Box Score
Loretto, Pa. - The Long Island University women's basketball team dropped its second consecutive game, falling at Saint Francis (Pa.), 91-80, in a high-scoring affair at DeGol Arena. Sophomore
Ashley Palmer led three Blackbirds in double-figures and recorded her third straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Junior
Chelsi Johnson and sophomore
Kiara Evans also registered double-doubles in the loss.
Saint Francis (9-11 6-4 Northeast Conference) jumped out to an early lead and forced the Blackbirds (12-9, 6-4) to try to play catch-up the entire way. Every time Long Island got within striking distance, the Red Flash came up with a clutch three-pointer to increase their cushion back to a comfortable level. Saint Francis knocked down 12 three-pointers in the game, the most allowed by the Blackbirds this season.
Long Island went into the second half down 43-36 but would get within five points on a layup by Palmer. Seconds later, Saint Francis' Allison Daly hit one of her six treys to put the lead back to 54-46. Later in the game, Johnson converted an old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Blackbirds within six points at 61-55. This time it was Britney Hodges who nailed the long-range bucket, one of six trifectas for her on the night. Hodges finished with a game-high 26 points.
The story kept repeating itself as the game went on. With five minutes left to play, a pair of Johnson free throws made it 76-69. Then Daly struck again. That seven-point difference would be as close as Long Island would get as, with both teams in the double bonus, Saint Francis converted a majority of its crunch-time free throws to secure the win.
For the game, the Red Flash shot 75 percent from the foul line. The charity stripe was not nearly as charitable for the Blackbirds, who went 15-for-26 (58 percent). Both teams shot over 50 percent for the game: Long Island hit 56 percent of its shots and Saint Francis hit 51 percent. The 81 points were the Blackbirds' second-highest total this season; the Red Flash's 91 were the most allowed by Long Island this year.
Johnson closed with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Evans came three rebounds shy of a triple-double. The point guard scored 14 points and handed out 13 assists, coming two shy of tying her own Long Island single-game record. Daly closed with 25 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Long Island will wrap up its three-game road swing with a visit to nearby neighbor St. Francis (N.Y.) for the Battle of Brooklyn on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 5:00 p.m.