Alli Williams scored 40 points to lead Saint Francis (Pa.) to a 92-79 victory over the East Tennessee State women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon inside Brooks Gym.With the loss, ETSU dropped to 1-3, while the Red Flash picked up their first win of the season.In the first meeting between the two teams since 1996, the Lady Bucs jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game. SFU responded by speeding up the tempo and rallied with a 14-6 run over the next five minutes to take the lead, 20-19, with 9:01 left in the half. Through the duration of the period, the Bucs struggled with the Red Flash full-court pressure while Saint Francis cashed in on these caused miscues. Poor shooting by ETSU also continued to plague the Lady Bucs as SFU increased its lead to 43-30 at halftime.In the second half, ETSU stuck to its penchant of turning the ball over but made up for the turnovers by finally beginning to knock down some shots. The increased offensive efficiency in the period was negated by the continued impressive offensive performance put on by Williams who after scoring 21 points in the first, kept the display going with 19 in the second period. Statistically speaking, the Bucs played even with the Red Flash in the half but the 13-point halftime hole proved to be too deep to climb out of.Aside from Williams’ offensive explosion, the Red Flash featured only one additional double-figure scorer in Erin Blaine who added 12 points and five rebounds. Seven other players did make it into the scoring column for SFU but Williams’ performance proved to be the story of the game on offense for the Red Flash.Meanwhile, the Bucs got a team and career-high 22 points from Cara Bowling including four shots from behind the arc. Serena Clark notched her third-straight double-double with 15 points and a career-high tying 15 rebounds. Bowling and Clark were joined in double-figures by Maria Bond who recorded 12 points, while Brianna McQueen tallied 11 points.ETSU shot only 39 percent for the game. However, the Lady Bucs also able to turn 19 SFU turnovers into 21 ETSU points while also getting out on the break for 17 fast break points.The Lady Bucs will return to action at Brooks Gym on Friday, Nov. 29 against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
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