Flash Points

• Bryant hit 11-23 threes on Saturday, came into the game shooting 26 percent as a team
• Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led all scorers with 23
• Bryant held a 21-10 edge on second-chance points

 
Smithfield, R.I.- The Bryant Bulldogs flipped the script on the Red Flash, consistently having an answer for every SFU run and handed the Red Flash their third-straight defeat 85-70 on Saturday at the Chase Athletic Center.
 
The Bulldogs a 9-0 run to end the third and a 12-0 run in the fourth to send the Flash to 10-5 in the NEC and 13-13 overall. The game mirrored the contest between the teams in Loretto, where the Red Flash held off a charging Bulldogs squad.
 
The Red Flash came out in a true zone defense for the first time this season, forcing the Bulldogs to hit from the outside. The zone frustrated the Bulldogs in the outset of the first as SFU got baskets from five different scorers and led 10-4 early. The Bulldogs got going after the media timeout, closing the quarter on a 15-4 run to lead 19-14 at the end of the first. The Bulldogs hit a trio from deep in the run while Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle (Sienna)) led the Flash with six points in the quarter.
 
The run continued into the second quarter as they started the frame on a 10-1 run against the Flash to lead 29-15, the triples kept falling for the Bulldogs, hitting eight in the first half. They came into the game shooting just 26 percent from deep as a team on the season. The Red Flash deficit grew to as many as 20 at 40-20 before the Flash got going towards the end of the quarter. A chase-down block by Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) got the Red Flash momentum going. Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) scored five-straight including a three where she inbounded the ball to herself off a defender. Harrison added a pair of buckets as well as SFU closed the half on a 9-3 run to cut the Bryant lead to 14 at 43-29.
 
Saint Francis whittled the Bulldog lead down to single digits throughout the third. Layups by Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)), Adams and Kovatch had the Flash to within six at 56-50 going into the media timeout. The Flash had several opportunities to continue to cut into the lead but couldn't convert and Bryant took advantage. The Bulldogs closed the quarter on a 9-0 run capped by a Kierra Palmer buzzer beater to lead 65-50 heading into the fourth.
 
The Red Flash held to just three points over the first three minutes but couldn't get going offensively. The Flash settled for three Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) buckets over that span and cut the lead to 11. Kovatch was then fouled on a three on the next possession and hit all three from the line to bring SFU back with in single digits at 67-59.  The Bulldogs iced the game out of the media timeout, scoring on their next five possessions. The Flash went empty on all five as the Bulldogs pushed the lead back out to 20 at 79-59 with that 12-0 run. SFU couldn't recover and dropped their sixth game in seven trips to Bryant.
 
Kovatch led three players in double figures with 23 as Harrison added 18 and a team-high seven rebounds, while Halee Adams (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle (Sienna)) chipped in 11. Bryant put five players in double figures led by Alex Klein's 18. Morgan Olander had a double double with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Kierra Palmer had 12 points and a game-high 14 assists. The Red Flash turned 16 Bryant turnovers into 20 points but turned it over 17 times themselves, leading to 16 points. SFU's cold outside shooting continued into today's game with the Flash shooting just 4-22 from deep while Bryant hit 11 of 23.
 
SFU now sits at 13-13 and 10-5 in the NEC while Bryant is also 13-13 and 8-7. SFU will look to snap their three-game slide on Monday when they take on CCSU. Monday's game has moved to a 2 p.m. matinee for President's Day.