Flash Points

• The Red Flash outscored CCSU 28-11 in the fourth
• SFU went 15-16 from the foul line and 24-26 from the stripe for the game
• Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) had 5 of the team's 15 steals
• Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) had 29 points, putting her just 31 shy of 2,000 for her career

 
 
 
NEW BRITAIN, CT-Saint Francis erased a 12-point CCSU lead in the second half and pulled away for a 85-75 win over the Blue Devils on senior day at Detrick Gym on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
CCSU took advantage of 16 Red Flash turnovers through three quarters, but SFU played clean the entire fourth and closed the game on a 22-6 run. Saint Francis iced the game from the line, going 15-16 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and 24-26 for the game. Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led four players in double figures with 29, putting her 31 away from 2,000 for her career.
 
 
FIRST QUARTER RECAP

• Saint Francis picked off passes on the first three CCSU possessions, but managed just three points as SFU missed their first five shots
• The Blue Devils responded with the next six points before a Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) three tied the game
• Central would get hot, hitting on five of six shots to take a three-point lead into the media timeout
• Out of the timeout, Kovatch would hit a trio of threes to keep pace with the Blue Devils, she had 13 in the quarter
• CCSU found ways to get to the foul line, going 10-13 from the stripe in the first quarter, two late free throws gave them the lead late in the quarter
• CCSU led 27-24 after 10 minutes

 
SECOND QUARTER RECAP

• After an early Kovatch lay-in, CCSU responded with a 11-0 run to take a 38-26 lead
• A Thomas steal lead to a Kovatch pass to a streaking Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) to stop the run
• Both Kovatch and Harrison would pick up their third foul before the second quarter media
• A Swogger three came off a Smith block and cut the lead to seven
• CCSU responded with five unanswered as the Blue Devils rebuilt their 12-point lead
• Twelve first-half turnovers proved costly, leading to 14 CCSU points
• A late Wynn steal led to a Kroll three to cut the lead to nine
• CCSU led 45-36 at the break

 
THIRD QUARTER RECAP

• The Blue Devil lead hit a high-water mark of 12 on a Kiana Patterson three on the opening possession
• The Red Flash responded with nine straight to force a CCSU timeout
• Out of the timeout, the Red Flash kept the run going, a Harrison rebound led to another Kovatch three, cutting the lead to three
• SFU had a chance to cut it to one, but a missed Harrison lay-in led to a CCSU bucket, extending the lead back to five, the Blue Devils would then push it out to seven off a SFU turnover
• CCSU continued to take advantage of SFU turnovers, cashing in on two more to push the lead back to eight
• Saint Francis had opportunities to cut the lead under six, but missed a trio of lay-ups, leading to a pair of CCSU lay-ups that brought the lead back to nine
• A Zezza three helped to cut the lead but CCSU would lead 64-56 heading into the fourth

 
FOURTH QUARTER RECAP

• Kovatch started the quarter with a three-point play the hard way and would cut the lead to three after hitting two of three free throws on the next possession
• A Kianna Patterson three built the lead back out to six
• SFU could only convert the two free throws off a flagrant foul called on Central Connecticut
• Kovatch chipped away at the lead, hitting two more freebies to make it a 69-67 game with seven minutes left
• Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) picked Patterson's pocket and found Harrison for the bucket to tie the game
• Harrison later found Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) for three to give SFU its first lead since 16-15
• A key Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) lay-in came late in the shot clock and gave SFU a 76-72 advantage at the fourth quarter media timeout
• A key Harrison three gave her a double-double and pushed the lead to seven at 79-72
• A Patterson three cut the lead back to four at 79-75 with under a minute remaining
• Free throws pushed the lead to eight and a Wynn steal gave Zezza two free throws to push the lead to 10
• Zezza capped the comeback with an emphatic block in the final seconds
• SFU outscored CCSU 29-11 in the fourth to move to 13-2 in the NEC

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Red Flash committed 17 turnovers leading to 18 CCSU points, but just one in the fourth quarter (a shot clock violation with less than a second left) to fuel the comeback
• SFU forced 20 turnovers, turning them into 25 points, SFU had 15 steals, led by Maya Wynn (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh)'s five
• Jessica Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) had 29 points, putting her just 31 shy of 2,000 for her career, the junior added four rebounds and three steals
• Ace Harrison (Baltimore, MD/Digital Harbor (Maryland)) scored seven of her 14 in the second half of the fourth to finish with 14 points and 11 on the night
• Saint Francis won the rebounding battle 42-38 but CCSU had a 16-15 edge on second-chance points
• CCSU was led by Kianna Patterson's 17 but they had incredible balance with three players also scoring nine and two more recording eight
• SFU had four in double figures with Harrison (14), Kroll (12) and Zezza (11) joining Kovatch

 
The win coupled with Bryant's loss to Robert Morris secured the Red Flash a top-two seed in the NEC tournament, guaranteeing them the right to host one of the four-team "pods" in the new NEC playoff format. SFU will look to build off the comeback on Monday when they head to Bryant to face the Bulldogs on ESPN 3. Tip time from Smithfield is set for 7 p.m.