Flash Points:

• Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) had a career and NEC-season high 45 in the win
• Kovatch tied her own school record with 9 three pointers
• The 45 points are fourth-most in the NCAA this season and fourth-most in SFU history
• Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) had 17 points 11 rebounds and six blocks off the bench

 
LORETTO, PA- Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) had a career-high 45 points and Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) added a double-double as Saint Francis handed Central Connecticut its first loss of the NEC season, 87-81 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Kovatch's previous career high was 37, set earlier this year at South Florida. She matched her own school record set in that game with nine made three pointers. Her 45 points are fourth most in the NCAA this season and tops in the NEC and fourth-most in SFU single-game history. Kovatch also moved to 22^nd on the SFU all-time scoring list passing Michele Rehm and Beth Barnabei. Her 1,051 career points are just 12 behind Cheril Meier for 21^st all-time.
 
Central Connecticut blitzed the Red Flash off the opening tip, racing out to a 14-4 lead and forcing an early timeout. Andi Lydon hit one of her four threes in the run, she finished with a team-high 29, setting a career high. Kovatch scored 16 of the team's 20 points in the first quarter, draining a pair of treys late to cut the CCSU lead down to three at 20-17. Aleah Epps hit two jumpers late in the quarter to push the lead out to six as CCSU led 26-20 at the end of the first. Epps was one of four Blue Devils to finish in double figures, scoring 14 in the loss.
 
A Sydney Hines layup 30 seconds into the quarter made it 28-20 Central Connecticut, it would be the last points for CCSU over the next five minutes as Saint Francis ripped off a 19-0 run to take a 39-28 lead. Threes by Kovatch, Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) and Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) jump started the run. The Red Flash defense forced six turnovers in building the double-digit lead. Kovatch hit another three moments after the Blue Devils had stopped the run, pushing the lead to its high-water mark of 12 at 42-30. Kiana Patterson would get hot and hit a trio of jumpers down the stretch as CCSU closed on a 10-3 run including a Giocelis Reynoso tip-in just before the buzzer, SFU took a 45-40 lead into the locker room.
 
The Blue Devils would get hot from three early in the second half, cutting into the SFU lead. Another Lydon three cut the lead to one and a Lydon tip-in on the next possession to give CCSU its first lead since the middle of the second quarter. Kovatch responded with buckets on the next to SFU possessions as the teams traded the lead seven times over the final five minutes of the quarter. Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) gave SFU the lead on three different occasions in the quarter including a lay-in with under 30 seconds as the Red Flash took a 68-67 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Layups by Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) and Reese kept SFU out in front at the start of the fourth before another Lydon three gave CCSU what turned out to be, their final lead of the game. Threes on three-straight possessions by Kovatch sparked a single-handed 9-0 run as SFU claimed an 81-73 lead heading into the media timeout. The Red Flash would be held to a single Samiah Bethel (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy) free throw over the next four minutes as CCSU cut the lead to one at 82-81. Kovatch ended the drought with a dagger three with 30 seconds remaining to give SFU an 85-81 edge. Saint Francis then got a pair of defensive stops late, capped by an uncontested Zezza lay-in to close out the victory.
 
The Red Flash won despite being out rebounded 59-41, as CCSU was led by Reynoso's 20 rebound effort. Saint Francis made up the difference by forcing 21 turnovers, turning them into 26 points while turning it over just 10 times. The Flash also outscored CCSU 38-26 in the paint and 21-9 off the bench, led by Zezza's 17.
 
The win moves SFU to the .500 mark at 9-9 and 6-1 in the NEC. CCSU falls to 7-11 overall and 6-1 in the NEC. The Flash will look to sweep the weekend on Monday when the Bryant Bulldogs come to town. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.