FLASH POINTS

• Saint Francis now sits at 16-14 on the season
• The Red Flash had three players in double figures led by Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum)'s 16 and 6 blocks
• CCSU closed the game on a 12-4 run and shot 80 percent in the fourth

 
LORETTO, PA- Central Connecticut shot 80 percent in the fourth quarter and closed the game on a 12-4 run to oust the third-seeded Red Flash 65-57 in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.
 
"I thought we had a very good conference season this year, and it's a poor time to not play your best game," Head Coach Joe Haigh said afterwards. "Give credit to Central Connecticut, they played well, defended us well, played physical. We didn't shoot the ball very well, but you again have to credit Central Connecticut."
 
Saint Francis shot 37 percent for the game and 5-25 from three-point range. Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) led three players in double figures with 16 points and added six blocks. Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) added 12 but was held to just 6-14 shooting and did not make a three pointer for the first time this season. Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) added 11 points and 9 rebounds but battled foul trouble in her 35 minutes of action. Kiana Patterson led all scorers with 19 points for Central including three threes in the fourth quarter.
 
Saint Francis did get off to a quick start Zezza and Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) each hitting threes to help send SFU to a 10-6 lead early on. The teams would trade baskets in a low-scoring first quarter that saw the Red Flash force eight turnovers but managed just four points off the miscues. A Harrison lay-in put the Red Flash up 16-12 but the graduate transfer was called for a foul on a Patterson three late in the quarter. The sophomore hit just one of the three from the charity stripe as SFU led 16-13 after one.
 
The Flash took their biggest lead of the game early in the second on a fade-away jumper by Kovatch. The Red Flash would push the lead out to five on five separate occasions but couldn't push the lead any higher. That was credit to Central Connecticut's offensive rebounding that led to eight second-chance points in the quarter. A steal and score by Kovatch late in the quarter put the Red Flash up 30-25. But the Blue Devils would score the last four points, all on second-chances and forced a Kovatch miss late to cut the SFU lead to 30-29 at the half.
 
Threes from Wynn and Harrison pushed the SFU lead to four in the third quarter but CCSU refused to go away. Giocelis Reynoso scored on the fast break to cut the lead to one and CCSU took their first lead on a Patterson jumper. Out of a SFU timeout, the Red Flash quickly rebuilt a lead. Zezza made a runner in the lane and hit a transition three on the next possession following a defensive stop. A Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) spin move and lay-in closed the quarter as SFU answered back with a 7-2 run to take a four-point lead into the fourth at 43-39.
 
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair that saw three ties. Zezza and Harrison hit jumpers to answer a Patterson three, but the sophomore hit her second of the quarter to answer and tie the game at 47. After falling down four at 51-47, SFU rallied back with lay-ins by Katie Reese (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes (Manhattan)) and Kovatch to tie the game. Reese struck again moments later to tie it at 53. The turning point of the quarter, and the game was Patterson's third three of the quarter, putting CCSU up 56-53 with 330 left. Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) missed both on a trip to the foul line and the Red Flash came up empty on their next five possessions as CCSU hit on their next possession and salted the game away at the foul line.
 
 "It feels good to get a "W" in this gym, which isn't an easy thing to do for us," CCSU head coach Beryl Piper said. "It is always difficult to beat somebody three times, and both times we played them it was a battle right until the end."
 
Central Connecticut out rebounded SFU 49-37 and 17-10 on the offensive glass. But CCSU had just a 13-11 lead on second-chance points. The Blue Devils' ability to get the foul line proved big getting to the line 27 times but hitting on just 12 of those attempts. The Red Flash forced 16 turnovers but just seven after the first quarter, turning them into eight points. The Blue Devils forced 11 turnovers, leading to 11 points.
 
The win moves CCSU into the semis at 11-19 where they will take on Robert Morris. The Red Flash currently sit at 16-14 and will await to see if their name is called in the Women's Basketball Invitational on selection Monday.