Mercyhurst University (7-14, 7-3 NEC)  at Saint Francis University  (4-19, 2-8 NEC)
Date | Time	Thursday, February 5, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Location	Loretto, Pa. | DeGol Arena
Television	NEC Front Row
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Mercyhurst
Stats	Saint Francis | Mercyhurst | NEC
Social Media	@RedFlashWBB  |@RedFlashWBB | Facebook

Saint Francis Probable Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	00	Aleah James	5-7	Gr.	11.3	3.9	37.2	Has 11 points in her last two games
F	4	Sonia Sato	6-0	Gr.	9.1	4.5	34.7	15 points against Chicago State at home
G	21	Gemma Walker	5-10	So.	7.7	2.8	34.4	Led team in scoring last two games
F	23	Shelby Ricks	5-9	Gr.	11.4	6.5	40.6	10 points at New Haven
G	24	Bati Assefa	5-9	Sr.	4.7	4.9	34.1	Changed her number to 24
Top Players Off the Bench
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
G	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 21 tilts
F	10	Zaiha Minnis	5-11	Sr.	4.4	1.7	36.0	Matched career-high with 15 points vs New Haven at home
G	12	Sajol Thornhill	5-7	So.	1.7	1.2	17.1	Season-high six points vs New Haven
F	15	Cassandra Hawthorne	5-11	Gr.	5.8	4.3	36.1	10 points at CCSU
G	33	Giselle Eke	6-3	So.	2.5	2.9	29.1	Ranks in Top-11 in blocks

SELECT GAME NOTES VS MERCYHURST (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Thursday's game between Saint Francis and Mercyhurst marks the third meeting in the all-time series dating back to 2024-25.
• The Red Flash won both meetings last season.
• The game features two first-year head coaches and the two coaches won their first game as a head coach within four days of each other. The Lakers' Erin Mills-Reid won her first game with a 89-72 win at Le Moyne on January 4, and Saint Francis' Chynna Bozeman earned her first victory with a 75-67 decision against Wagner on January 8 at DeGol Arena.
• The game is the Red Flash's annual Think Pink game to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer.
• Saint Francis will wear pink uniforms and will give away drawstring backpacks.
• In conjunction with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Saint Francis student-athletes compete in a pushup challenge at halftime. This competition has raised close to $50,000 for breast cancer research. All donations and monies raised will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
• "Our Think Pink game is about awareness, action, and honoring strength," said Bozeman. We wear pink to raise awareness, but more importantly, we commit to action - supporting early detection, research, and those affected by breast cancer. Most of all, we celebrate the courage of survivors and fighters whose resilience inspires our team and community every day. We stand with you, we play for you, we remain committed to making a difference beyond the game."
• It is only fitting that Saint Francis and Mercyhurst play in the first game after Groundhog Day since Punxsutawney is the way to get from Loretto to Erie or voice versa.
• Punxsutawney Phil, in negative three degrees on Monday, saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter.  While it does not mean a successful season, the Red Flash are 36-20 in the first game after Phil makes his weather perdiction. In the Saint Francis 12 NEC Tournament titles, the Red Flash won in that first game after the shadow game in 10 of the 12 NEC Championships. It might just be a coincedence, but when the team is successful around February 2 so is the team's results in the postseason.
• Unlike the Red Flash men's basketball team, the Red Flash women's basketball team has a balanced schedule the rest of the way with four home and four road games. The squad will complete its two-game homestand against Le Moyne on Saturday before hitting the road for a three-game roadtrip.

AN SFU WIN WOULD"
• Be the team's 400th NEC victory in program history
• Be the third win against Mercyhurst
• Be the third victory of the season and in NEC play
• Be the first win against the state of Pennsylvania in seven tries this season
• Be the 37th time the team has posted a win after Punxsutawney Phil comes out to predict the win
• Start the month of February on the right foot with a win
• Be the second win against the Lakers in Loretto

ABOUT THE LAKERS
• Mercyhurst comes into the contest 7-14 overall and 7-3 in NEC play after falling 68-64 against Chicago State on January 31. 
• The Lakers and the Red Flash are "travel partners" so have faced the same teams through the first 10 games of league play. 
• Sofia Wilson, the current NEC Rookie of the Week, paced the Lakers with 17 points. Cici Hernandez and Jenna Van Schaik both had 14 points against the Cougars.
• Hernandez leads the team with 13.0 points per game. Wilson (11.4 ppg), Lena Walz (11.1 ppg), and Van Schaik (10.9 ppg) are also averaging double figures.

LAST TIME WE MET
• Natalie Johnson and Marissa Shelton scored 20 points to pace  Saint Francis past Mercyhurst 80-65 on March 6, 2025.
• Ineivi Plata added 18 points.
• Bailey Kuhns (17 points), Allison Ross (13 points), Jenna Van Schaik (10 points), and Grace Clary (10 points) also reached double figures in the regular season finale. 

LAST TIME OUT
• In both Saint Francis games against New Haven in the past week were decided in the final 35 seconds of the game. One week ago, the Chargers hit the game-winner with 33 seconds left, and on Saturday, New Haven hit the decider with nine seconds on the clock to earn a 57-56 win on January 31.
• Gemma Walker paced the Red Flash with 13 points. Aleah James added 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Shelby Ricks chipped in 10 points.

TRENDING UP
• Sophomore Gemma Walker has registered double figures in her last two games and is averaging 15.0 points per game in that stretch.  The sophomore looks to score 10+ points in three-straight games for the second time this season and the second time in NEC play. She averaged 16.0 points per game over that three-game span, including career highs of 20 points against LIU on January 10 and 17 points at Stonehill on January 15. After her game at Stonehill, she posted 14 points over her next three games until her latest run. Walker faces a team from the Keystone for the second time this season after she had her breakout game at Pitt with 15 points on December 18.
• Graduate student Aleah James has registered 11 points in her last two tilts and has 10+ points in four of her last five contests. She is averaging 12.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in her last five games. She has grabbed at least four rebounds in those five games, two games with five boards and seven rebounds at New Haven, along with six assists. She has also registered a game with a career-high eight assists and four assists against La Salle on November 8, and a career-high nine rebounds and four assists against Lafayette on November 16.
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks returned to double figures for the first time in three games with 10 points against the Chargers. Twice this season, Ricks has registered back-to-back 10+ games twice, but once it was a three-game streak and once it was four straight, but she is looking to turn the trick for the first time in league play. Prior to scoring five points against Chicago State on January 29, the graduate student had scored double figures in the first game of an NEC weekend in the first four weeks with a pair of 20-point performances. She averaged 19.5 points per game in those games and 16.6 points per game in the first game of a league weekend.
• Graduate student Sonia Sato had her three-game streak of 10+ point games stopped against New Haven. She averaged 13.7 points per game in her three-game streak in double figures. It was the second time in her career she had 10+ points in three straight games, after reaching the mark in her first three tilts in a Red Flash uniform. After her first streak ended with four points against Robert Morris on November 13, she followed that up with a career-high 22 points against Carnegie Mellon on November 18.

IN THE NEC
• Graduate student Aleah James ranks sixth in assists (2.89 apg) and 13th in scoring (11.3 ppg).
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks ranks fourth in blocked shots (0.90 bpg), fifth in rebounding (6.5 rpg), fifth in defensive rebounds (4.30 rpg), eighth in offensive rebounds (2.15 rpg), eighth in free throw percentage (71.7), and 14th in scoring (11.3 ppg). 
• Freshman Makyiah Ward ranks fifth in assists (2.95 apg).
• Graduate student Sonia Sato ranks eighth in blocked shots (0.78 bpg) and 26th in scoring (9.6 ppg).
• Sophomore Gemma Walker is sixth in free-throw percentage (75.0).
• Saint Francis ranks third in defensive rebounds (24.95 rpg), fourth in 3-point field goal defense (29.4), fourth in rebounding offense (36.7 rpg), fifth in assists (13.29 apg), fifth in defensive rebound percentage (0.672), fifth in blocked shots (2.62 bpg), fifth in assist to turnover ratio (0.72), and fifth in 3-pointers made (5.57 pg). The Red Flash is second in the NEC in league games in rebounding offense (37.6 rpg), and second in defensive rebounds (25.00 rpg).

IN THE LO'
• Saint Francis is 1-8 overall and 1-4 in NEC play. 
• The Red Flash is averaging 56.0 points per game and allowing 69.4 points per game at home. 
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks is averaging 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while fellow graduate student Sonia Sato is averaging 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game at home.
• Ricks has reached double figures three times at DeGol Arena, including a career-high 29 points against Wagner on January 8. She also has one double-double at home. Sato leads the team with five 10+ point games in Loretto, including a career-high 22 points against Carnegie Mellon on November 18. Just like Ricks, Sato has a double-double at home.
• Graduate student Aleah James and sophomore Gemma Walker both have three 10+ point games at home and a 20-point performance. James registered 20 points in her DeGol Arena debut against Robert Morris on November 13, and Walker had 20 points against LIU on January 10.
• Senior Bati Assefa has two 10+ point games, with a career-best 15 points against Lafayette on November 16. Fellow senior Zaiha Minnis tied her career-high 15 points against New Haven on January 24 at home. Graduate student Cassandra Hawthorne also has one 10+ point game in the Lo'.
• Saint Francis was 5-8 at home overall, and 5-3 in NEC play last season.

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. 
• 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. 

ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 7-6 overall, 3-2 at home, and 7-2 in NEC play on this date.
• Jess Zinobile tallied 28 points and 21 rebounds to lift Sant Francis past FDU 74-66 on this date in 2000. It was Zinobile's second-best game of the year after she had 39 points and 22 rebounds at UMBC on January 13, 2000. Deanna Jubeck and Jen DiFilippo each had 13 points against the Knights.
• The next season, Carlin Chesick took a page from Zinobile, scoring 31 points and grabbing 20 rebounds in a 78-59 win over FDU in 2001.
FUN FACT... 
• Chesick played three games on this date and averaged 18.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, including 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 71-40 win against Robert Morris in 2003. The Red Flash did not play on this date in 2002, but Chesick did have 16 points and nine rebounds in the closest game to date, an 82-54 win against the Colonials on February 6, 2002.