| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
11.0 |
3.8 |
37.5 |
Averaging 10.8 ppg in last six games |
| F Â Â Â Â Â Â |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
9.0 |
4.3 |
35.4 |
First career double-double against New Haven |
| FÂ |
15 |
Cassandra Hawthorne |
5-11 |
Gr. |
5.6 |
4.1 |
36.0 |
Made 12th start of season against Mercyhurst |
| G |
21 Â Â |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
So. |
8.1 |
2.8 |
36.2 |
Averaging 10.2 ppg in NEC play |
| G |
24 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
4.7 |
4.9 |
34.5 |
10 points against Wagner |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
4.4 |
3.3 |
38.2 |
Career-high eight rebounds at CCSU |
| GÂ |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
15.4 |
Has not played since CCSU |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first 22 tilts |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 Â Â |
Sr. |
4.1 |
1.7 |
34.6 |
Matched career-high with 15 points vs New HavenU |
| GÂ |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
2.0 |
1.2 |
19.8 |
Season-high nine points vs Mercyhurst |
| F |
23Â Â Â |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
11.7 |
6.5 |
41.0 |
18 points against Mercyhurst |
| G |
33 Â Â |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
So. |
2.5 |
2.8 |
29.3 |
Ranks in Top-11 in blocks |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS LE MOYNEÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saturday's game between Saint Francis and Le Moyne marks the seventh meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2023-24 season.
• After the Dolphins won the last two meetings, including a 73-69 decision in the NEC opener on January 2, the series is tied at three games apiece.
• Both teams are 2-1 on its own floor, but the last time Le Moyne was in the Lo', it defeated the Red Flash 61-51 in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 10, 2025, the day before the Saint Francis men's basketball team won its second NEC Tournament title with a 46-43 win against CCSU in New Britain.
• Saint Francis defeated CCSU 74-63 on January 17 for its 399th win and has been searching for its 400th win in the last five games.
• Both games against New Haven were decided by one point. The game against Chicago State in Loretto on January 29 was decided in the final three minutes. Even in the game before the win against the Blue Devils, the Red Flash had a chance to win at the buzzer, so the team is not that far off.
• Saint Francis is riding a five-game losing streak into the game. Since the "Golden Era of Red Flash Women's Basketball," which started in 1995-96, the Red Flash has had seven losing streaks of five games or more. The squad had five-game losing streaks in 2000-01, 2019-20, and 2023-24, a seven-game losing streak (2006-07), a nine-game losing streak (2005-06) and a 10-game losing streak (2007-08). Three of the streaks ran through the end of the regular season, and two of those teams made the postseason.
• With seven games left and a 2-9 record in league play, some people may think about Jim Mora from November 25, 2001 (if you know, you know). However, with 10 teams and New Haven not eligible for the postseason, you only need to not finish in last place to make the postseason this year. The Red Flash have two wins and defeated CCSU, so they have a 2.5 lead on a postseason berth. The magic number to clinch a spot in the NEC Tournament is five.
• After Saturday's game against Le Moyne, NEC will not play women's basketball on Thursday. With the NEC Women's Basketball Championship Game several days after the men's championship, each year the schedule moves a slate of games to the end of the season, and this season it is Thursday's slate so while the Red Flash men will be at FDU on Thursday, February 12, the Saint Francis women's basketball team will not face FDU for a second time until Thursday, March 5.
• The Red Flash women's basketball team returns to action at Mercyhurst on Valentine's Day.Â
AN SFU WIN WOULD"
• Be the team's 400th NEC victory in program history
• Split the season series with Le Moyne
• Be the third win against Le Moyne in Loretto
• End a two-game losing streak to the Dolphins
• Be the second win against the Empire State after defeating Wagner on January 8
• End a five-game losing streak
• Give the team a chance to enjoy the next seven days without a gameÂ
ABOUT THE DOLPHINS
• Le Moyne comes into the contest 6-18 overall and 4-7 in NEC play after defeating Wagner 62-49 on Thursday in Syracuse.Â
• The Dolphins have three wins at home and on the road, including a pair in NEC play after sweeping the Nutmeg trip against CCSU and New Haven. Last year, Le Moyne did not have a road win until the Dolphins defeated the Red Flash 62-51 in the NEC Quarterfinals in Loretto on March 10, 2025.
• Sierra Linnin paced the Dolphins with 15 points against the Seahawks on Thursday, and Ashley Burahas added 13 points. Linnin became the 18th player in Dolphins history to reach 1,000 points in her career on a 3-pointer with 6:22 remaining in the second quarter.Â
• Buragas leads the team with 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Linnin is second on the squad with 9.8 points per game.
LAST TIME WE MET
• Saint Francis dropped a 73-69 decision to Le Moyne in the NEC opener in Syracuse on January 2.
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks had 21 points, a career-high at the time, and freshman Makyiah Ward had a career-best 15 points for the Red Flash.
• Ashley Buragas (16 points), Kayden Clark (13 points), Eli Clark (12 points), and Sierra Linnen (11 points) each found double figures for the Dolphins.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis hosted its annual Think Pink game against Mercyhurst on February 5 to raise awareness of breast cancer. The Red Flash community saluted five breast cancer survivors, and SAAC held a Push-Up Challenge at halftime. Saint Francis has raised close to $50,000 for breast cancer research over the previous 13 years.
• Saint Francis lost 79-59 against Mercyhurst on the hardwood. Graduate student Shelby Ricks led the way with 18 points. Sophomore Gemma Walker added 14 points, and sophomore Sajol Thornhill chipped in a season-high nine points.
TRENDING UP
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks is enjoying the third 10+ point scoring streak of her Red Flash career after scoring double figures in consecutive games for the first time in NEC play. She is averaging 14.0 points per game in her last two tilts. The previous two times she had a run of 10+ point games was a three-game streak early in non-conference play when she averaged 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in three games, and 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the final four games of non-conference play. Both streaks she had at least one double-double, so is a trick coming in this run?
• Sophomore Gemma Walker has scored double figures in three straight games for the second time this season and the second time in nine games. After scoring her first career double-figure point game with 15 points at Pitt on December 18, she went the next three games scoring eight points, followed by 48 points over the next three, 14 points the next three, and has 44 in the current run of three straight. Can she buck the trend and reach 10+ points for a career-high four times? Similar to Ricks, Walker had a similar thing in both of her runs. She had 17 points in both three-game stretches.Â
• Sophomore Sajol Thornhill registered a season-high nine points against Mercyhurst. She has registered 19 points in her last four games after posting 24 points in her first 19 games in a Red Flash uniform. The sophomore made one 3-pointer in her first 18 games, but has five made from downtown in her last four tilts.
• Graduate student Aleah James has 312 points in her last two years. The graduate student had 393 points at NJCAA in 2022-23 and 246 points at NJCAA Union in 2023-24, bringing her total to 951 across her four stops. James has registered double figures twice in her last three games and four times in her last six games. She is averaging 10.8 points per game in her last six games.
IN THE NEC
• Graduate student Aleah James ranks seventh in assists (2.85 apg), 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (35.7), and 16th in scoring (11.0 ppg).
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks ranks fourth in blocked shots (1.00 bpg), sixth in rebounding (6.4 rpg), seventh in defensive rebounds (4.19 rpg), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.24 rpg), eighth in free throw percentage (74.2), and 10th in scoring (11.6 ppg).Â
• Freshman Makyiah Ward ranks fifth in assists (2.90 apg).
• Graduate student Sonia Sato ranks sixth in blocked shots (0.80 bpg) and 26th in scoring (9.1 ppg).
• Sophomore Gemma Walker is seventh in free-throw percentage (74.6).
• Saint Francis ranks third in defensive rebounds (24.55 rpg), fourth in 3-point field goal defense (29.4), fourth in rebounding offense (36.0 rpg), fourth in assists (13.36 apg), fifth in defensive rebound percentage (0.669), fifth in blocked shots (2.82 bpg), and fifth in 3-pointers made (5.68 pg).Â
IN THE LO'
• Saint Francis is 1-9 overall and 1-5 in NEC play.Â
• The Red Flash is averaging 56.3 points per game and allowing 70.4 points per game at home.Â
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks is averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while fellow graduate student Sonia Sato is averaging 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at home.
• Ricks has reached double figures four 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.
• Sophomore Gemma Walker has four 10+ point games at home and graduate student Aleah James has three 10+ point games at home. Both players have 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.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 7-5 overall, 4-0 at home, and 5-3 in NEC play on this date.
• Beth Swink and Tonjee Ward combined for 43 points in an 87-55 win against Sacred Heart on this date in 2004. Swink had 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Ward added 21 points. Karen Hewitt recorded 14 points and eight assists, and Sarah Bolten also tallied 14 points in the win.Â
FUN FACT...Â
• The Red Flash defeated CCSU twice on this date, and both seasons ended with Saint Francis cutting down the nets at the NEC Championship. The Red Flash downed the Blue Devils 62-54 in 2005 in New Britain and 68-51 in Loretto in 2011.Â
