Flash Points

• SFU's season ends in the WBI second round
• SFU was held to just 31 percent shooting
• Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led with a game high 17 points

 
LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis saw their season come to an end on Sunday in the Women's Basketball Invitational second round, falling 67-57 to the Milwaukee Panthers at DeGol Arena.
 
The two teams were locked into a defensive battle and held well below their respective averages. The Red Flash were held to just 31 percent shooting (20-64) and just 19 percent from three-point range (5-27). Defensively, SFU was solid, holding the Panthers well below their 44 percent season shooting average, shooting 37 percent for the game (22-59). Milwaukee's rebounding edge, 50-32, proved to be critical as the Panthers were able to get key loose balls late in the fourth and burn valuable time.
 
SFU got off to a slow start for the second-straight game, as Milwaukee scored the game's first five points. A pair of lay-ups by Kovatch and Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) would be the only baskets for the Red Flash in the first quarter, as they went just 2-17 from the field. The Panthers would close the quarter on a 10-0 run and led 15-4 after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Red Flash defense turned it up a notch in the second quarter and got the Red Flash some much needed momentum. SFU started the quarter on an 11-0 run and forced seven turn overs during the run to tie the game at 15. Jill Falvey (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) was a spark off the bench hitting on five-straight points to help jumpstart the rally. After Milwaukee settled down and re-took the lead, a Wynn three and a Kovatch lay-in gave SFU their first lead of the game at 20-19. After the teams traded mini runs, a Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) lay-up gave SFU a 25-24 half time lead.
 
The back-and-forth affair continued into the second half as neither team could get bigger than a three-point lead for much of the quarter. A Kovatch three put the Red Flash up three, their largest lead of the second half, only to see Milwaukee battle back. The teams traded the lead seven time and the game was tied on five different occasions in the period. A pair of late SFU turnovers proved pivotal as Milwaukee ended the quarter on a 5-0 run as the Red Flash were held scoreless for the final three minutes of the quarter. A one-point halftime lead turned into a 43-38 deficit heading into the fourth.
 
Milwaukee's lead grew to seven as SFU's drought continued into the fourth. The Red Flash didn't get their first field goal until the eight-minute mark, a Kovtach lay-in that brought SFU within five. Saint Francis would get as close as three in the fourth but a key Bailey Farley three put the Panther's back up six with six minutes to go. The Red Flash could get no closer than the two-possession game the rest of the way. The Panthers did not do Saint Francis any favors, hitting 14-of-16 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to maintain their lead. Three key offensive rebounds late by Milwaukee kept SFU from mounting any sort of comeback and clinched the win.
 
Both teams placed three players in double figures. Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Red Flash while Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) added 10. Milwaukee was led by Steph Kostowicz who and Jamie Reit who each had 15. Kostowicz also added 11 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Milwaukee's 50-32 rebounding edge led to a 13-8 second-chance point advantage. The Flash did force 20 turnovers on 10 steals, leading to 16 points.
 
Milwaukee improves to 22-11 and advances to the WBI semi-finals where they will travel to take on UNC-Greensboro. The Red Flash season ends at 17-15 on the season but did earn the first post-season win in program and Northeast Conference women's basketball history.