LORETTO, Pa. — The Long Island University women's basketball team picked up a big road win on Sunday afternoon, defeating Saint Francis U, 71-64 at DeGol Arena. The Sharks put on a strong shooting display with a 47% clip from the field against the Red Flash. With the win, LIU improves to 7-19 overall and 6-9 in Northeast Conference play.

Sophomore Brandy Thomas tied her season-high with 29 points in the victory. She shot 12-of-16 from the field and made all three of her attempts from downtown. Sophomore Ryan Weise added 11 points including a career-high six made free throws to go with four rebounds and two steals. Junior Mia Perkins also finished in double figures, recording 10 points in the win. Graduate student Drew Winter led the LIU defense with five steals.

GAME BREAKDOWN

The opening quarter was a shootout as both teams opened the game shooting above 50% from the field. SFU made a strong opening run with a 7-2 stretch early in the quarter. LIU was there to answer with an 8-2 run paced by five points from Thomas for an 11-9 lead at the 5:56 mark. The Sharks continued to hold the lead as the quarter progressed but a 4-0 closing run by the home team gave SFU a 18-17 lead after one.

It was a back-and-forth battle to begin the second quarter as the Sharks eventually erased the one point deficit for a 25-25 standstill at the 5:49 mark. The tail end of the second quarter was all LIU with a 7-0 closing stretch led by baskets from Perkins, Winter and junior Paulani Tarawa for a 32-25 lead at the half.

LIU's second half was kick started by Thomas who made the first seven points for the team out of the break, outscoring the six point effort from the Red Flash in the opening minutes of the third quarter. A layup by Weise at the 6:40 mark gave LIU the 41-31 advantage and forced a SFU timeout. The Sharks continued to lead out of the timeout with a five-point stretch as a three from Thomas gave the team a 46-31 lead with 4:49 to go in the quarter. SFU chipped into the deficit with a 8-2 stretch shortly after but LIU ended the frame with baskets by Thomas and Tarawa for a 52-39 advantage.

The Red Flash looked to cut into the deficit in the final quarter using a 13-6 stretch to make it a six-point game, 58-52 with 3:17 remaining. Weise halted momentum for SFU with a knockdown triple at the 2:42 mark. SFU looked to tie things back up over the final 1:30 with three made three-pointers but LIU capitalized on the charity stripe going 10-of-11 from the line to secure the 71-64 win.

SHARK BITES

• LIU recorded the regular season sweep over the Red Flash for the first time in 13 seasons. The program last swept the regular season meetings in a season against SFU was back in the 2006-07.
• Thomas tied her season high in scoring with 29 points, she went 12-of-16 from the floor and made all three of her three-point attempts. It is the fifth time this season Thomas has eclipsed 20-plus points.
• Weise finished in double figures for the 10th time this season with her 11 points on the day. She made a career-high six made free throws against the Red Flash.
• Perkins finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting including a pair of made three-pointers.
• Sharks defense recorded double-digit steals for the fourth straight game with 14 steals against the Red Flash. Winter tied her career-high with a team-high five steals.
• LIU was held in check on the glass by Saint Francis U as the home team held a 33-22 advantage on the glass.

UP NEXT

The Sharks return to the the Steinberg Wellness Center on Saturday, February 29 to take on local foe Wagner for the final home game of the regular season. LIU and Wagner will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. in downtown Brooklyn.