Piscataway, N.J. - The Saint Francis women's basketball team faces a challenging start to the season as it opens the 2018-19 campaign at Rutgers on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Scouting Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights went 20-12 last season and return eight letter-winners while adding six newcomers.
Among the returnees are Big Ten honorable mention selection Stasha Carey, two-time Big Ten sportsmanship honoree Khadaizha Sanders and one of the top rebounders and shot blockers in the league in Caitlin Jenkins.
Newcomers include transfers Sierra Calhoun, an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick from Ohio State, Charise Wilson, Rhode Island's all-time leader in three-point shots made and Arella Guirantes, who spent her freshman season at Texas Tech.
Other newcomers to the hardwood include Gatorade and USA Today Alabama Player of the Year Zipporah Broughton, a feature player from the Geico High School Nationals in Tyia Singleton and Israeli native Noga Peleg Pelc.
Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer has compiled a 997-402 career record entering her the 48th season of coaching and is three wins away from joining the elite 1,000 career victory club in women's basketball.
Kovatch Rising in the Record Books
Senior Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) has already set several SFU and NEC records and has her eyes on shattering even more records in 2018-19. The Phillipsburg, N.J. native is the current active scoring leader among all Division I players with 2,158 career points. Kovatch currently sits in third all-time in scoring at SFU and needs only 13 points to pass Alli Williams for second in school history. She needs just 181 points to pass Jess Zinobile for the school's career scoring record.
Knocking it Down from Behind the Arc
Saint Francis is well-known for its run-and-gun offensive style of play. The Red Flash led the NEC last season with 323 three-pointers made (10.4 per game). Kovatch's 349 career made three-point field goals ranks first on the Division I active career list and already stands as a Northeast Conference record. She led the NCAA last season with 141 three-pointers.
Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) can drain the deep ball as the sophomore connected on 38 three-pointers last season. Courtney Zezza (Plum, Pa./Plum) isn't afraid to step back and let the ball fly either as the 6-4 senior made 30 trifectas last season. Look for an increased shooting presence from sophomore Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) as she hopes to build on a season-high four treys against UCONN in the NCAA tournament.
Facing the Scarlet Knights
This is only the second meeting all-time between the Scarlet Knights and the Red Flash. The last time the two teams faced off was the 1998-99 season when Rutgers defeated Saint Francis, 73-43, in Piscataway, N.J.
