Inside Athletics | 7/20/2026 7:30:00 AM
Saint Francis University will recognize its 2026 Athletics Hall of Fame Class on Friday, July 24. The class includes 11 student-athletes, one coach, and two teams. In the weeks leading up to the Hall of Fame ceremony, we'll spend the summer catching up with these standout athletes and celebrating the achievements that earned them a place among school's all-time greats.
From 1996-2005 Saint Francis women's basketball enjoyed a decade of dominance. The program won nine Northeast Conference titles during that stretch, but one team achieved something the others did not.
The 2003-2004 squad went a remarkable 18-0 in conference play, before winning three straight games in the NEC Tournament.
Later this week, members of that team will reunite in Loretto to be inducted into the school's hall of fame.
Quarterfinal #1 • March 5, 2004
#1 St. Francis (PA) 61, #8 Mount St. Mary's 44
"I think we all knew, especially my freshman class, what the history was here at Saint Francis," SFU Hall of Fame Beth Swink said. "We knew coming in we wanted to win too and we weren't going to accept anything less."
Swink had already won back-to-back championships with the Red Flash. In 2004, she took home NEC Player of the Year honors. As a junior, she averaged 21.3 points per game, which ranked No. 8 in the nation in scoring.
The journey to a third straight title, didn't get off to a smooth start. The NEC quarterfinal game took place at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, NY where Saint Francis met No. 8 seed Mount St. Mary's.
The defending champs took an early punch as the Mountaineers capitalized on early turnovers to jump out to an 11-2 lead.
NEC Defensive Player of the Year Tonjee Ward sparked a 23-9 run that allowed the Red Flash to take a three-point lead into halftime.
The second half was a complete defensive lockdown
. Saint Francis smothered Mount St. Mary's, holding them to just 29.6 percent shooting. Just as dominant on the offensive side of the ball, Ward scored a game-high 22 points.
Saint Francis survived the opening round. After the game, head coach Jill Poe told reporters they hadn't even packed their bags at the hotel – as they planned to be in town for a while.
Semifinal #1 • March 7, 2004
#1 St. Francis (PA) 69, #4 Quinnipiac 62
Saint Francis survived a physical semifinal match up against Quinnipiac. Most of the game focused on the battle in the paint between Swink and Quinnipiac's Ashley Kelly, who would finish the game with 20 points and 26 rebounds.
Despite being double-teamed most of the game, Swink still finished with 22 points. When she couldn't make her way to the basket, her teammates stepped up.
"We did not go to cruise control, but we took control," said Karen Hewitt.
"I knew they would double Beth (Swink) a lot. I had to just knock down my shots," Ward told reporters.
Ward, went on a tear after intermission. She scored nine points during a 13-2 run that gave the Saint Francis an insurmountable lead. Ward finished the game with 24 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
The Red Flash committed just eight turnovers the entire game, punching their ticket to the NEC Championship.
Championship • March 13, 2004
#1 St. Francis (PA) 70, #3 Monmouth 55
Saint Francis made sure it threw the first punch, scoring the game's first 12 points and bolting out a 20-2 lead four minutes into the game.
From there, the game was never in any real doubt. Ward scored a game-high 24 points and added nine rebounds and seven steals. She capped her senior season as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
After winning the NEC Tournament, Saint Francis showed in belonged in the big dance. In a showdown with No. 6 Purdue, Swink made all 10 of her shots in scoring 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Red Flash faithful knew how good this team was, but after that performance, they had plenty of new believers.
2003-2004 Roster: Cristin Black, Sarah Bolten, Shannon Burnham, Ashley Enyeart, Lauren Gompers, Karen Hewitt, Nicole Hudson, Regina Schlichter, Nikki Shrift, Beth Swink, Jessica Vanderleest, Tonjee Ward
