| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
4.6 |
3.5 |
37.7 |
Career-high 10 rebounds at Wagner |
| F |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
8.9 |
4.1 |
37.5 |
Scored team-high 11 points vs CCSU |
| G |
21 |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
So. |
7.8 |
2.8 |
32.0 |
Scored 17 points against CCSU |
| F |
23 |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
11.5 |
6.5 |
40.9 |
Posted 10 points and nine rebounds at FDU |
| G |
24 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
5.4 |
4.6 |
36.8 |
Hauled in nine rebounds at FDU |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
10.6 |
3.4 |
37.7 |
Scored 13 points at FDU |
| G |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
1.0 |
0.8 |
15.4 |
Has not played since CCSU road game |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first 29 tilts |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 |
Sr. |
3.8 |
1.5 |
33.0 |
Matched career-high with 15 points vs New Haven |
| G |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
1.8 |
1.2 |
18.4 |
Season-high nine points vs Mercyhurst |
| F |
15 |
Cassandra Hawthorne |
5-11 |
Gr. |
5.4 |
3.9 |
34.6 |
NEC-high 12 points at LIU |
| G |
33 |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
So. |
2.2 |
2.9 |
28.8 |
Matched career-high with six points against Mercyhurst |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS FDU (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Thursday's game between Saint Francis and FDU marks the 80th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1985-86 season.
• The Red Flash leads the overall battle 47-32 and holds a 20-19 lead in Hackensack, but the Knights have won the last eight meetings.
• This marks the third meeting between FDU and Saint Francis in the NEC Quarterfinals, but the first time this battle takes place in Hackensack. The Red Flash defeated the Knights 72-59 on March 5, 2011, and 89-70 on March 7, 2018, at DeGol Arena on the way to the last two Saint Francis NEC titles.
• It marks the fifth time Saint Francis will end the regular season and start the NEC Tournament against the same team. It will also be the second time that Saint Francis will be on the road for both contests after playing the final game and the NEC Quarterfinals at the Pitt Center at Sacred Heart in 2023-24.
• The Red Flash ended the 2021-22 season at home against Mount St. Mary's and then traveled down to Knott Arena for the NEC Quarterfinals, with the Mount winning both games. In 2008-09, the Red Flash defeated Robert Morris at home to end the regular season, then defeated the Colonials in the NEC Quarterfinals in Fairfield, Connecticut, while the Loretto program lost the 2012-13 regular-season finale at CCSU before upending the Blue Devils at DeGol Arena in the NEC Quarterfinals.
• Graduate student
Sonia Sato has the most postseason experience on the roster after playing in five games with Presbyterian. She played in three of those games during the 2024 Big Hose Big South championship run off the bench and two games in the NCAA Tournament. Fellow graduate student
Aleah James played two postseason games with UMES last season, while graduate student
Cassandra Hawthorne saw action in one postseason game with Coppin State in 2023-24, and senior
Zaiha Minnis did the same with Hampton in that same season. Sophomore
Giselle Eke played against Le Moyne last season in the NEC Tournament for the only player returning that saw action in the postseason. Graduate student
Shelby Ricks played three games with Bowie State, an NCAA Division II team, last season, including 15 points and five rebounds in an upset win against No. 2 Livingstone
• The winner of the game moves on to the NEC Semifinals. If Saint Francis wins, it would travel to the highest remaining seed, while if FDU wins, it would host the lowest remaining seed since the NEC reseeds after each round.
• A win would send the Red Flash to the NEC semifinals for the first time since 2018-19. Saint Francis played in the NEC semifinals in 2020-21, but the league only allowed the top four teams in the tournament due to COVID, so this would be the first time the team would advance to the round by winning.
SAINT FRANCIS NEC TOURNAMENT FACTS: THIRTY-ONE GOING FOR THIRTEEN
1 - Saint Francis is making its 31st appearance in the NEC Tournament in the 40 years of the NEC women's basketball, meaning that the Red Flash has participated in 77.5 percent of the league's postseason.
2 - The Red Flash is 49-17 in the postseason, including 19-8 in the NEC Quarterfinals
3 - Saint Francis is looking for its first win at an opponent's home court in the NEC Quarterfinals since defeating Mount St. Mary's 60-50 on March 2, 2002. The Red Flash is 1-5 on the road, 7-0 at a neutral site, and 12-3 at DeGol Arena in the round.
4 - Saint Francis will face the defending NEC champion for the third time in the NEC Quarterfinals. The Red Flash defeated Robert Morris 72-60 on March 7, 2009, after the Colonials won the 2008 NEC title, while Saint Francis fell 78-48 to Sacred Heart in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 11, 2024, after the Pioneers won the 2023 crown.
5 - This will be the first tournament game the Red Flash will play in Hackensack, but Saint Francis holds a 3-0 record in the state of New Jersey. The Red Flash won the 2000 title at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J.
6 - FDU and St. Francis Brooklyn have both faced the Loretto program twice in the NEC Quarterfinals, and those two teams are the only teams that the Red Flash has played more than once, and have only met in the first round of the postseason.
7 - The Red Flash is looking for its first NEC Tournament win since defeating Sacred Heart 68-60 on March 14, 2020, in the NEC Semifinals.
8 - Acting Head Coach Raphael McNeill looks to win his first NEC Tournament game in his first postseason game. He would join Myndi Hill (vs. Robert Morris, 2000), Jill Poe (vs. Mount St. Mary's, 2004), Susan Fruchtl (vs. Robert Morris, 2009), and Joe Haigh (CCSU, 2013) as Red Flash head coaches who have won their tournament debut.
9 - Saint Francis is 3-0 against FDU head coach Stephanie Gaitley in the NEC postseason. The Red Flash faced Gaitley's LIU team in the NEC Semifinals in 2003 (W, 59-53) and then took down Gaitley's Monmouth Hawks in the NEC Quarterfinals in 2010 (W, 61-49) and in the NEC Championship Game in 2011 (W, 72-57). Before she returned to FDU in 2023-24, the game in 2011 was her last game in the league.
10 - Saint Francis looks to become the second No. 8 seed to upset the No. 1 team in the NEC Quarterfinals after St. Francis Brooklyn defeated LIU 61-51 on March 3, 2007. Gaitley was the head coach of the then Blackbirds when they lost in 2007.
11 - The eight years between meetings with Saint Francis and FDU mark the second-longest stretch between meetings for the Flash. Saint Francis went 19 years in between meetings with Wagner (2002 to 2021), while FDU (2018 to 2026), Mount St. Mary's (2014 to 2022), and Quinnpiac (2005 to 2013) each had eight years in between their last meetings with the Red Flash.
12 - The Red Flash has lost its opening round game the last seven times it has appeared in the NEC Tournament. It's the longest stretch in program history. The only other times the Loretto program did not win a postseason game in consecutive seasons were from 2005-08 (three seasons) and the 1986-93 (seven seasons), but did not participate in seven of those 10 tournaments.
13 - Saint Francis has won 12 NEC Tournament Championships, the most in NEC history. The Red Flash has won the title as the number one seed nine times (1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2010-11, 2017-18), the number two seed twice (1995-96, 1998-99) and the fifth seed once (2009-10).
14 - Saint Francis is 46-10 as a Top-4 seed and 3-7 as a fifth through eighth seed. The Red Flash has been a fifth seed or lower five times in the last seven years, after being the fifth seed only once in the first 30 years in the league. That was the 2009-10 season when the Red Flash won the title.
15 - Jenny Przekwas (16-3, .842) has the most wins as a Saint Francis head coach in the postseason. Hill (9-0, 1.000) and Poe (6-0, 1.000) both went undefeated in their tenures in the NEC Tournament, while Robinson Fruchtl (8-2, .800) and Haigh (8-4, .667) both won eight tournament games. Keila Whittington (0-6, .000) and Deb Polca (0-2, .000) did not win a game in the postseason.
16 - Saint Francis has made it through to the semifinal round more often than any NEC program. The Red Flash have been among the tournament's final four 20 times and have advanced to the Championship Game 18 times.
17 - Saint Francis owns the most dominant stretch of consecutive NEC Tournament championships. The Red Flash ran the table from 1995 to 2000, winning five straight titles. Saint Francis nearly pulled off the feat again, winning four-in-a-row in 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05.
18 - Mary Markey (1998, 1997, 1996, 1995) and Jess Zinobile (2000, 1999, 1998, 1997) were named to the NEC All-Tournament team in each of their four years.
19 - Jess Kovatch set the record for most points (103) in a single NEC Tournament (three games), capturing MVP honors while leading the Red Flash to the 2018 title. Kovatch also hit a conference-record 19 three-pointers over that three-game span.
20 - Zinobile is the only three-time NEC Tournament MVP (2000, 1999, 1997) in league annals.
21 - Saint Francis became the lowest seed ever to win the event when the No. 5 seed Red Flash went all the way in 2010. St. Francis Brooklyn later matched that feat in 2015.
22 - Saint Francis won 29 consecutive NEC Tournament games from 1995 to 2009. The Red Flash posted a 35-1 record from 1995 to 2011, including 11 NEC titles. The squad did not make the NEC Tournament four times during this stretch and lost only the 2009 NEC Championship Game. Saint Francis posted a 39-3 postseason record from 1993 to 2011, after making the NEC Championship Game in the two years before the dynasty began.
23 - Eight players have earned both Tournament MVP and Player of the Year accolades in the same season. Zinobile in 1999-2000 and Kovatch in 2017-18 both did it for the Flash.
24 - Sacred Heart and Saint Francis became the first-ever teams to score at least 100 points in a tournament game, and they did it while facing one another in a 2014 quarterfinal tilt. SFU prevailed, 132-124, in double overtime as the two teams accounted for the second-highest scoring game in NCAA Division I history. Both teams had exceeded the 100-point mark by the end of regulation play.
25 - Saint Francis has played 16 of the 20 teams that have played in the NEC. Stonehill, who joined the league in 2022-23, Chicago State, who joined the league in 2024-25, Mercyhurst, who joined the league in 2024-25, and New Haven, who joined the league this season, are the only four teams not to appear on the Red Flash postseason schedule.
26 - Robert Morris is the most-played team in the NEC postseason for the Loretto team with 11 games, while Mount St. Mary's (10 games), Sacred Heart (eight games), Monmouth (seven games), and Wagner (seven games) are the five most-played teams in the postseason for Saint Francis.
27 - The Colonials are the team that the Red Flash has faced the most in the NEC Quarterfinals, with six games. Robert Morris and Monmouth (four games) are also the most-played teams in the NEC Championship Game. Mount St. Mary's is the second most played team in the NEC Quarterfinals at four games, followed by CCSU, Sacred Heart, and Wagner at three games apiece.
28 - Wagner and Sacred Heart are the only two teams that the Red Flash has a losing record against in the quarterfinals, but Saint Francis is 4-0 against the Seahawks in the semifinals and championship game, and 4-2 against the Pioneers in the semifinals and title bout.
29 - Alli Williams scored a Red Flash NEC Tournament record 47 points against Sacred Heart on March 9, 2014. Jess Zinoble (46 points, vs. LIU, March 4, 2000), Alexa Hayward (43 points, vs. Sacred Heart, March 9, 2014), and Beth Swink (40 points, St. Francis Brooklyn, March 5, 2005) also scored 40 points in the postseason. Hayward, Swink, and Williams had their 40-point game in the quarterfinals, while Zinobile is the only player to have 40 points in a semifinal.
30 - Kendall Caruthers is the last Red Flash player to post 20 points in an NEC Tournament game with her 24 points against Sacred Heart on March 11, 2024.
31 - Aaliyah Moore is the last player to have a double-double in an NEC Tournament with 14 points and 20 rebounds against Merrimack on March 6, 2023.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Put the Red Flash in the NEC Semifinals with a win for the first time since the 2019-20 season
• Improve to 3-0 against the Knights in the NEC postseason
• Be the 21st time the Red Flash will participated in the NEC Semifinals
• Be the first win versus FDU since a 70-56 win in the Lo' on February 11, 2022, and the first in Hackensack since a 64-48 win on December 16, 2021
• Be the sixth win on this date and the first since defeating Sacred Heart 132-124 in double overtime in the NEC Quarterfinals in 2014
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
• FDU comes into the contest 27-4 overall and 18-0 in NEC play after defeating Saint Francis 61-39 on Thursday. The Hackensack program is 15-1 at home, with its only loss coming against Binghamton, 62-51, on December 29.
• FDU is led by Ava Renninger and Kailee McDonald, who are tied with 12.2 points per game. Renninger leads the team with 162 assists and is second in rebounding (5.5 rpg), while McDonald powers the Knights with 93 3-pointers and is second in steals (40). Madlena Gerke is third on the team with 11.5 points per game, and paces the team in steals (44) while ranking second in assists (61) and 3-pointers (79). Leah Crosby ranks fourth in scoring with 7.8 points per game.
• The Knights finished the regular season undefeated for the second-straight season, after finishing last year 16-0 and 18-0 this season. FDU is the fourth league team to go 18-0 in NEC play, joining Mount St. Mary's (1993-94), Saint Francis (2003-04), and Quinnipiac (2012-13). The Knights are the second team to go undefeated in back-to-back seasons after Monmouth in the first two years of the league went 16-0.
• Head coach Stephanie Gaitley is 11-9 in the NEC Tournament, including 4-5 from 2002-08 at LIU, 3-3 at Monmouth from 2008-11, and 4-1 in her three seasons with the Knights. She won her first NEC Tournament title last season with FDU.
FDU-SAINT FRANCIS IN 2025-26
• FDU swept the season series with Saint Francis with a 73-28 win in Loretto on January 4 and a 61-39 win in Hackensack on March 5.
• Bati Assefa had nine points to lead the Red Flash in the January meeting, and Aleah James (13 points) and Shelby Ricks (10 points) each scored double figures in the regular-season finale.
• Kailee McDonald was the Knights' leading scorer in both meetings with 13 points in Loretto and 17 points in Hackensack. Rebecca Osei-Owusu also had double figures with 11 points in the first meeting this season.
FDU-SAINT FRANCIS NEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Saint Francis defeated FDU 72-59 on March 5, 2011, in the first postseason meeting between the two teams. Brittany Lilley (24 points) and Samantha Leach (16 points) paced the Red Flash, while Danielle Pankey (16 points), Jasmyra Saunders (14 points), and Esther Wallace (12 points, 14 rebounds) powered FDU
• The last time these two teams tangled in the NEC Quarterfinals, Jess Kovatch scored 39 points to lead the Red Flash past FDU 89-70 on March 7, 2018. Caitlyn Kroll (13 points) and Maya Winn (10 points) also had 10+ points for the Red Flash. Madelynn Comly paced the Knights with 16 points. Kamrin Weimer (15 points), Lauren Francillon (12 points, 11 rebounds), and Amina Markovic (10 points) posted double figures for FDU.
• The previous two meetings were in Loretto with the Red Flash as the No. 1 seed and the Knights as the No. 8 seed, and both times Saint Francis hoisted an NEC trophy at the end of the tournament. The roles are reversed for this meeting.
TRENDING UP
• Graduate student Aleah James finished the regular season almost the way she began her Red Flash career. James started the 2025-26 season with three consecutive 10+ point game including a 20-point game in her DeGol Arena debut against Robert Morris. The graduate student has posted double figures in her last two games, with a 21-point performance against CCSU on February 28 to open and close her DeGol Arena chapter, with a 20-point performance against FDU on March 5. She averaged 17.0 points per game in her first three games and is averaging 17.0 points per game in her last two tilts. James has registered 10+ points in consecutive games four times in 2025-26, but is looking to extend her streak to three games for the first time since the first three games of the season.
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks narrowly missed a double-double for the second time in the last four games. She finished the game at FDU with 10 points and nine rebounds, and had 16 points and nine rebounds at Wagner on February 21. She has five double-doubles this season, but those two games are the only two times this year she finished with nine caroms. She has scored at least nine points in seven of her last eight games and is averaging 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in that stretch.
• Senior Bati Assefa has not scored double figures on the road this season, but she has four at DeGol Arena. The senior has no home games with more than seven rebounds, but has three road games with at least nine caroms. She registered a career-high 12 rebounds against Xavier on December 14, 11 boards at Fordham on December 21, and nine against the Knights in the regular season finale. Assefa was coming off her first back-to-back 10+ point performances of her career in her final two games at DeGol Arena, with 12 points against Stonehill on February 26 and an NEC high 14 points against CCSU. She is averaging 9.7 points per game in her last three tilts.
• Sophomore Gemma Walker was held without a point for the second time this season against the Knights. However, after she played FDU for the first time, she rolled off three straight 10+ point games and averaged 16.0 points per game in that stretch, including a career-high 20 points against LIU on January 10.
• In the 31 years the Red Flash has participated in the NEC Tournament, Saint Francis has lost the final regular season game 10 times, with nine of those 10 occasions coming on the road. The Loretto program is 4-5 in the NEC Quarterfinals when it falls in the regular-season finale, but has lost its last four tournament games dating back to 2019-20, when it fell in the last game before the postseason begins.
IN THE NEC
• Graduate student Aleah James ranks sixth in assists (2.85 apg) in the NEC, 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (35.7), and 20th in scoring (10.6 ppg).
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks ranks fifth in blocked shots (0.85 bpg), sixth in free throw percentage (79.3), seventh in rebounding (6.5 rpg), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.37 rpg), 10th in offensive rebounds (2.11 rpg), and 14th in scoring (11.4 ppg). Ricks' 29 points against Wagner on January 8 are tied for the fifth-most points this season.
• Freshman Makyiah Ward ranks eighth in steals (1.57) and 10th in assists (2.54 apg). Graduate student Sonia Sato ranks ninth in blocked shots (0.74 bpg) and 27th in scoring (8.9 ppg).
• Sophomore Gemma Walker is ninth in free-throw percentage (76.6).
• Saint Francis ranks fourth in defensive rebounds (24.28), fifth in rebounding offense (35.7 rpg), fifth in 3-point field goal defense (29.9), fifth in defensive rebound percentage (0.670), fifth in blocked shots (2.41 bpg), and fifth in 3-pointers made (5.34 pg).
ON THE ROAD
• Saint Francis is 1-15 away from DeGol Arena (1-14 on the road, and 0-1 at a neutral site), and 1-7 in NEC play on the road. The Red Flash defeated CCSU 74-63 on January 17 for its only road win this season.
• The Red Flash is averaging 55.6 points per game and is allowing 71.3 points per game on the road. In conference games, Saint Francis is averaging 58.9 points per game and allowing 67.0 points per game away from the Lo'.
• Graduate student Aleah James is averaging 12.1 points per game, while fellow graduate student Shelby Ricks is averaging 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 15 games on the road. In conference, Ricks is averaging 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and James is averaging 11.8 points per game.
• James has nine 10+ point games this season on the road, including a string of four-straight in NEC play before the road trip to New York at the end of February. She registered career highs of 22 points at Xavier on December 14 and 19 points at CCSU on the road. The performance at CCSU was an NEC high until her 21 points against the Blue Devils in the home finale on February 28.
• Ricks has 10 games in double figures away from Loretto and four of her five double-doubles. She posted a road high of 21 points at Le Moyne on January 2, and is averaging 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in her last two road games.
• Graduate student Sonia Sato (six games), graduate student Cassandra Hawthorne (five games), sophomore Gemma Walker (three games), and freshman Makyiah Ward (three games) also had at least one 10+ point game this season.
• Sato has scored exactly 13 points in four of her six games on the road, while Hawthorne has posted five of her six double-figure games on the road. Senior Bati Assefa has two games in double figures in rebounds on the road, but all four of her 10+ point games have come at DeGol Arena.
400 NEC WINS MAKES HISTORY
• Saint Francis became the first NEC school in league history to win 400 NEC regular-season games with its 82-63 win against CCSU on February 28.
• While the Blue Devils were the team's 400th, CCSU was also NEC win No. 150 (February 22, 2001) and No. 225 (January 26, 2008). FDU was win No. 50 (February 5, 1994), No. 100 (January 5, 1998), No. 200 (January 8, 2005), No. 275 (January 12, 2013), and No. 350 (January 5, 2019).
• Here is a breakdown the 400 NEC wins for the Flash: 49 wins against LIU and Wagner; 47 wins against St. Francis Brooklyn; 45 wins against FDU; 37 wins against CCSU; 36 wins against Robert Morris; 32 wins against Mount St. Mary's; 21 wins against Monmouth; 17 wins against Sacred Heart; 15 wins against Quinnipiac; 14 wins against Bryant; 12 wins against Marist; seven wins against Rider; six wins against UMBC; three wins against Le Moyne and Merrimack; two wins against Loyola, Stonehill and Mercyhurst; one win against Chicago State.
• The team has averaged 10.2 wins per season since the women's basketball league started in 1985-86. Mount St. Mary's is the closest team with 355 wins, while FDU is next on the active list with 346 victories.
• Saint Francis 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.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 5-1 overall, 1-1 on the road, and 2-0 at a neutral site on this date. All six games have been in the NEC Tournament, and this marks the second time the game has been a quarterfinal.
• Behind 47 points and 17 rebounds by Alli Williams, Saint Francis outlasted Sacred Heart 132-124 in double overtime on this date in 2014 in the NEC quarterfinals. Not to be outdone was Alexa Hayward with 42 points, while Bridget Murphy (12 points), Corissa Archer (11 points), and Aisha Brock (11 points) also scored double figures. Before the game, no NEC team had reached 100 points in a tournament game, and the combined total of 156 points was the second-highest scoring mark in NCAA women's basketball history.
FUN FACT: Williams and Sacred Heart's Gabrielle Washington both scored 47 points in the game, an NEC Tournament record.
• The Red Flash defeated FDU head coach Stephanie Gaitley in the NEC semifinals on this date in 2003 in her first season at LIU with a 59-53 win in Fairfield, Conn. Beth Swink paced Saint Francis with 21 points and nine rebounds against the Blackbirds.
FUN FACT...
• This season marks the 30th Anniversary of the Red Flash dynasty when the Loretto program won nine of 10 championships from 1995-2005. It started on this date in 1996 with an 83-75 win against Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena. Mary Markey posted 29 points against the Mount and averaged 26.0 points per game over the three games, earning Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. After missing the postseason in 2000-01 for the first time since the run began in 1995-96, the Red Flash started the second half of the dynasty with a 74-53 win against LIU on this date in 2002. Karen Hewitt almost had a double-double, finishing with 22 points and nine assists. Carlin Chesick added 18 points, and Tonjee Ward chipped in 14 points.
