HUNTINGTON, W.Va- Saint Francis controlled most of the game on Thursday afternoon, but a second-half rally by the Marshall Thundering Herd propelled them to a 81-73 lead at the Cam Henderson Center.

Saint Francis led by four at the half, 38-34, and led by as many as 10 in the third quarter before the Herd began their rally.

"I really like the intensity here today, we got Marshall to play our style," coach Joe Haigh said. "But give Marshall credit, they are 7-1 and one of the most efficient teams in the nation for a reason, it showed in the fourth, they made some really tough shots."

Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led the team with 19 points and four steals as she battled foul trouble. The freshman scored the team's first eight points as SFU led throughout much of the first quarter. The Red Flash built a 12-6 lead after Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) split a pair of free throws. A Marshall rally closed the quarter as the Herd led by one, 17-16 at the end of the first.

The Herd would build the lead to as many as six in the second quarter before Aisha Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy) took over. The senior hit back-to-back threes and dished out an assist as Saint Francis erased Marshall's lead to take a 29-27 advantage. SFU would close the half strong, as Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) each hit threes send the Flash into the half up four.

"I thought Aisha gave us some great minutes off the bench today," Haigh said. "We need to get intensity like that off the bench."

A pair of threes from Kovatch kick started a third-quarter run for Saint Francis who built a 52-42 lead midway through the half after a Cydney Smith (Port Tobacco, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) triple. The Flash would trade baskets with Marshall for much of the third quarter until the Herd began their game-turning run with less than two minutes to go. Marshall closed the third on a 7-2 run to cut the Saint Francis lead to three, 58-55, heading into the fourth.

The Flash would go cold to start the fourth, scoring just two points in the first seven minutes of the quarter. Marshall would rip-off a 21-2 run to lead by as many as 16 in the fourth.

"We just missed some shots, especially in that fourth quarter," Haigh said. "We went cold at the wrong time, right as they got hot."

The Flash then went on a furious rally, getting three-point plays from Reese and Brock to cut the lead to seven. Saint Francis forced 20 turnovers on the day, including two down the stretch, but a pair of critical threes rimmed out to help thwart the rally.

Marshall and SFU each had 43 rebounds with SFU grabbing 19 on the offensive end to lead to a 12-5 second-chance point advantage. Marshall led 38-26 in the pain and 25-14 off turnovers.

Kovatch led four players in double figures with 19 while Brock had 15 while Reese and Wynn each chipped in 11. Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md./Western (Hampton U)) each had eight rebounds to lead the Flash.

The loss drops Saint Francis to 2-7 on the season while Marshall improves to 7-1. SFU continues their road swing to end the non-conference season this weekend as they head to Gainesville, Florida for the Gator Holiday Classic. The host Gators are up first on Sunday, with a 2:30 p.m. tip scheduled.