1.6 |
36.1 |
Matched career-high with 15 points vs New HavenU |
| GÂ |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
1.6 |
1.2 |
16.4 |
Season-high six points vs New Haven |
| FÂ |
15 |
Cassandra Hawthorne |
5-11 |
Gr. |
5.9 |
4.1 |
35.9 |
10 points at CCSU |
| G |
33 Â Â |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
So. |
2.5 |
3.0 |
29.4 |
Ranks in Top-11 in blocks |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS NEW HAVENÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saturday's game between Saint Francis and New Haven marks the second meeting in the all-time series dating back to one week ago on January 24 in Loretto.
• The Chargers disrupted the Red Flash's 30th Anniversary celebration of the Golden Era of Saint Francis Women's Basketball and the jersey retirements of Stacy Alexander (1992-96), Mary Markey (1994-98), and Beth Swink (2001-05), three of the four pillars of the dynasty run that produced nine championships in 10 years, with that win.
• Saint Francis is the winningest program in NEC history with 399 wins. The Red Flash tries to get its milestone 400th win on its fourth attempt.
• New Haven is the 21st different program Saint Francis has faced in NEC history, and this will be the last chance for the Red Flash to have a win against all 21 teams it has faced in NEC history.
• With this game at New Haven, the Red Flash will complete the journey of the four teams that are the farthest away from Loretto.
• Saint Francis traveled to the New England area at Stonehill (January 15), CCSU (January 17), which, along with New Haven, are the most northern schools in the league, and then traveled to the most western school at Chicago State (January 22) in an eight-day span. The Red Flash also opened the NEC slate at Le Moyne, so all that is left for travel is the New Jersey-New York metropolitan area (LIU [February 19], Wagner [February 21], and FDU [March 5]), along with the closest rival and fellow Keystone State member Mercyhurst (February 14).
• The Red Flash defeated CCSU 74-63 on January 17 in New Britain for its second win of the season. The Red Flash is looking to sweep the Nutmeg State NEC teams for the eighth time in program history and the first time since the 2021-22 season, including six times the Loretto program also won the NEC Tournament (1998-99, 1999-00, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2017-18).
NOTE: CCSU joined the NEC in 1997-98, Quinnipiac in 1998-99, and 1999-00. This is the first time the league has two teams from the state since 2023-24. Quinnipiac joined the MAAC in 2013-14, and Sacred Heart joined in 2024-25.
• Saint Francis returns to DeGol Arena on Thursday, February 5, to host Mercyhurst. The game will also be the annual Breast Cancer Awareness game for Saint Francis. With the aid of SAAC, student-athletes perform a push-up challenge at halftime to raise funds for breast cancer research. This has helped raise over $50,000 over the last 13 years.
AN SFU WIN WOULD"
• Be the team's 400th NEC victory in program history
• Be the first win against New Haven
• Be the 21st different team the Red Flash has defeated in NEC play
• Split the season series with the Chargers in a seven-day span
• Be the second win in the last three road games
• Be the second win away from Loretto
• Sweep the two games in the Nutmeg State for the first time since the 2021-22 season
ABOUT THE CHARGERS
• New Haven comes into the contest 6-14 overall and 4-5 in NEC play after falling 81-75 in overtime on Thursday. The Chargers are 5-7 at the Hazell Center. With its 61-60 win against Saint Francis in Loretto on January 24, New Haven earned its first road win as a Division I program.
• Aniya McDonald-Perry paced New Haven with 25 points against the Lakers, while Lindsay Hogan (16 points) and Addisen Sulikowski (14 points) also produced double figures.Â
• Hogan leads the Chargers with 12.3 points per game, while McDonald-Perry powers the team with 8.7. rebounds per game, and is second with 11.1 points per game. Sulikowski ranks third with 10.2 points per game.
LAST TIME WE MET
• New Haven defeated Saint Francis 61-60 on January 24 in Loretto.Â
• 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.
• Addisen Sulikowski paced the Chargers with 27 points, while Lindsay Hogan (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Teaira Kelly (10 points) also posted double figures.Â
• The Chargers took the lead for good with 33 seconds left on a Sulikowski layup 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.
• Saint Francis honored the Golden Era of Saint Francis women's basketball at the game. 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.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis could not overcome a strong final four minutes and 36 seconds in a 70-61 loss to Chicago State on Thursday.
• Gemma Walker paced the Red Flash with 17 points. Sonia Sato added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Aleah James chipped in 11 points.
TRENDING UP
• Graduate student Sonia Sato has registered double figures in three straight games for the second time this season, and the first time since the first three games of the season. She is averaging 13.6 points and 8.3 points per game in her current streak after averaging 12.3 points per game in her first three games of the season. Sato aims for her first four-game stretch in double figures in points for the first time in her career. The graduate student posted five 10+ point games in her first nine games and now has five in her last nine tilts. Her time on the boards has picked up since the start of NEC play, with four games with at least six rebounds, including narrowly missing a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds against Wagner on January 8, and then turned the trick for the first time in her career with 13 points and 14 rebounds in the first meeting against New Haven.
• Sophomore Gemma Walker returned to double figures for the first time in four games with the second-best scoring output of her career with 15 points against Chicago State in Loretto. The last time she reached double figures she also had 17 points at Stonehill on January 15 and that performance was preceded by a career-high 20 points against LIU on January 10. The sophomore has five double-figure games in her last 11 tilts.
• Graduate student Aleah James has 10+ points in three of her last four contests and is averaging 12.5 points per game in that stretch. The last time she was in Connecticut, she registered 19 points against CCSU on January 17, the third-best scoring output of her career.Â
• Thursday was the first time graduate student Shelby Ricks did not reach double figures in the first game of the weekend in NEC play. Ricks was averaging 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game prior to finishing with five points and six rebounds against the Cougars. She is averaging 15.1 points per game in the game after she has been held to single digits.Â
• Saint Francis retired three jerseys in the home game against New Haven on January 24, including No. 11, which was worn this season by senior Bati Assefa. The senior has switched to No. 24 for the rest of the season to honor the legacy of Stacy Alexander (1992-96), who wore that number and helped start the Golden Era of Red Flash women's basketball.
IN THE NEC
• Graduate student Aleah James ranks eighth in assists (2.72 apg), 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (37.5), and 12th in scoring (11.3 ppg).
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks ranks third in blocked shots (0.95 bpg), third in rebounding (6.6 rpg), sixth in defensive rebounds (4.32 rpg), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.26 rpg), eighth in free throw percentage (71.7), and 11th in scoring (11.4 ppg). Ricks is second in league games in blocked shots (1.33 bpg).
• Freshman Makyiah Ward ranks fourth in assists (2.95 apg).
• Graduate student Sonia Sato ranks seventh in blocked shots (0.78 bpg) and 24th in scoring (9.6 ppg).
• Saint Francis ranks second in defensive rebounds (25.10 rpg), fourth in 3-point field goal defense (29.4), fourth in rebounding offense (36.8 rpg), fifth in assists (13.25 apg), fifth in defensive rebound percentage (0.671), fifth in blocked shots (2.70 bpg), fifth in assist to turnover ratio (0.72), and fifth in 3-pointers made (5.50 pg). The Red Flash leads the NEC in league games in rebounding offense (38.0 rpg) and defensive rebounds (25.33 rpg).
ON THE ROAD
• Saint Francis is 1-9 on the road and is averaging 58.6 points per game and is allowing 73.8 points per game. The Red Flash defeated CCSU 74-63 on January 17 for the first road win of the season.
• Graduate student Aleah James leads the team with 13.4 points per game on the road. She has six 10+ point games on the road, including 22 points at Xavier on December 14. James is averaging 16.5 points per game in her last two road games.
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks is second with 13.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The graduate student has six 10+ point games and three double-doubles on the road, including two of the last three games. Ricks had 18 points and 11 rebounds in her last road game at Chicago State.
• Graduate student Sonia Sato has five 10+ point games, including 13 points in her last game at Chicago State.
• Freshman Makyiah Ward has all three of her 10+ point games on the road, including a career-high 15 points at Le Moyne on January 2.
• Senior Cassandra Hawthorne had a career-high with 24 points against Fordham on December 17, and sophomore Gemma Walker has one 10+ point game on the road. Senior Bati Assefa has two 10-rebound performances away from Loretto.
• Saint Francis was 4-4 last season in NEC play at on the road.
DRIVE FOR 400 WINS
• Saint Francis can become the first team in NEC history to reach 400 wins in conference play with three more wins against NEC opponents.
• With its 74-63 win against CCSU on January 18, the Red Flash sits at 399 wins in its 40th year of the circuit. The team has averaged 10.2 wins per season. Mount St. Mary's is the closest team with 355 wins, while FDU is next on the active list with 334 victories.
• Saint Francis has earned a win in NEC play against 20 teams. The only past or present NEC team the Red Flash has not defeated is New Haven, which joined the league this season.Â
• Saint Francis has won at least three league games in its first 39 years in the league, which is the mark the Red Flash needs to reach 400 wins this season. The 1988-89 and 2007-08 seasons are the only two seasons in which the team won exactly three games, while in the rest of the seasons, the team had more than three wins.Â
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 11-2 overall, 6-1 on the road and 7-2 in NE play. This will be the first time the Red Flash will play ion this date since 2015.
• The last time the team played on this date was also in Connecticut with a 77-64 win at Quinnipiac in 2011. Samantha Leach paced the Red Flash with 23 points, while Allison Daly (16 points) and Brittany Lilley (10 points, 10 assists) also had double figures against the Bobcats.
FUN FACT...Â
• Saint Francis held LIU to 36 points in a 63-36 win at the old Paramount Theatre on this date in 2004. The 36 points were the lowest points allowed in a game that season. Beth Swink had 27 points and 14 rebounds. Â
