WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis dropped its regular-season finale at FDU in NEC women's basketball action on Thursday afternoon for Kid's Day in Hackensack, N.J.
>> Aleah James paced the Red Flash with 13 points, while Shelby Ricks narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Bati Assefa also hauled in nine boards on the afternoon.
>> The two teams will meet again in four days at the Bogota Saving Bank Center for the NEC Quarterfinals on Monday.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Knights took the lead with the first five points of the game, but after Saint Francis cut it to a one-point game, FDU went on a 17-1 run to take control and never looked back, earning the 61-39 win in the regular season finale.
FLASH MOMENTS
After FDU scored the first five points of the game, the Red Flash scored 12 of the next 20 points to trim the margin to 13-12 with 3:15 left in the first quarter. James and
Cassandra Hawthorne each had three points in the spurt.
The Red Flash closed the first half and started the third quarter with a 12-7 run. Ricks registered five of the 12 points in the surge.
Ricks and James powered a 9-2 spurt in the fourth quarter, with Ricks registering five points and James adding four points in the run.
FLASH NUGGETS
James finished the regular season with consecutive 10+ point performances after she had an NEC-high 21 points against CCSU in the Red Flash's 400th league win on February 28. It is the 13th time she has reached double figures this year and the eighth time in conference play.
Ricks recorded her 16th double-figure performance of the season and the 22nd of her career. She has eight of her 10+ point games in NEC play. It marks the second time in her last four games she came up one rebound short of a double-double after posting 16 points and nine rebounds at Wagner on February 21. She has five double-doubles this season and six in her career.
Assefa registered her seventh game with at least seven rebounds, and the fifth time on the road. Her top three rebound performances have come away from Loretto, with 12 boards at Xavier on December 14 and 11 at Fordham on December 21, to go along with her nine caroms against the Knights on Thursday.
Saint Francis finished the regular season as the No. 8 seed for the second time in program history, and the first since the 2023-24 campaign. That was also the last time the Red Flash played a team in the regular season finale, and in the NEC Quarterfinals, when he traveled to Sacred Heart for both contests.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis heads back up to Hackensack on Monday to play in its 31st NEC Tournament in program history and will face FDU in the postseason for the third time in program history. Game time is 7 p.m.
