Saint Francis Announces 2008-09 Women’s Basketball Schedule
LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 15, 2008) – A season opener at Boston College and a much-anticipated match up with in-state rival Duquesne are only two of the many highlights on the 2008-09 Saint Francis women’s basketball schedule, which was released by head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl on Wednesday.
The Red Flash will travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for the first time ever in the season opener on Nov. 14 against the Eagles. They will then travel to Virginia to play at Longwood (Nov. 19) before returning home to Loretto. Lehigh University will be the team’s first home game on Nov. 22. Boston College, Longwood and Lehigh are two of 11 non-conference opponents the Red Flash will play this year.
"We begin this season with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm in our program,” said Robinson Fuchtl, who is in her second year at the helm of the Red Flash program. “With five new freshmen, one new transfer, and seven returners who have committed themselves to making this program a success, there is much to look forward to this season. Our non-conference schedule will be very challenging as we play some really quality programs with great tradition. It will test us early and it will demand that our focus and intensity be at the highest they can be. Our non-conference schedule will help prepare us for a rigorous NEC schedule that we face each year!"
The team will play at DeGol Arena 13 times this season, after playing a record-tying 14 home game schedule last year. Bowling Green (Nov. 25), Bucknell (Dec. 28) and future Northeast Conference member Bryant (Jan. 31) are among the teams the Red Flash will play host to this year.
They will also travel to the U.S. Naval Academy (Nov. 28), Youngstown State (Dec. 3), Cincinnati (Dec. 30) and Virginia (Jan. 5) to complete their non-conference schedule.
The impressive schedule consists of teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Patriot League (3), the Mid-American Conference, the Big East, and the Atlantic 10.
NEC play begins on Dec. 6 when the Flash host St. Francis (NY) at DeGol and continues for most of the season. Only three of the remaining games at that point in the season will be non-conference matches. SFU will host conference games against Long Island (Dec. 21), Central Connecticut State (Jan. 17), Wagner (Jan. 19), Monmouth (Feb. 2), Quinnipiac (Feb. 16), and Robert Morris (March 3).
The team will travel to Robert Morris (Jan. 3), Quinnipiac (Jan. 10), Sacred Heart (Jan. 12), St. Francis College (Jan. 24), Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 26), Wagner (Feb. 7), Central Connecticut State (Feb. 9), Mount St. Mary’s (Feb. 21) and Long Island (Feb. 23) to complete their NEC schedule.
Three home games in particular will be special for the Red Flash. The December 6 contest against NEC member St. Francis (NY) will be SFU’s Alumni Day, while the team’s Valentine’s Day match up will be their annual “Pink Zone” night in support of breast cancer. Fittingly, the team will be hosting Sacred Heart in an NEC game that night. The team will formally bid farewell to the class of 2009 on February 28 against Fairleigh Dickinson during their annual Senior Night.
As always, the team’s match-up with Duquesne on Dec. 18 in Pittsburgh will be one of the season’s most anticipated. The Red Flash were able to outscore the Dukes in two overtimes last year, and hope to turn that victory into a winning streak against them this season. This will be the second time Robinson Fruchtl and fellow Penn State alum Suzie McConnell-Serio will meet as head coaches.
The toughest stretch of the schedule comes immediately following Christmas, when the Red Flash travel to three states (Ohio, Virginia and Connecticut) in less than two weeks before returning home to host Central Connecticut State in a 4 PM match up at DeGol.
The Red Flash hope to make an appearance in the NEC tournament for the first time in three years. They finished last year only two spots out of qualifying for a berth. SFU has won nine Northeast Conference titles and has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances in the past 13 seasons.
Saint Francis University Women’s Basketball
2008-09 Schedule
Day Date Opponent Location Time
Mon 11/10/08 Fairmont State (Ex.) DeGol Arena 7pm
Fri 11/14/08 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 8pm
Wed 11/19/08 Longwood Farmville, VA 7pm
Sat 11/22/08 LEHIGH DeGol Arena 5pm
Tue 11/25/08 BOWLING GREEN DeGol Arena 7pm
Fri 11/28/08 Navy Annapolis, Md 7pm
Wed 12/03/08 Youngstown State Youngstown, OH 7:05pm
Sat 12/06/08 ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE* DeGol Arena 2pm
Thu 12/18/08 Duquesne Pittsburgh, PA 7pm
Sun 12/21/08 LONG ISLAND* DeGol Arena 2pm
Sun 12/28/08 BUCKNELL DeGol Arena 2pm
Tue 12/30/08 Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH 7pm
Sat 01/03/09 Robert Morris* Pittsburgh, PA 4pm
Mon 01/05/09 Virginia Charlottesville, VA 7pm
Sat 01/10/09 Quinnipiac Hamden, CT 12pm
Mon 01/12/09 Sacred Heart Fairfield, CT 7pm
Sat 01/17/09 CENTRAL CONN STATE DeGol Arena 4pm
Mon 01/19/09 WAGNER DeGol Arena 7pm
Sat 01/24/09 St. Francis College Brooklyn, NY 2pm
Mon 01/26/09 Fairleigh Dickinson Hackensack, NJ 7pm
Sat 01/31/09 BRYANT DeGol Arena 3pm
Mon 02/02/09 MONMOUTH DeGol Arena 7pm
Sat 02/07/09 Wagner Staten Island, NY 4pm
Mon 02/09/09 Central Conn State New Britain, CT 7pm
Sat 02/14/09 SACRED HEART DeGol Arena 4pm
Mon 02/16/09 QUINNIPIAC DeGol Arena 7pm
Sat 02/21/09 Mt. St. Mary’s Emmitsburg, MD 3pm
Mon 02/23/09 Long Island Brooklyn, NY 7pm
Sat 02/28/09 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON DeGol Arena 4pm
Mon 03/02/09 ROBERT MORRIS DeGol Arena 7pm