Loretto, PA – Saint Francis put up a fight against Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Duquesne, but was unable to overcome several second-half runs by the Dukes as the Red Flash dropped a 93-73 decision on Sunday at DeGol Arena. Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) led SFU with 21 points, while Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) added 20 points for the Red Flash.

Robinson-Fruchtl's Reaction

"We had some really good moments and some moments that we would like to have back for sure," Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson-Fruchtl said. "Overall, just getting beat on the boards by as much as we did, we knew that was going to be an issue for us in terms of something that we would have to face in this game because of Duquesne's overall size."

First Quarter Recap

• Swogger got off to another hot start for the Red Flash as she scored SFU's first eight points on two three-pointers and a layup, but Duquesne held the early 13-8 lead with just under five minutes to play

• Kovatch had a slow start before she started to heat up towards the end of the first quarter and knocked down a trey to trim the Dukes' lead to 18-16

• Duquesne closed the period on an 8-2 run to seize a 26-18 lead at the end of the period

Second Quarter Recap

• The Dukes picked up where it left off in the second quarter as a 10-2 run to start the frame put the visitors ahead 36-20

• Saint Francis, which shot a stellar 14-of-16 from the free throw line, scored its next seven points from the charity stripe as Jenna Mastellone (New York City, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) knocked down two, followed by Kovatch, who had five straight free throws to cut Duquesne's lead to 37-27

• The Dukes responded with a quick 9-0 run to push the lead to 46-27 with 3:29 to play

• A Swogger layup sparked an 11-3 SFU run that was capped off with a Kovatch triple as the Red Flash trailed 49-38

• Swogger connected on a shot from behind half court at the buzzer to make Duquesne's lead 56-41 at halftime

Third Quarter Recap

• Duquesne extended the margin to 65-44 before Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) scored her only points of the contest on a three-pointer with 6:15 to play

• The Dukes had their largest lead of the game at 77-50 with just under a minute remaining

• Kovatch converted on an old-fashioned three-point play with eight seconds to go as the Red Flash trailed 77-55 at the end of the period

Fourth Quarter Recap

• Saint Francis scored the first five points of the quarter before an 8-0 Duquesne run gave the Dukes an 85-60 lead

• A.J. Timbers had back-to-back three-pointers for the Red Flash to cut the lead to 91-69 with just under two minutes to play

• Duquesne closed the scoring with two free throws with ten seconds left to secure the win for the Dukes

Notes

• Saint Francis shot 25-of-58 from the floor, including 13-of-25 from behind the three-point arc

• Duquesne won the battle on the boards with a 44-30 rebounding advantage

• The Dukes scored 35 points off 21 Red Flash turnovers

• Duquesne used its size to its advantage and pounded the ball down low as the Dukes held a 38-20 scoring advantage in the paint

Looking Ahead

Saint Francis has six days to prepare for its next contest when the Red Flash travel to play at Longwood on Saturday, December 1. Tip time from Willett Hall is set for noon.