LYNCHBURG, VA - The Saint Francis women's basketball team (0-3) hung tough with Liberty through the first quarter as the Red Flash trailed 20-18 before the Lady Flames pulled away for an 82-53 victory at the Vines Center. Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led SFU with 14 points, while Leah Morrow (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric) added nine points and three rebounds.

Robinson-Fruchtl's Reaction
"We have to do a better job on the boards overall," Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson-Fruchtl said. "We will keep working. This team is going through some adversity right now, but they have great chemistry and they are working hard. They are very attentive and I think that's really important."

First Quarter Recap

• Liberty jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through two minutes of action
• Saint Francis responded with a 9-4 run to tie the game 9-9 on a Phee Allen (Newport News, VA/Woodside) layup
• The Lady Flames pushed the pace and led 18-12 before Kovatch's second three-pointer of the period cut the margin in half
• Sam Sabino's (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) trey with 29 seconds to play narrowed Liberty's lead to 20-18 at the end of the first frame

Second Quarter Recap

• The Flames used hot shooting in the second quarter to grab a 30-22 lead
• Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) converted on a layup with 5:08 to play before an 8-0 Liberty run put the hosts ahead 38-24
• Courtney Zezza (Plum, PA/Plum), who tallied an 11-rebound performance, scored her only basket of the game to end a Red Flash scoring drought of nearly three minutes
• The Lady Flames held a 45-28 lead at halftime

Third Quarter Recap

• Liberty picked up where it left off in the second half and seized a 53-33 advantage
• The Red Flash used a pair of treys by Morrow and Kovatch to trim the margin to 59-41 with 4:25 left in the period
• The Lady Flames had an 8-2 run before Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) took the ball the length of the floor in six seconds and knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to make the score 67-45

Fourth Quarter Recap

• Liberty's lead continued to grow to 75-46 until MaKenzie Pollard (Baltimore, MD/Western) converted on two free throws for SFU
• Kayley Kovac (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe Area) scored her first points of the season for the Red Flash on a three-pointer from the corner
• The Lady Flames didn't let up on their way to the 82-53 win

Notes

• Liberty won the battle on the boards with a 45-32 rebounding advantage
• The Lady Flames scored 25 points off 31 Red Flash turnovers, while SFU scored only six points off 21 Liberty turnovers
• Thomas had a career-high three blocks for the Flash

Looking Ahead
Saint Francis returns to action when it hosts Seton Hill for Education Day on Tuesday. Tip time from DeGol Arena is set for 11 a.m.