LORETTO, Penn. – Hannah Kimmel's 26 point, 23 rebound performance highlighted six Pioneers scoring in double figures, as the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team held off rallying Saint Francis U, 101-90, at the Maurice Stokes Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon. The 23 rebounds were two shy of a school record and are tied for third most in school history, and is also the first 20 plus rebounding performance for SHU since Jasmine Walker had 20 on December 29, 2005. The Pioneers improve to 8-7 and 3-2 in NEC play with the win. Alexa Hayward scored a game-high 33 for SFU, who fall to 2-14 and 1-4 in league play.
Trailing by 12 after an Adaysha Williams free throw with 6:23 remaining, Saint Francis went on a, 12-4, run over the next 2:43 to cut the lead to four with just 3:40 left in the game. Aisha Brock hit her third straight consecutive three pointer to get the Red Flash the closest it had been since the 2:16 mark of the first half. The Pioneers answered with two consecutive baskets by Lerae Ettienne and Williams over the next thirty seconds to push the advantage back to eight, and SFU would not get closer than six the remainder of the game.
Sacred Heart shot 54.4 percent (37-68) in the win, as the 101 points were the most it has scored since scoring 124 in a double overtime loss to the Red Flash in the Northeast Conference quarterfinal last season. SHU held a commanding, 56-39, rebounding edge and held the Red Flash to just 35.6 percent shooting (31-87), but SFU was able to stay in the game forcing 25 Pioneer turnovers, which led to 25 points.
With a seven point advantage at the break, the Pioneers came out of the locker room scoring eight straight points to take a 15 point lead just 1:35 into the half. Katie Shepard drained two straight three-pointers, followed by an Ettienne jumper. SHU held the Red Flash to just two points in the first 5:04, and was able to keep the double-digit lead throughout a majority of second half, with the advantage reaching as high as 17 after a trifecta by Kimmel with 13:36 on the clock.
SFU was finally able to cut the deficit to single digits after scoring four straight, capped by Brock's layup with 10:07 left. They again cut it to single digits at the 8:05 mark after Rochelle Reece's three-point basket. Sacred Heart followed that basket with a, 7-2, spurt, ending with Williams' foul shot.
Shepard finished with a season-high 15 points on 3-3 shooting from beyond the arch and also added a game-high seven assists and career-high six rebounds. Ettienne missed out on her second double double in three contests by one rebound, registering 11 points and nine boards. Williams was two points shy of a career-high, scoring 19 points on 6-11 shooting from the floor and 7-11 from the charity stripe. Also in double figures was Gaby Washington with 15 points on 7-15 shooting, and Shelby Hickey, who made four of her five shots. Brock was the only other Red Flash player in double figures with 24 points.
In a high paced first half, Kimmel scored the first five points of the game and the first eight for SHU, as the Pioneers jumped out to a, 10-2, lead after a Washington layup just 2:25 into the game. The Red Flash came right back with seven straight, led by Hayward, who scored the first six points for SFU, and got within one, 10-9, after a three point play by Corissa Archer with 16:26 remaining. Those seven straight were the beginning of a, 20-6, run to help Saint Francis jump out to its largest lead of the game, 22-16, after two free throws by Cydney Smith at the 13:01 mark.
Trailing, 29-25, after a trifecta from Heyward with 8:29 showing, Sacred Heart went on an, 11-2, surge capped by Williams jumper to go ahead, 36-31 with 5:57 left. The Red Flash responded with seven straight in a row once again over the next 1:21 to go up two.
Tied at 41 at the 3:27 mark, Sacred Heart outscored SFU, 14-5, over the next 3:14, including six each from Kimmel and Williams. Heyward made two foul shots with just two seconds remaining to cut the deficit to, 55-48, at the half.
SHU will look to go 2-0 in Pennsylvania when it travels to Robert Morris for a 2 pm tip on Monday. The Colonials have won two straight after most recently defeating St. Francis Brooklyn, 67-64, today to improve to 5-11 and 3-2 in the NEC.
