Flash Points:

• Saint Francis put five players in double figures
• Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) had a double-double for the third-straight game
• Zezza had a career high eight blocks in the win
• Saint Francis forced 24 turnovers turning it into 31 points

 
LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis used a balanced offensive effort and an opportunistic defense to knock off the Bryant Bulldogs 79-67 for their sixth-straight win on Monday night at DeGol Arena.
 
SFU shook off cold shooting in the first quarter to win their sixth-straight for the first time since they closed the 2009-10 regular season and NEC tournament with seven-straight victories. The Red Flash started the game 2-10 from the field as Bryant scored the game's first six points and led by as many as eight in the first frame. Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) got the Red Flash going with a pair of lay-ups and Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle (Sienna)) and Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) each hit threes late. The Red Flash closed the quarter on an 8-2 run to trail 15-13 after the first quarter.
 
Saint Francis used their defense to flip the script in the second quarter. The Red Flash forced nine turnovers, turning them into 14 points in the frame. SFU took their first lead of the game on a Zezza lay-in and the sophomore started a 12-0 run with another bucket. Zezza recorded her third-straight double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks on Monday. The run grew to 17-1 in the second quarter as the Flash surged ahead by as many as 13, leading 39-26 late in the second. Reese, Kovatch, Zezza and Wynn all scored on drives to the basket, part of 40 points in the paint on Monday. Bryant would not go quietly all night long and rallied to score the final five points of the quarter as SFU took a 39-31 lead into the break.
 
The Red Flash held a steady lead throughout the third quarter, stopping the Bulldogs from rallying. The Bulldogs closed the lead to six on a pair of occasions but the Flash rallied to bring the lead back out into double digits. Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) hit a key three, one of only two on the night for the sophomore, to spark a 7-0 third quarter rally that brought the SFU lead back out to 13. Kovatch finished with a team-high 22 points on 8-22 shooting. Saint Francis would take a 13-point lead into the final quarter thanks to a late three-point play from Samiah Bethel (Jacksonville, Fla./Potter's House Christian Academy). SFU led 58-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Bulldogs chipped away at the Red Flash lead in the fourth quarter, whittling it down to nine on a bucket by Alex Klein. The senior had a game high 24 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. The Flash would bring the lead back out to double figures only to see Bryant cut the lead to as little as five with under two minutes left. The Red Flash responded one more time on Monday, closing out the Bulldogs with a 9-2 run. SFU hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe and got buckets from Bethel and Zezza late to seal the win.
 
Bryant won the battle of the boards 52-37 thanks in part to Klein's 13 rebounds and Megan Olander's 12. Zezza and Bethel each had double doubles thanks to 12 and 10 rebounds, respectfully but Bryant had a 10-2 edge on second-chance points. The Flash forced 24 turnovers and turned them into 31 points as opposed to just 15 SFU miscues leading to 14 Bryant points. The Flash held a slim 40-38 edge in the paint which buoyed the offense on a night they went 8-30 from three-point range.
 
The win moves SFU over .500 at 10-9 on the season and improves to 7-1 in the NEC for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Bryant drops to 9-10 on the year and 4-4 in conference play. The Flash will try to make it seven-straight on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Wagner to take on the Seahawks. Tip time is set for 2 p.m. from the Spiro Center and the game can be seen on ESPN 3.