Score: Keiser 57, No. 12 Saint Francis (Ill.) 63
Records: Keiser (7-10), Saint Francis (9-3)
Location: Student Life Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Rodriguez (G), Dyson (G), Felix (G), Sanabria (G), Long (F)
Saint Francis Starters: Markovic (G), Sims (G), Canady (G), Pyle (F), Aylward (F)

Keiser Highlights

• Midori Long led Keiser offensively with 14 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line, and also grabbed six rebounds.
• Yaire Rodriguez notched seven points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds from her point guard spot.
• Alyssa Mecoli hit 2-of-3 from downtown and scored a career-high eight points off the KU bench, which also saw great contributions from Alasjia Dykes (7 points) and Kelly Meade (six points).

 
Turning Point
When leading by ten at the halftime break, visiting Saint Francis produced nine of the first 12 points to start the third quarter, grabbing control with its largest lead of the game at 16 points, 46-30, a lead that was just enough to hold off the Seahawk surge.

How it Happened

• Rodriguez opened the game's scoring with a hard drive and finish, but then Saint Francis rattled off the next 11 points to seize an 11-2 advantage.
• The Fighting Saints' lead got to double digits moments later at 14-4, and remained that way at 18-8 after a Saint Francis basket at the 1:07 mark of the opening quarter.
• Long converted on two attempts from the stripe to make it 18-10 Saint Francis, and the score stayed there until the first quarter's final horn.
• The Saint Francis lead grew to the largest of the game so far at 12 points, 25-13, but Long then scored in the paint with a foul and converted from the line again to put it at 25-16 with 7:35 until halftime.
• After Saint Francis split the attempts on a trip to the line, Sanabria got into the action with an old fashioned three point play with 5:27 on the clock to make it 26-19.
• The Fighting Saints' lead got back to double-digits at 30-20 prior to a swooping right-handed finish from Dykes, but grew to double digits once again as the teams went into the break at 33-23 on a last second three-pointer.
•  Dykes opened the second half scoring, but the Fighting Saints proceeded to score nine out of the next ten points to establish a 16 point lead, the largest of the game, at 42-26 with 4:59 left in the third.
• The Seahawks ended the third quarter strongly with a 9-4 finish to make it 46-35, a stretch that included a Shanice Gordon layup off a nice dish from Kelly Meade.
• The momentum for Keiser continued into the final period, as the Seahawks pulled to within six at 48-42 following a Mecoli three-pointer, then four after Long sunk two from the line with 7:50 remaining.
• The Fighting Saints knocked down a triple to push their edge back up to seven, however Keiser then cut it all the way to a single possession at 51-48 following a Meade layup and two Rodriguez free-throws with 5:27 left.
• Mecoli's second triple of the game drew Keiser all the way to within two points at 53-51 with 4:46 left, and the teams exchanged points before Saint Francis went back in front by six with four consecutive points to lead 59-53 with 2:39 left.
• The Seahawks began to buckle down on defense and kept Saint Francis off the scoreboard for two consecutive possessions, allowing Keiser to call a timeout with 37 seconds remaining, trailing 59-55 after Meade sank two free-throws.
• Long got loose on the drawn up play out of the timeout and was fouled, calmly making both to draw KU within one possession once again.
• Keiser was forced to intentionally foul with 20 seconds remaining, and after Saint Francis made both, Keiser advanced the ball with a timeout, trailing 61-57.
• Another clean look was created out of the timeout, but Mecoli's three pointer off of a screen came up just short and Saint Francis grabbed the rebound. A jump ball went Saint Francis' way, and with just two seconds showing the Seahawks intentionally fouled once again.
• Both free-throws were made, and the No. 12 ranked Fighting Saints held on for the 63-57 victory despite the second half surge from the Seahawks.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Keiser produced 25 points off the bench as compared to 15 for Saint Francis, with Mecoli leading the way with eight.
• The Seahawks were aggressive and made their way to the free-throw line for 32 attempts, converting on 23.
• Only two Saint Francis points were scored in transition throughout the contest, as both defenses were able to get back and set up in the half court.

Game Notes

• It was the second meeting all-time between the two squads, with Saint Francis also prevailing in the 2009-2010 season.
• The game proceeded a full slate of NCAA Division I games still ahead throughout the day in the Student Life Center as part of the West Palm Beach Invitational, beginning with Ohio State against Butler at 12:15 p.m. in the Student Life Center.

 
Ties: 0
Lead Changes: 1
Largest Lead: Keiser (2), Saint Francis (Ill.) (16)
 
Team Leaders
Keiser
Points: Long (14)
Rebounds: Rodriguez (7)
Assists: Rodriguez (3)
 
Saint Francis (Ill.)
Points: Aylward (23)
Rebounds: Pyle (5)
Assists: Canady, Markovic (4)
 
Up Next
The Seahawks will have some time to enjoy Christmas and the New Year while also preparing to return to Sun Conference play on Saturday, January 5 at Johnson & Wales University. Tip-off for that matchup is slated for 2:00 p.m. in North Miami, Fla.