Flash Points: 

-Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) led the way with another double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds

-YSU held a 48-31 rebounding advantage

-The Flash put three players in double figures with Reese and Kovatch adding 11

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO- A back-and-forth battle that saw nine ties and 11 lead changes went against the Red Flash on Saturday night as they fell 69-68 at Youngstown State to fall to 2-4 on the young season. 

Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) had another double double, posting 18 points and 10 rebounds. The graduate transfer added a key block that led to a Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and-one that gave SFU a 62-59 lead with just over two minutes remaining. They stretched the lead to five on another Kovatch bucket with 90 seconds left, but a quick three, stop and lay-in by Youngstown tied the game with 54 seconds left. 

Two YSU free throws gave the Penguins the lead, when Harrison drove the lane and drew a foul. After making the first, her second free throw was wiped off the board on a lane violation called on the Flash. Forced to foul, the Flash put Mailee Jones on the line. She split her free throws to give YSU a 67-65 lead with six seconds left. Out of a timeout, Samiah Bethel (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy)'s pass to Harrison was deflected, the Penguins recovered the loose ball and iced the game at the line. Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle (Sienna)) banked in a half-court shot at the buzzer, but it would not be enough. 

The Flash got out to quick starts in each quarter on Saturday, jumping out to a 11-2 lead on threes from Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) and Kovatch. The back-and-forth nature of Saturday's tilt extended to scoring runs as YSU answered with an 8-0 run to make it 11-10 Red Flash at the first media timeout. SFU never trailed in the first quarter but a late Penguin three tied the game at 21 heading into the second quarter.         

SFU grabbed an early four point lead in the second as Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) hit a pair of baskets off the bench to give SFU a 30-26 advantage. Again, the Penguins responded, scoring the next six points to take their first lead and grew it to as many as six in the quarter. A zezza three cut the lead in half but another late YSU bucket sent them into the locker room up 40-35. 

Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) and Harrison led the offensive charge out of the half as each hit a three to spark an 8-0 run to start the third as SFU re-took the lead. The teams see-sawed back-and-forth in the quarter with the lead changing hands three times. An Adams bucket with 40 seconds left was the last points of the quarter and brought SFU back within two at 53-51 heading into the final frame. 

In the fourth, the Flash battled to tie the game on two different occasions but didn't grab their first lead of the frame until a Wynn three put them up one with seven minutes to go. The teams combined for one field goal over the next four minutes until Harrison's block sprang Kovatch and started the wild aforementioned finish. 

Harrison, Reese and Kovatch all finished in double figures with Harrison leading the way with 18. Kovatch and Reese ended with 11, despite going 3-15 from three combined and Kovatch playing the entire second half with four fouls. 

The Penguins' Indiya Benjamin led all scorers with 21 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists.  YSU owned a 48-31 edge on the glass but only a 9-6 advantage on second-chance points. SFU forced 18 turnovers against 16 miscues but turned those YSU mistakes into 25 points. The Penguins earned the advantage on points in the paint (32-22) and fast-break points (21-15). 

The loss drops the Red Flash to 2-4 on the season while YSU improves to 3-4. Saint Francis is off next week for finals but returns to the court on Monday, December 12th. They will take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina to start a five-game road trip to end the non-conference season. Tip time from the HTC Center is set for 7 p.m.