Flash Points: 

• Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) led five players in double figures
• SFU forced 39 turnovers leading to 41 points
• The Red Flash recorded 20 steals

LORETTO, PA- Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) had 27 points, leading five players in double figures as Saint Francis ran away from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in a 110-79 victory in a Wednesday night exhibition at DeGol Arena. 

Saint Francis led wire-to-wire in this one, as the Red Flash defense proved to be suffocating at times, forcing 39 turnovers in the victory. UPJ hung around early in the first quarter, keeping it a two possession game and trading baskets with the Red Flash. The SFU defense turned it up a notch over the final four minutes of the quarter as they closed the quarter on a 9-0 run to open up a 13-point advantage. The Red Flash held UPJ to 0-8 from the field during the stretch, forcing six turnovers. SFU led 26-13 after the first 10 minutes. 

The run would carry over to the second quarter as Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) scored the first four points of the second to give the Flash their largest lead at 30-13. The lead would grow to over 20 on a couple of occasions as Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) drained a pair of threes, the junior would finish with 17 points on 6-12 shooting. The high-water point came when Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) cashed in all three free throws after she was fouled on a three-pointer, giving the Flash a 24-point first-half advantage. The Mountain Cats would begin chipping away at the lead, closing the half on a 15-4 run. The Flash would lead 54-41 at the break. 

The Mountain Cats would continue to hang around in the early stages of the second half. A quick 8-0 run by the Flash, fueled by Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and Wynn opened the lead out to 16 points, but UPJ again answered back. Olivia McCabe had 24 points to lead UPJ and her lay-in started an 11-3 run that closed the SFU lead to eight at 68-60 midway through the third quarter. Saint Francis hit another gear to close out the quarter, nine-straight points by Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) helped to bring the lead back to double digits as SFU led 81-66 heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Flash really hit their stride midway through the final frame, scoring 15 points in just three minutes. Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) hit a triple and Kovatch added five points as the Flash overwhelmed UPJ. SFU quickly doubled their lead up to 30 points, crossing the century mark on a Kovatch fast-break lay-up. The Flash tallied up 38 points on the fast break and Kovatch picked up where she left off last season, going for 20 points on 7-14 shooting. 

SFU shot 44 percent from the field on 39-88 shooting and held UPJ to just 37 percent from the field The Mountain Cats did out rebound SFU 58-36, despite the disparity, SFU held a 13-12 advantage in second-chance points. Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) had all four of the Red Flash blocks while Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle (Sienna)) led the team with five of the team's 20 steals. 

Saint Francis will head to America's Dairyland next weekend to open the season at the Wisconsin Badgers. The season opener is set for a 4 p.m. tip on Sunday, November 13th.