LORETTO, PA-  Saint Francis held off a frantic West Virginia State rally and prevailed 84-78 in overtime in an exhibition game on Tuesday night at DeGol Arena.

The Red Flash led by as many as 24 in the second half before the Yellowjackets rallied to tie the game at 72 and force the extra frame. After the Jackets took a brief 76-74 lead in OT, Saint Francis closed the contest on a 10-2 run to close out non-conference play on a winning note.

Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) had a career-high 39 points on 16-36 shooting to lead SFU to go along with seven steals. Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) was the only other Red Flash in double figures with 15. Brielle Ward (Baltimore, Md./Western (Hampton U)) had a team-high 13 rebounds while Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) dished out five of the team's 15 assists.

Tuesday night was a game of runs as the Flash broke the game open towards the end of the first quarter. SFU ended the first frame on an 8-0 run to lead 22-16.  The Yellowjackets would not get closer than 10 in the second quarter as Saint Francis used another big run, this one 13-0 to lead 48-25. Madison Johnson (Knox, Pa./Keystone) scored all five of her points during the run and the Flash would lead 49-29 at the half.

Saint Francis' lead would hit the high-water mark midway through the third at 58-34 on a Wynn three pointer. The Jackets would begin to chip away at the lead as the Flash would go cold from the field. Another Wynn three would give SFU a 68-50 lead with 7:44 remaining in regulation. SFU would not score again until the 1:46 mark of the fourth, a three by Aisha Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy) to halt a 16-0 WV State run and give SFU a 71-66 lead. The Yellowjackets would answer with a three of their own to make it a one-possession game with under 90 seconds remaining. The Flash's cold shooting would carry over to the line as they missed three of their final four shots from the line in regulation. A Samiah Bethel (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy) foul on an attempted steal put Aurreshae Hines on the line with four seconds left with a chance to tie. The guard calmly hit both to force the extra time.

The turning point of the overtime came on a Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) jumper that gave SFU a 79-76 lead. The officials called a loose ball foul on the Yellowjackets during the shot, putting Kovatch on the line. The freshman split the free throws but gave SFU a four-point lead with just over a minute remaining. The Red Flash forced turnovers on the Jackets' next two possessions and closed the game out.

Saint Francis forced 28 turnovers including 18 steals, leading to 38 points off turnovers for the Flash and 27 on the fast break. Each team had 59 rebounds with 30 of them coming on the offensive glass for the Flash, leading to 22 second-chance points. Hines and Laura Szorenyi led four Yellowjackets in double figures with 17 each. 

SFU still stands at 2-9 on the season with the exhibtion serving as a tune-up for conference play. The Wagner Seahawks come in on Saturday for the Northeast Conference opener. Tip time is set for 1 p.m..