WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> In a season Saint Francis celebrated its rich NEC women's basketball history, the team earned its 400th win in NEC history in its final home game of 2025-26.
>> Aleah James scored 18 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to help the Red Flash rally from a 10-point first-half deficit for an 82-63 win against CCSU on Saturday. 
>> It was a big day for the program, which also clinched a spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament, and active head coach Raphael McNeill earned his first win as a head coach.
>> Gemma  Walker added 17 points, Bati Assefa had an NEC-high 14 points, and Sonia Sato chipped in 11 points in a great day to be a Red Flash.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
A huge run after the Blue Devils took a two-point edge with 4:44 left in the third quarter, but that spurt would not have been possible without the Red Flash going on a 21-3 spurt to end the second quarter and start the second half. 

With the Blue Devils holding a 43-41 margin, James keyed a 31-8 run with 16 points to put the Red Flash on the path to its 400th win in NEC season, and punch its ticket to the NEC Tournament for a 72-51 lead with 5:10 left in the fourth quarter. Walker added seven points in the spurt.

The run ended with a 12-0 run to end the third quarter and start the fourth. James reached 1,000 points between her NJCAA (JUCO) and NCAA career with her layup with 7:23 left in the fourth quarter. 

FLASH QUOTES
"Today was an amazing day. We were able to get the 400th win. We clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament. We were able to get Aleah James her 1,000th career point and get me my first win, so it was an outstanding day." - acting head coach Raphael McNeill on today's milestones 

"We knew we had to go out and play for the people who came before us. They worked really hard to get to this point. I think we needed that little push, and we got that in the second half to accomplish the 400th win. It is very important to us, and we are very grateful." - sophomore Gemma Walker on the 400th win

"Just being here is amazing; it's a blessing. Being here with these young ladies and going through the things we've gone through all year to get to this point, I wouldn't change it for the world. To get this win today with them is priceless." - McNeill on getting his first win

"It's been a long journey. It's been a lot of ups and downs in my career, and there were definitely times when I wanted to quit. To be able to do it with these people, with coaches who believed in me, is amazing." - graduate student Aleah James on scoring her 1,000th point

"They took it upon themselves to take control of the game, set the tone, and finish it." - McNeill on the win

"We knew we needed to capitalize on this moment and turn the corner to secure the win. A lot of times this season, we were not able to get over that hump and put teams away early. We wanted to dictate and be the aggressor." - James on the second half run

FLASH MOMENTS 
Assefa had five points in an 8-2 spurt to give the Red Flash a 10-9 edge with 5:20 left in the first quarter. 

The chance to reach the accomplishments on Saturday looked in doubt after the Blue Devils took a 28-18 lead with 4:48 left in the second quarter,

Saint Francis closed the half on an 11-3 run, sparked by five points from Sajol Thornhill to trim the margin going into the locker room to 33-29. 

The Red Flash then started the second half with 10 unanswered points to grab a 39-33 advantage with 7:36 left in the third quarter. Assefa and Shelby Ricks had four points apiece in the spurt. 

FLASH NUGGETS
James was a redshirt and did not play at LIU as a freshman before spending two seasons at the NJCAA level at Union (246 points) and Monroe (393 points), then playing her last two seasons at UMES (93 points) and Saint Francis (274 points). She totaled 1,000 points across the two levels, with 639 at the JUCO level and 367 at the NCAA level. 

James reached 20 points for the third time this season, but bookended her career in a Red Flash uniform with 20 points in her DeGol Arena debut against Robert Morris on November 13 and wrapped up her career in the facility with 21 points on Saturday. It was the first time she registered 20 points in an NEC game in her career. James added three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Walker posted 17 points in a game for the third time this season, the second-most, behind her 20-point game against LIU on January 10. The sophomore also had 17 points at Stonehill on January 15 and against Chicago State on January 29. Walker has eight 10+ point games in NEC play and nine games this year, and six of her nine games have occurred in the Keystone State. 

Assefa posted double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in her career after she had 12 points against Stonehill on Thursday. She has a career-high 15 points, but her 14 points against the Blue Devils are a career best in league play. All four of her 10+ point games have occurred in Loretto, while she has two double-figure rebound games on the road.

Sato started her career at DeGol Arena with 10 points and posted 13 points in her last game in Loretto. It is the seventh time this season she has finished with 13 points in a game, which is the fourth-most points she has scored in a game in her career. She posted double figures six times at home of her 14 double-figure point games this season. Sato also had six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. 

Saint Francis earned its 400th win in NEC history, with two of the three wins coming against CCSU this season. The Red Flash has defeated the Blue Devils 37 times in program history, the fifth-most against a team for the Flash. 

With the win, Saint Francis clinched its 31st NEC Tournament appearance and will be the No. 8 seed and face the regular season champion FDU in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 8. The Knights, by the way, have the second-most wins with 345. 

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the start of the Red Flash dynasty when Saint Francis won nine NEC Tournament titles in 10 seasons. The Loretto program is the first NEC school to win 400 NEC regular-season games, and the Red Flash has 12 NEC Tournament titles.

The 82 points were a season high and marked the first time since the 2024-25 regular season finale at Mercyhurst that the team scored 80 points. The Red Flash scored 75 points in its win against Wagner on January 8 and 74 in the meeting against the Blue Devils in New Britain on January 17, which was the team's last win before Saturday. 

NEXT ON TAP
While the postseason opponent is set, Saint Francis must first wrap up the regular season at FDU on Thursday at 11 a.m. Read Full Article